Pope Francis has a threefold challenge for the Church:
- For individual Christians need to encounter Jesus;
- To reform the church so that it becomes a missionary church which goes out rather than a “fortress” defending itself; and
- To change from a unidirectional approach to mission and enter into reciprocity and dialogue.
Reciprocity and Dialogue. For too long we have seen ourselves as owning God, the Gospel and salvation and preaching a message to which all must listen. We forget that God is already present and active in the world and that we are not preaching to people devoid of a relationship with God. This is especially true of our relationship with the modern world. Our default position has been negative. Until Vatican II, the Church’s attitude to secular society was largely a negative critique. Francis invites us to proclaim a joyful and beautiful message rather than criticism. He also invites us to befriend the world not in a naïve but in a discerning way.
In his message for World Communications Day 2014, Francis quotes Pope Benedict from the previous year’s message: “Effective Christian witness is not about bombarding people with religious messages, but about our willingness to be available to others “by patiently and respectfully engaging their questions and their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human existence.” Francis goes on to say: “To dialogue means to believe that the ‘other’ has something worthwhile to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective. Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or absolute.”
In Amoris Laetitia (The joy of Love) Francis says, “Take time, quality time. This means being ready to listen patiently and attentively to everything the other person wants to say. It requires the self-discipline of not speaking until the time is right. Instead of offering an opinion or advice, we need to be sure that we have heard everything the other person has to say.” #135
I suspect we will be much more credible and effective missionaries in secular Australia if we are open to being evangelised by and learning a Gospel message from our secular brothers and sisters. Clearly, they have much to teach us in the areas of ecology, justice, peace and reconciliation, etc. We also have much to give. As fellow searchers, we must learn to open up the full meaning of life and the gospel together. Maybe people will listen to us more when they know that we appreciate them and their opinion.
Because of the sexual abuse crisis and perhaps because of our reluctance to listen, we have lost their trust and have to win it back. That is why Pope Francis puts so much emphasis on encounter or getting close to people, listening and conversing rather than preaching to people.
We must learn to converse with people. In a conversation, neither side preaches. Instead, together we patiently and respectfully engage mutual insights, questions and doubts. Both sides give and receive, evangelise and are evangelised, both are changed. In the most effective evangelisation, there is a commitment to relationship and mutual transformation.
The discernment question for the Plenary Council is “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?” The question refers to Australia not just to the church. I hope that at the Plenary Council the delegates can seriously dialogue with secular Australia. We may all learn to see with new eyes.
Columban Fr Noel Connolly is a member of the Adult Formation Team with Catholic Mission Australia and is a member of the Facilitation Team for the Plenary Council 2020.
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin
- Click here to read from a collection of reflections on Plenary Council written by Columban Fr Noel Connolly
