From the Regional Director of Oceania
With all the news about problems with the Church, there is no wonder we wish that someone would do something about it. Who should? Well, the leaders, of course! Bishops used to get a lot of unsolicited advice. Now, many people have suggestions for Pope Francis, whereas many of us think he is doing a great job. Of course, the local parish priests hear many suggestions from some of their parishioners.
It would be simple if the Church was a business or an organisation. Many businesses have run into trouble, and there are plenty of experts around to help get them back on track. In our papers here in Melbourne, Tennis Australia is also getting the advice they have not paid for.
In some ways the Church is like a business and an organisation, but it is also the Body of Christ. It also has this history which is much longer than any business. We have to look to other religions to see something comparable.
Do we think we need to reform our “Christian - Catholic” religion? I don’t think so. We believe our Catholic faith is not the problem. The problem lies with the community of believers. We should be doing a better job or, rather, we wish that we were better.
We can look around at what our global Catholic community is doing and be very impressed by the generosity and dedication of so many of its members around the world. This is where the Columbans come in. A great privilege of being a Columban missionary is seeing and knowing wonderful Catholics helping their brothers and sisters live a good life in challenging situations. We also get to see our friends and supporters in Australia and New Zealand reaching out to their brothers and sisters in other countries, even though they only know them through The Far East magazine or our online stories. It is true Christian love, ‘living the Gospel’ and being a missionary disciple of Jesus.
Our global Catholic community is made up of a lot of smaller communities. We live our Catholic faith with a community. Yes, each individual has to find their own way through the journey of life, helped by their Catholic faith, but human beings are made to live in community. One cannot go completely “off the grid”; if we all did that, there would be no next generation!
For each of us to live as better people, we Catholics need to help make our community better. There are many things to be done, and getting out and doing them is called “mission”.
We also contribute to our community by being better people. We contribute to the Body of Christ by living more deeply the life we have in Christ Jesus. Our prayer and our spiritual life make us better human beings. They also help us reform the Church, which not only demands our intellectual, emotional and physical involvement, it also demands the work of our spirits, all of which are strengthened by the Spirit of God. No wonder we talk of Pentecost as the beginning of the Church. Our reforming the Church will only happen with the help of that same Spirit.
Feeling somewhat disillusioned by what we read and know about the Church today is not surprising. However, we still have our beliefs which give us the hope and the energy to improve the quality of the global community we call the Catholic Church. Let us pray and support each other.
Fr Trevor Trotter
Regional Director of Oceania
rdoceania@columban.org.au
Related links
- Read more from the current Columban eBulletin
