Catholic around my age grew up about the time of Vatican II, so they know the Church is always changing. Just as my latest grand-niece, who was born last month, will grow and change throughout her life, she will always remain herself. So too does the Church, as she changes, she remains herself.
Pope Francis recently published a programme of change for the Roman Curia. The Curia is like the public service of the Vatican. It exists to help the pope run the Church. As you can imagine, a lot of really bright people working within the Curia give great service to the Church. Among the many changes announced by Pope Francis is one that will be quite significant for all of us. He said that from now on, it is not necessary to be ordained to have authority within the Curia. Over the last few years lots of sisters, in addition to lay men and women have been given important roles in the Vatican formerly held by priests.
Similar changes have occurred within the Church in New Zealand and Australia, but the whole process can be expected to accelerate now that the Vatican is going down the same path. For a pope who has proclaimed that synodality is the way for the Church this century, it is not surprising that he would endorse such a change. He also said Curia members must offer their resignation at the age of 75. A sensible ruling, one would think!
A couple of weeks ago, we Columbans participated in a zoom meeting across Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.
It was a highly positive experience. Many commented that because we included laypeople, seminarians and lay missionaries, together with priests in the discussions, the whole meeting had a fundamentally different tone from a gathering of priests only. As missionaries, we not only feel guided by the Spirit, we also look for signs of the Spirit at work in every place. The richness and freedom experienced over these days were clear signs to me of the Spirit at work in our midst. It confirmed my belief that the Spirit is at work in Oceania.
Like most religious congregations and missionary groups, we are changing. The obvious area is that in places like Australia and New Zealand hardly any men have been ordained to the priesthood in recent decades. Consequently, many tasks that priests carried out in the past are now fulfilled by our lay co-workers.
Just as with the whole people of God, the Church is living in changing times. For example, to preach the gospel of Jesus, Columbans are using the means of communication of our time. We are blessed to have co-workers familiar with social media and now, talking of on-line mission is becoming more natural. Old missionaries are not so good at using these technologies, but with the help of others, they can share their understanding of the gospel and the way it is lived in many different cultures and countries with the people of God in our own countries. In this way, we are all enriched.
Pope Francis recently said, “The Church must become increasingly synodal.” From our Columban experience of the last few days of ‘walking’ and working together, we know we are on a synodal path. It is a great way to be Church.
One decision we made over the two days is to have a Columban Synod for Oceania. This will help us to continue to walk this path and look for the surprises that the Spirit has for us.
The Holy Spirit is continually creating our world and guiding each of us. Whether we are sitting in front of the computer or attending a bible discussion group or reading at Mass, we know that the Spirit of God is with us. As we yield to the inspirations of the Spirit, we continue the mission of Jesus who proclaimed, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…” (Luke 4).
Fr Trevor Trotter
Regional Director of Oceania
rdoceania@columban.org.au
Listen to "From the Director - Living in a changing church"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - June 2022
