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Oneness of the Community

by Michael Deeb OP.

from Becoming a Creative Local Church: Theological Reflections on the Pastoral Plan,
Cluster Publications, Pietermaritzburg, 1991.
Published on our website with the Author's permission.

Introduction

Since the Second Vatican Council promoted the image of the Church as the ‘People of God’, the understanding of the Church as ‘community’ has grown, and has probably become the main aspiration of most people in the Church today. After centuries of lay passivity, with all the focus and responsibility for the church falling on the clergy, the stark division between clergy and,laity has been removed, and a new emphasis is now placed on the common priesthood of all believers, who together have the task of carrying out the Church’s mission in the world. To achieve this, new forms of community are being explored all over the world to enable all Church members to feel part of - to be one with - the rest of the Church community. Everyone is talking about community! And this is reflected in the Catholic Church in Southern Africa which has made this a main thrust of its Pastoral Plan -'Community Serving Humanity’. A reason for this emphasis is the realization that without community, our faith, hope and charity gradually die. Only through community are we enabled to persevere and face difficulties, and then enable others to live more fully (Connor 1988:23-24). Within this theme, there is a stress on the oneness (the unity) of the community, and the necessity to overcome unnecessary distinctions between clergy and the people as a prerequisite for a real experience of community (SACBC 1989:22-23). This raises the question: What does unity mean in the context of a hierarchical Church?

Unity is usually an issue in a context of conflict or division. In this case, there is not real conflict (the distinctions rather create apathy); and it is not the intention to remove all distinctions (only unnecessary ones). So unity here is rather referring to the maximum participation and coresponsibility of all the members in pursuit of the common task of the Church (SACBC 1990:3). As the Vatican II states:

Each part contributes its own gifts to other parts and to the whole Church, so that the whole and each of the parts are strengthened by the common sharing of all things, and by the common effort to attain to fullness in unity (LG,13)

How is such a unity to become a reality? The issue at stake here is the role of ministry in the Church. This is indicated in the Pastoral Plan which suggests that the initiative in overcoming unnecessary distinctions must come from the clergy themselves (SACBC 1989:23). How can ministry be approached and exercised in such a way as to enable the growth of participation of all the people of God?

To answer this question in this paper, I will first identify the experiences of ministry which obstruct unity, as well as the challenges that are posed to ministry by current social and ecclesial trends. Then I will analyze the underlying factors maintaining the distortions in ministry before finally exploring ways in which we might bring about the desired unity between clergy and the people.

2. Experiences of Ministry which Obstruct Unity

I have attended a number of meetings of the Southern African Catholic Laity Council over the years, and each time a common complaint emerging has been:’Our priests are the problem!’ When the lay-people wish to introduce something new, the priest often blocks the way.

Although it is now twenty-five years since Vatican II emphasized lay responsibility, many priests still reign supreme in their parishes, assuming all responsibility to themselves. This attitude fails to activate the enormous resources, talents and energy that exist in every parish, and inevitably leads to apathy and passivity among the people. This, in turn, prevents the development of a sense of community, so that many people are abandoning Church, or leaving to join other smaller (for example, Pentecostal) Churches, where much more participation is allowed, and they feel at home.

Linked to this, is the experience of priests as superior to the people, not bothering to consult with them, and thus operating in an undemocratic fashion, without any sense of accountability to the people. This leads many people, both within and outside the Church, to scoff at Church calls for democracy in society, while undemocratic practices within the Church are defended.

All these experiences are manifestations of clericalism, which draws a clear line between the ‘sacred’ priest and the people. The Laity Commission of the SACBC aptly describes this as:

an attitude of feeling aloof, separate from the people; an attitude of alone possessing all guidance of the Spirit, all insight and all responsibility; an attitude of not being brother to the other baptized, of disregarding the equal dignity of all believers; an attitude of having nothing to learn from people. (SACBC,1990:7)

With this emphasis on male, priestly status, inevitably those who experience the gap most acutely are women. This has led to a growing l resentment amongst more and more women at their exclusion from central functions and offices in the church, while they remain the mainstay and backbone of the Church in virtually all communities. Also there are growing reactions to a number of priests concelebrating at the altar, as this is seen to be more a negative sign of male, clerical dominance than anything else positive it is meant to signify.

The final experience of ministry which obstructs unity that I will point to is the shortage of priests. This reality is reaching chronic proportions in many areas, such as Kroonstad Diocese, where there are twenty-five parishes, and only fifteen priests. For most parishes, especially so called ‘outstations’, the people effectively do not have a priest. They only get a’service’ priest who comes to ‘say’ Mass every few weeks. The consequence of this is that the leader of the community celebration is a relative stranger to them. This is ridiculous, especially if there are already a number of pastoral workers in the community, who could play that primary leadership role if they were allowed to be ordained. However, they are usually married, and therefore ineligible for ordination. This inevitably reinforces attitudes of clericalism, since priesthood becomes associated with being apart and aloof. It therefore raises the whole question of the law of celibacy as an obstacle to unity.

3. The Challenge of Current Social and Ecclesial Trends

The critical reactions to these exercises of ministry have not been inevitable. For centuries such practices remained unchallenged. An awareness of the distortions in them has only become possible through the insights of modern social and ecclesial trends.

3.1 Social Trends

The move away from monolithic monarchies to political pluralism is something the Church is still battling to come to grips with, as it poses a serious challenge to the way hierarchy in the Church is still conceived by many, namely, in very monolithic terms. Since democracy is now almost universally accepted as the most desirable and suitable form of government (even by most Church leaders), the lack of such practice within the Church stares out as a glaring contradiction. As most Church members get used to practices of democracy and accountability in their work-places and residential communities, inevitably they are going to start applying it to their experience of Church. Gone are the days when blind obedience to authority was the norm. People increasingly are refusing to be just objects, manipulable by higher authorities. They are insisting on being subjects of their own destiny, encouraging a critical stance towards all authority

Along with this, the world is growing in its consciousness of the equal dignity of all people. Thus there is vigorous reaction to all forms of discrimination, whether it be racial, sexual, cultural or whatever. Inevitably these same reactions will emerge in the Church, and extend also to discrimination against lay people.

Secularization is another reality that the Church is still struggling to come to terms with, even though Vatican II went a good distance in attempting to confront it. Since social institutions have become desacralized, the notion of ‘the sacred’ is no longer taken for granted; and many things which were once regarded as sacred, are now viewed with suspicion, especially clerical office. This poses a serious challenge to the Church to rework its understanding of’the sacred:

3.2 Ecclesial Trends

Turning to the ecclesial trends which evoke critiques of present ministry, there have been a number of modern theological shifts which challenge traditional structures and attitudes. There is a greater focus now on seeing Christ more as a servant than as a king. This projects a clear servant model for ministry. Also the doctrine of the Trinity has developed to see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a community of love, which has similar implications for the Church. And the whole understanding of the Church has, of course, been radically transformed by Vatican II’s focus on the Church as the People of God. Its emphasis on mutual coresponsibility of the clergy and the laity has unleashed an enormous amount of energy and participation from the Church membership, which has inevitably led to increased sensitivity to obstacles to participation.

At the moral level, the negative Platonic/Stoic view of the body, and therefore of sex as always associated with sin, which Augustine brought into the Church, has given way now to a much more positive appreciation of sex as a’good: It ís now seen as something involving the whole person (not only something physical), which has the potential for promoting mutual love and sensitivity in a relationship. This shift shakes the undergirding rationale for the law of celibacy, which was introduced in the twelfth century to overcome a slack attitude to the fourth century law of abstinence, which was required of priests before approaching the altar, since sex was regarded as impure (Cooke 1976:582). With this new positive appraisal of sex, an assault on the law of celibacy has inevitably resulted, as well as on the clericalism (priestly aloofness) it promotes.

Finally, the rapid growth of small independent (indigenous) and Pentecostal churches, with their provision of a greater sense of warmth, community, participation, and healing, has inevitably led to insecurity within our ‘mainline’ churches, which battle to compete. There are thus increasing demands for these needs to be met within our own Church, and obstacles to this are now much less tolerated.

4. Factors Maintaining the Distortions in Ministry

From the discussion above, we can draw out four key perceived obstacles to unity between the clergy and the people:

(1) Dominating leadership;

(2) Undemocratic and unaccountable behaviour,

(3) The exclusion of women from leadership;

(4) The law of celibacy.

When we dig deeper to uncover the root causes of these obstacles, two factors or mentalities emerge, which seem to underpin so many of the distortions in ministry experienced. Consequently, a failure to address them, is likely to render any action to promote unity ineffective in the long-term. These are:

(1) - a Christendom mentality and

(2) - a sacral notion of priesthood.

Even though they frequently overlap, I will treat them separately for the sake of clarity.

4.1 Christendom Mentality

A Christendom mentality refers to the adherence to a model of Church that developed after Constantine, and especially during the Middle Ages - in the age of Christendom- yet which has continued to be dominant up to the present time. This is the model which the Latin American theologian Juan Luis Segundo, in his challenging book The Hidden Motives of Pastoral Action (1978), sees based on the relationship of the Church to the dominant political power that ensures its place,privilege and protection in civil society. Thus there is an emphasis on self-preservation, with the Church dispensing security to its hug, clientele of insecure people, through their participation in certain , obligatory Christian practices, especially sacraments, which do not necessarily require any personal conviction. This ensures a mass membership (a captive audience), and maximum participation, but with minimum challenge and minimum requirements of church membership (Segundo 1978:34).

Inevitably, in this context, the role of the minister becomes largely a maintenance function, which accords him a great deal of power and status. With the emphasis on sacraments as ‘the private dispensing of spiritual goods; without regard for the community dimension, virtually all ministry is concentrated in the person of the priest. Consequently, with this spiritual monopoly, attitudes of clericalism are virtually unavoidable.

Although in intention, and in much of its practice, the Church in South Africa is moving away from this Christendom model towards a new community model, which emphasizes much more challenge, committed participation, and diversity of ministry as service, nevertheless, on the whole, in pastoral ministry, the Christendom model still predominates. The focus is still largely geared towards accumulating and maintaining mass membership which therefore emphasizes sacraments (in their privatized form), and sees the Church primarily as an institution for the salvation of souls (Fedosa 1985:9). This gives rise to two of the perceived obstacles to unity mentioned above.

4.1.1 Dominating versus serving leadership

This Christendom mentality is very evident amongst many priests who exercise their leadership in a dominant fashion, assuming all responsibility to themselves, or who stifle any new initiatives, thus perpetuating a purely maintenance function for the Church. This practice ïs rooted in a basic insecurity of many priests, who have not been trained to nurture freedom. Without a clear vision for the Church and for their ministry, their operation remains static, and for effectiveness they are forced to rely on their status as priests, rather than on the power of the gospel. It also indicates a lack of understanding of the Christian exercise of power and leadership as service, as spelt out in Mark 10:42-045. All this points to the need for a great deal more circumspection in the recruitment and training of priests.

4.1.2 Hierarchy versus democracy

In similar fashion this Christendom mentality gives rise to the undemocratic and unaccountable behaviour experienced of so many priests. It comes from the medieval era when the Church, following the political thinking and structures of the time, saw monarchy as the most suitable form of government which it applied to itself. Thus, today, when the demand is made for more democracy in the Church, a frequent response is to rule it out because ‘the Church’ is not a democracy - it is hierarchical!The image of hierarchy most people are referring to is a top-down structure like a triangle or a ladder, with the Pope and Bishops at the top, and the laywomen at the bottom.

But is the Church necessarily hierarchical in such a sense? According to the Dutch theologian, Schillebeeckxx, in his illuminating book Ministry (1981), in the early church there was no such thing as a ministry independent of the community . Candidates could only be ordained if they had been put forward by a particular community to be their minister. In fact, the Council of Chalcedon (4,51 AD) explicitly ‘ forbade’absolute ordinations’ i.e. ordinations without being linked to a specific community (Schillebeeckx 1981:39 So, here, the community had a major say in the selection of ministers, who were then approved and ordained by the church leaders through the liturgical laying on of hands. Only later, and especially after the twelfth century, did the calling of the community cease to be a requirement for ordination, for reasons that we will go into later.

The point, then, is that a form of democracy (although they did not call it that) did exist in the early church. By 150 AD, with the growth of the Church, with persecution, and with the development of heresies, the Church had closed ranks around their community leaders, and there was an established’hierarchy' of Bishop, Elder, and Deacon(O’Meara 1983:99). However, the primary focus of these ministries was to ensure the continuity of the teaching of the apostolic tradition, rather than to define specific structures of ministry and the and the names given to ministers (Schillebeeckx 1981:35).

Hence, the evolution of the hierarchy was not a. question of developing a power wielding authority structure, but rather to have a point of unity, for the cohesion and completeness of the community, with the emphasis on service. Each role represented further degrees of ultimate responsibility.

Thus the Church’s hierarchical nature is not necessarily in conflict with democracy. Also, to say that the Church must be democratic is not to deny the importance of apostolic succession, but rather to insist that the people in councils, synods, etc., have a deliberative, and not only a consultative power.

Nevertheless,’hierarchy’ is not a useful word to understand the nature of Church leadership, as it always seems to imply a top-down structure. If we want to convey our understanding of leadership as service, we need to develop a new language and to promote the image,of the Church as a circle with the leaders at the centre (as the Pastoral Plan is suggesting).

4.2 Sacral Notion of Priesthood

A sacral notion of priesthood is one which lays stress on the ontological sacramental character which is imbued with ordination, and with that, the elevation to a new sacred state. This effectively renders the priest, superior to those non-ordained, and hence more worthy of respect. Through officiating at the Eucharist, he is seen to be the mediator between the people and God, and hence, he is one who is holier and worthier.

Now, today, we are not likely to find many people adhering strictly to this notion of priesthood. However, we can detect many traces of it in the negative experiences of ministry we have noted above. It is often this notion that gives rise to an air of all-knowing or infallibility, or to a refusal to be accountable to the people: It isat the heart of clericalism, and is fundamental to the image of the priest as a dispenser of spiritual goods, which is central to the Christendom model of Church as an institution for the salvation of souls. How are we to understand and evaluate this notion of priesthood that has become so ingrained in the consciousness of the Church?

4.2.1 Cult versus Community

This notion of the priesthood only became entrenched in the Church in the twelfth century, at the Third and fourth Lateran Councils (1179 and 1215) when the validity of ordination became independent of the calling and sending by a local community. This implied a complete change in the nature and function of the priest. Schillebeeckx (1981:56-57) attributes this change to the fact that:

At a time when virtually everyone was baptized, the boundary between ‘the spirit of Christ’ and ‘the spirit of the world’ came to lie with the clergy. As a result the priesthood was seen more as ‘a personal state of life’, a’status’; than as a service to the community; it was personalized and privatised .... Only now did ordinatio in fact become a sacred rite; a man is a priest quite apart from a particular ecclesia ( ....what Chalcedon had called an invalid absolute ordination).

Ordination, which was a calling to preside over the church community, now became the bestowal of a special power to be able to perform the consecration in the Eucharist, i.e. priesthood became linked to the cult, not the commuunity. It thus took on more and more of the features of the Old Testament Levitical priesthood, and hence the priest was seen as one who was set apart from the people: Priestly celibacy was the only adequate expression of this essential separation ( Schillebeeckx 198157-59). Hence it was imposed as obligatory for all priests at this time, and, despite the enormous practical problems associated with it, it remains as such a law till today, even though any substantial rationale for it has been eroded.

Furthermore, as ministry became linked to the Eucharist, this effectively excluded women from any leadership in the Church, as, traditionally, feminine impurities restricted women’s role in worship. Of course, the Judeo-Christian religion emerged in cultures with a very strong patriarchal tradition, where male superiority was always regarded as the norm. Even Thomas Aquinas regarded women as ‘misbegotten men' (Johnson 1988: 58-59). While these sexist stereotypes and cultural (community) obstacles are progressively crumbling (in theory at least) in the face of the challenge of the feminist movement, the exclusion of women from Church leadership is doggedly maintained (even in theory), without any plausible theological justification. We must therefore conclude that the cultic conception of leadership and priesthood remains dominant.

Thus Schillebeeckx (1981:98) concludes, and we can concur, that:

‘the hindrances in the case of both priestly celibacy and women in the ministry ....are to be found especially in the ontological and sacerdotalist conception of the ministry in the setting of worship in the Western Latin Church.’

4.2.2 Character of ordination: special power versus unrepeatability

The problem with the sacral notion of priesthood is that the sacramental character conferred with ordination is understood primarily to imply the granting of a special power! However, as Cooke (1976:546) shows, the principal effect of ordination in the ante-Nicene period was to give a man the right and responsibility to perform certain functions for the sake of the community such as preaching, offering the Eucharist, reconciling sinners, and healing.’ Obviously along with this went the power to do such things effectively. However, the essential element in the’sacramental character’, attached to ordination was not the power it conferred, but the unrepeatability of the ordination (Augustine’s s solution to the reordination controversy) (Cooke,1976:546 Thus, the granting of power to the priest through ordination is not meant to imply a new ‘status’or’state of being,’ which elevates him above the community. In any type of community or organization leadership is accompanied by increased powers. And as with all Christian leadership, it is a power only to serve -_to be a minister. The only thing’ special’, then, in the leadership acknowledged in ordination, is that it is permanent and unrepeatable - and in that sense, a character!

4.2.3 Sacred: extra- versus intra-historical

A related problem is the understanding of the word ‘sacred’ that is implied within this sacral understanding. It is usually used to refer to a realm outside of this world. This enables the priest to operate on a separate ‘spiritual’ plane, unrelated to history. However, this simply reinforces the age-old problem of the gap between faith and life, as though we are all living out two histories - the sacred and the secular.We need to develop a new understanding of the sacred, which is able to discover God’s action and glory within the world, and in historical events. The sacramental role of the priest, then, is to help people to celebrate the transforming presence of God at all the different stages of their lives.

5. How to Bring about this Unity?

This brings us back to our initial question: ‘How can ministry be approached and exercised in such a way as to enable the growth of participation of all the People of God’? What must be done to remove the obstacles to the unity of the clergy and the people?

5.1 Sensitivity to different religious needs

The first thing we need to do is to, recognize that different tendencies exist within the Church. Not everyone is wanting to develop the sort of community envisaged in the Pastoral Plan. There remains a strong tendency among people who wish that the Church could still function as it did before Vatican II. They seek a religious awe that has nothing to do with life in community necessarily. Also, it has been the experience of a number of priests who have tried to break out of a sacral notion of priesthood, that this made many of their parishioners very unhappy. Many people like and need the priest to play such a role for them.

This demands a deeper understanding of what people’s real religious needs are, so that we can look for more suitable outlets for their devotion that are not obstacles to building a coresponsible community. However, this is a delicate area, which we need to treat very sensitively, because, as Schillebeeckx (1981:99) says, most Christian communities are not ready for a non-sacral view of priesthood.

5.2 Biblical, Theological and Spiritual Formation

While respecting the devotion of the people, we need to be constantly aware of the need to counter this sacral notion of the priesthood among them, to free them to relate to the priest as a partner. This is obviously a very long-term project, requiring a great deal of biblical, theological and spiritual formation, which should be at the heart of every Church community. Different forms of Small Christian Community are an indispensable part of this process, since in such a community there is a space for people to personally reflect on and confront their faith, and to relate it to their lives. When they are thus contextually soaked in I Scripture, if they have the right guidance, they will hopefully. begin to see that the Christian faith, ministry and priesthood are less about cult, than about community.

5.3 Recruitment and Training of Clergy

The role of the priest in this process is obviously still pivotal. As long as many priests still hold to this sacral notion of their priesthood, they will perpetuate the disunity. A primary stress must be placed on improving the recruitment and training of clergy, so that they are geared towards a ministry of community-building. This requires an approach that goes beyond simply plugging the holes that the shortage of priests has left. Also lay-people need to be drawn in to play a much greater role in this recruitment and training process.

5.4 Removal of Obligatory Clerical Celibacy

As long as the law of Celibacy remains in the context of our modern world, where it increasingly fails to have . positive sign value (for example, in African culture), the shortage of priests is likely to continue. Consequently, many Church.communities will continue to rely on a ‘visiting priest; who can fulfill little more than a cultic function. This inevitably reinforces the peoples sacral notion of priesthood. Also , as demonstrated above (4.2.1) priestly celibacy is a sign of the essential separation of the priest from the people, which places a permanent obstacle in the way of the quest for unity.

Furthermore, obligatory celibacy undermines the sign value that voluntary celibacy in religious life attempts to uphold, since it blurs the distinction between religious life and diocesan priesthood, constituting part of the ‘package deal’ for anyone who wishes to be a priest. The fact that some people actually choose celibacy consequently gets lost, since all (even religious) priests are subject to the’law,’ which is always negative (Latin-rite Catholic priests are not allowed to get married!).

While celibacy has always been integral to the option for religious life it is a dispensable part of priesthood (as demonstrated by other Catholic rites and other Christian denominations). Yet the 1990 Synod of Bishops rejected the attempts to change the law by many Bishops who were concerned about its continuing negative pastoral implications. Reading through reports of the debate at the Synod (The Tablet 6,13,20,27 October; and 3 November 1990), one is struck by the mood of a crusade to defend priestly celibacy in the face of’systematic hostile propaganda,’ without any substantial argument to deal with the pastoral problems posed. It was seen only in terms of the’identity’ of the priest - an ideal of ‘complete self-giving to God for the good of souls. ‘In choosing to see priesthood primarily in terms of this elevated state, without regard for the pastoral implications, the synod effectively, rubber stamped the sacral notion priesthood. However, despite this unwillingness in Rome at the moment to question the law of celibacy, we must not cease to raise it as a priority problem that demands resolution.

5.5 Removal of Sexism

Since women constitute more than 50% of the Church, and are always at the bottom of the’hierarchy; with no access to any official Church leadership position, drastic changes in attitudes to women are required before any unity between clergy and people is possible. Women need to be recognized as equal to men in the sight of God, and repentance for the millennia of oppression of women in the Church is a prerequisite. Affirmative action needs to be taken to promote the role of women beyond the domestic, and to affirm their right to exercise leadership within the Church. It is now almost universally acknowledged that there are no theological reasons for the exclusion of women from any form of ministry. Only cultural norms and prejudices, and male vested interests stand in the way óf their full participation at all levels in the Church.

As mentioned above (4.2.1), the exclusion of women from ministry is also rooted in the sacral notion of ministry, so the problem has to be dealt with at that level too. Nevertheless, education about sexism in behaviour, attitudes, structures and language, and action to remove it, are, primary preconditions for achieving unity in the Church.

5.6 Empowerment of the People

Finally, at the heart of any attempts to create unity between the clergy and the people is the empowerment of the people. Even though it is up to the clergy to take the initiative ‘in closing, the gap, this is only possible if the people claim their baptismal right, and have the confidence to be co-responsible in carrying out the Church’s mission. So a priority is to provide education and training for the people especially at a theological level to remove the monopoly that the priest has in this field. It is also vital to give them responsibility in lay ministries and in all other structures of leadership. Only when structures of accountability are developed is a democratic practice in the Church possible.

The development of Small Christian Communities is a vital component in enabling empowerment, as they create a space where all Church members can take some responsibility. Also the concept of Pastoral Teams needs to be promoted to enable more people to take responsibility for the many different needs within a community.

6. Conclusion:

Ongoing Critical Analysis

The seeds of this new Church are already far-flung, and many sprouts are already to be found all over Southern Africa. There still remain many unconscious attitudes and practices which stand in the way of our achieving the noble vision that we have set ourselves in the Pastoral Plan. Only through an ongoing critical analysis of our Church practice and theology, and through an openness to the Spirit will one be able to break through age-old prejudices and practices, and this new’Community serving Humanity’ will become a reality.

Works Consulted

Connor, BF 1988. Where are we going as Church? - Reflections on the Process of Pastoral Planning. Hilton: Cornerstone.

Cooke, B 1976. Ministry to Word and Sacraments - History and Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress.

Fedosa Justice and Peace Committee 1985. A Guide to Pastoral Planning. Springs: Fedosa J & P Committee.

Johnson, E 1988. Who do you say that I am? - Introducing Contemporary Chrístology. Hilton: Cornerstone.

O’Meara, TF 1983. Theology of Ministry. New York: Paulist.

Pastoral Directive 1990. We are the Church - Pastoral Directive on Coresponsibility in the Church. Pretoria: SACBC.

Pastoral Plan 1989. Community serving Humanity: Pastoral Plan of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa. Pretoria: SACBC.

Schillebeeekx, E 1981. Ministry -A Case for Change. London: SCM.

Segundo, JL 1978. The Hidden Motives of Pastoral Action. Maryknoll: Orbis.

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