With the
announcement by Pope Benedict XVI on February 11, 2013 that he will resign as
pope on February 28, 2013, virtually all 1.2 billion Catholics around the world
have or will have thoughts about why, what it means for the Church in the
future and related questions. This Catholic does, and I share some in this
post.
First,
though, I must explain that the thoughts presented here are grounded in the
same philosophy and mindset that we discuss throughout our blogs and at
www.jackhaffey.com, our home page. The mindset that we believe enables organizations
to achieve their highest long term potential is a. outward-focused (focused on
their stakeholder groups), b. long term and c. committed to optimizing the
value they provide to each of their primary stakeholder groups, relative to all
the other groups. This mindset applies to the Roman Catholic Church, and is in
perfect harmony with its mission and its purpose.
So, we share
our own first thoughts here. They are about some of the most pressing and
central questions the Church has been facing. We share them humbly but firmly.
One of our
grandchildren recently asked whether girls can be priests, because he has not
ever seen one. I answered that the Church does not allow girls to become
priests. He quickly responded, “That’s not fair. Lots of girls might want to be
priests and they might be good ones. That isn’t right.” I think the Holy Spirit
smiled at that, approvingly.
These
thoughts below of course address only part of the larger mosaic that constitutes
the mission of the Church here on earth. Yet these few subjects seem to us to
be among the most pivotal on the question of how the Church best creates its
future for all people affected by it. The
1.2 billion current Catholics really are The Church now of course.
This looks and
feels like a millennial fork in the road for the Roman Catholic Church. So, we
offer these first thoughts, knowing blog sites like this one reach only a few
people.
Pope Benedict XVI’s Gift to the Church and the World:
A. The opportunity for the Church to
choose a new pope who will center and re-center the Church on the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ and on the continuing guidance of the Holy Spirit.
1. Conservative and liberal in the
Church must and will become, at best, of secondary importance in Church
decision-making.
2. Of primary importance must be the
clear centerpiece purpose, belief and value system upon which the Church was
founded – and is universally known. That is:
a. Love God above all things.
b. Love your neighbor as yourself.
c. “…and the greatest of these is
love….”
3. So, it is Love and all that goes with
it, not fear and all that goes with it that is the original and forever purpose
of the Church.
B. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are,
I believe, therefore saying and requiring, among other Love-grounded matters,
that:
1. Priests should be able to marry.
2. Women should be co-equally able to become and
be ordained priests.
3. Divorced and remarried Catholics
should and must be declared and considered “fully in communion” (FIC) with the
Church.
4. Gay and Lesbian Catholics should and
must be declared and considered FIC with the Church (whether civilly married or
not – no matter).
5. Prohibition of the use of birth
control and all contraceptives should end.
6. If it is possible that life begins at
conception, and if it is wise to do no harm on existence of life issues, then
this most intimate and important life issue of prohibiting abortion should and
must be retained, except for (1) When indirectly necessary to save the life of
the Mother and (2) Upon full and competent study, perhaps in cases of rape and
incest. These two categories demand full study and recommendations. Like all
the thoughts, this thought is grounded in Love.
7. In general, the Church should be open
to and fully inclusive (not excluding any individual or group) of all who want
to be engaged, participating members of the Church, with love as the single
criterion for Church decision-making on these matters.
8. The role of the Laity in the church
has been reduced over the last 30 years. This non-inclusive, non-participative
message is at odds with the fullness of meaning that accompanies Church
pronouncements that the people are the Church. This trend should be reversed. A
welcoming, inviting, fully engaged culture of Church should increasingly exist.
There are so
many who can speak more knowledgeably about these and related matters. Surely
that robust and respectful dialogue will be held. The Roman Catholic Church, in
its human institutional, organizational, hierarchical culture and authority,
accountability and responsibility existence is, like other institutions and
organizations, subject to the pulls and tugs of liberal and conservative,
orthodox and other political power behavior. This political power institutional
behavior must be set aside in the process of choosing and electing a new pope. Love
is the singular Holy Spirit-guided decision criterion each voting
cardinal must use.
I believe this
millennial moment is a singularly special one happening now as a gift to the
church flowing from Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. It needs to be one that is Holy Spirit-guided
and therefore rises far above these understandable but counter-productive power
struggle tendencies that burden so many institutions over time – including the
Roman Catholic Church.
