Challenge in times of change can give rise to clarity or cause confusion. There is no doubt that the Church is at one of those critical points, where continuing with the status quo is not an option given the turbulence of the world about us; we need to clear the undergrowth a bit.   

Archbishop Emeritus John R. Quinn recently received the Pope John XXIII Award from the Association of US Catholic Priests. The report at NCR online quotes a remark he made last year. Speaking on church reform, Quinn told a packed audience at Stanford University in California -- just hours before the College of Cardinals locked itself inside the Vatican to choose a new pope -- that the church was passing through a historic moment unequaled since the Reformation. That realisation is gradually dawning on many people. He told the AUSCP on receipt of his award that “the Church was poised at a moment of far-reaching consequences” (link)

Questions are being asked that often receive inadequate answers or no answer at all. Such a list was put forward recently to three Irish Bishops by the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland . Details were reported on their website on July 6^th. They are substantial, pertinent questions, asked in good faith for the future of the Church in Ireland . The published letter of response by the bishops, available at the same site, shows two disparate points of view. The full text can be found here                           

 In his recent book on the life of Thomas Merton “Divine Discontent” John Moses quotes from a letter of Merton’s in which he laments of “the absolute need for external control over souls in order to save them”.  

Who has the right (and yes, the responsibility) to question the circumstances in which we find ourselves? The answer to that must be all of us. Our generation is indeed different. Tertiary education for many, the wide availability of books and the open access of the Net have enabled informed opinion to go far beyond those referred to by Merton in the quote above. Not that we should be reckless or naïve in our exchange but our contribution, if carefully prepared, should be considered with sincerity and respect.

 And what are the consequences of following our conscience in asking such questions? Ask some of the suspended Irish priests and they will surely tell you. There is no doubt a price to pay but honesty never came cheap.  

Often it has not been easy for a small group or an individual to speak out when there is urgent need to do so. Personalities, background and life-experience give rise to real differences. Misunderstandings follow and it is rare that there is a totality of right on one side.  

But sometimes there is little choice. For the greater good the question has to be put, the argument developed and reality faced.

Ignorance is no longer an option, a place where we can hide and leave others to confront reality. We have had the gift of Francis and he has given us the opportunity to talk again. He has offered a very different style and substance as Bishop of Rome, a leadership that will be remembered in future years. He has disturbed us where we needed disturbing. He has reminded us that we are indeed pilgrims in a pilgrim church.

 How the Synod on the Family will be managed in October remains to be seen.  We may feel we are between a rock and a hard place on certain issues but let’s look for integrity and openness now, then and in the months that follow.

 END