December 2,
2012 David
Timbs
The
Worldly Logic of Power
Jesus
was quite clear in his instructions to the Twelve as he sent them, two by two,
into the villages and country areas to preach the good news and to exercise the
ministry of healing. They were to travel light, be dependent and give freely as
they had been given without cost Matthew’s account is very restrictive in all
of this. He stresses in particular the need for the Twelve to manifest in their
behaviour the generosity of God and a spirit of dependence on providence,
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.
You received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver,
nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals,
nor a staff; for the labourer deserves his food” (Mt 10: 7b-10). Mark reflects
a more liberal attitude in clothing; he allows a staff to be carried and sandals
to be worn (Mk 6: 8- 9)!
These
expectations were reinforced during the early post biblical period. They are
quite explicit in the Teaching of the Apostles (Didache 11). Simplicity of life, behaviour and message, the
acceptance of hospitality and the foregoing of pretence and ostentation are key,
recognisable characteristics of Jesus’ followers. These qualities of
discipleship in the Jesus Movement
were set fast in the Tradition and apply to every age. They manifest the central
gifts of Baptism common to all Christians: discipleship of Jesus and
service. There are no greater gifts than these in God’s rule or Kingdom.
Against these charismata all other gifts, offices and ministries must be regarded
as derivative.
In
his homily to the College of Cardinals the day after the six new-comers were
added to the number of electors, Benedict had this to say,
“To
be disciples of Jesus, then, means not letting ourselves be allured by the
worldly logic of power, but bringing into the world the light of truth and
God’s love.
To
you, dear and venerable brother Cardinals – I think in particular of those
created yesterday – is entrusted this demanding responsibility: to bear
witness to the Kingdom of God and his will over the interests of the world and
its power. Become imitators of Jesus, who before Pilate, in the humiliating
scene depicted by the Gospel, manifested his glory: that of loving to the
utmost, giving his own life for those whom he loves. This is the revelation of
the Kingdom of Jesus.” [1]
In
reality, what is the Pope challenging the Cardinals to strive for which is not
already the common baptismal vocation of all Christians? Are there levels of
discipleship and service which would create distinctions, comparisons and
degrees of grace and importance?
The
Pope’s words raise more questions than answers to questions which might be
addressed. From the perspective of
both popular Catholic and secular perception, a chasm continues to open up
between official rhetoric and reality, between what people actually see and
experience and the official interpretation of that reality. There are mixed
messages and conflicts of meanings in what the Pope had to say to the Cardinals.
Constantine’s
elevation of bishops to a privileged
class, followed by the further entrenchment of the clerical elite by Gregory
VII, created an almost unbridgeable ecclesial gulf between the leaders and the laity. And that distance has grown not shrunk,
despite the reforms and restructuring of the Church by Vatican II fifty years
ago.
The
‘worldly logic of power’ Benedict warns against has its own inbuilt
rationale which understandably promotes a ‘command and control’ mentality
and an institutional pecking order founded on elitism, hierarchical privilege
and justified by appeal to the divinely inspired institution of Church
structure. It has promoted a culture of superiority which is contrary to the
spirit of the Gospel and the foundational nature of the People of God. The
stumbling block is still there and it is no wonder the Pope is concerned. But he
can do something more profound than simply warn against it.
From
the Constantinian era, Church leadership structures have been compromised by the ethos of the Byzantine Imperial court.
The sacralisation of clerical dignity, protected by a culture of honour and
shame, has led to a disastrous and almost terminal breakdown in relationships
within the Christian community. This cannot be justified or preserved either by
the habitual practice of Jesus or his Gospel. It is of human making. Urgent
changes can and must be put in place if the Church is to grow and flourish in
the likeness of Christ.
Cardinals
are primarily advisors to the Pope but their office has been transformed over
time into an amalgamation of the roles of Roman Senators and the Praetorian
Guard. As the institution of a monarchical papacy has developed, so too has the
office of its trusted counsel. As both the office and person of the Pope have
taken on the aura of holiness, so too have his court and courtiers become
sacralised by their proximate association. The closer these courtiers are to the
Pope, the more their garments and demeanour have taken on the symbolism of
ostentation and clerical privilege. The whole phenomenon presents to the modern
mind a spectacular anachronism. Those who inhabit this sterile subculture appear
to be little more than a circle of ornate Byzantine elites. [2]
A
major problem with this is that a vast number of these Cardinal protectors and
electors are not and never have been in normal pastoral ministry either as a
priest or bishop. They are bureaucrats with little or no personal knowledge or
experience of dealing with what for the most is reality in the Catholic world.
The self-interested Roman Curia must be demystified and dismantled as a matter
of urgent priority. It has survived as a sterile pretend church within the Church for too long. It needs to be curated in a
museum as a constant reminder to the People of God of what happens when people
confuse institutional power and privilege with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It
is now time for radical systemic reform at the highest ecclesial levels of
Church governance. Ecclesiastical structures and offices must be de-clericalised
and open to laity without restriction. This must mean the inclusion of laity as
deliberative voters in the election of the Pope not as a privilege but as a
baptismal right.
A
possible realisable pathway for radical systemic change might well be the
establishment of permanent national and local Synods which would include the
election of bishops. It can be done because it has been done. It is only a
matter of changing Canon Law.
[1]
Some of what Pope Benedict said to the six new Cardinals on November 24, here.
He said very similar things to the twenty-two new Cardinals in mid
February, 2012; See here.
[2]
This is an estimate of how much it costs for a Cardinal’s new wardrobe
befitting a Prince of the Church, look
here.
For a cost assessment of Traditional liturgical vestments for Cardinal Raymond
Burke, click here.
David
Timbs writes from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.