In recent weeks Pope Francis has visited Luxembourg and Belgium, primarily celebrating the 600 years of Christian scholarly influence of the University of Leuven. In so many ways this university reflects the impact of Catholic scholarship across Western Europe over the centuries and the place that the monastic tradition and later, in medieval times, the university, provided a heartland for serious study, exploration and debate.

I wondered what would be the Pope’s message in a Europe that, while culturally Catholic, exhibits the signs of increasing diminishment in the public space and in its practice. Would he look to the past in a revivalistic tenure to restore the Christianity of past ages or would his message be something else? I was heartened to hear again and again in his formal addresses in the public arena and to the university faculty his call to encounter the current milieu and to ask questions of what it is revealing to the Christian of today. His very action to attend such a remarkable milestone of Church influence over 600 years in Leuven was in itself a message of encounter. In many ways he was continuing his most recent message of encounter to the margins in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. Very different as they are in their own faith expressions to
Europe, Francis was making the journey to the margins where Christianity is no longer the centre of influence in Europe.

What then can be said about the impact of Christianity in places where its influence has diminished and continues to do so? Indeed, we experience this in our own country where Christianity is fast becoming a minority, even a diaspora! Is there a place for the Christian in the secularised culture of today? In his encounter, sometimes off the beaten track, of visiting an aged care facility and a place where children live with their disability or calling into a breakfast for the homeless, Francis made his message clear : it is right here in such places that Christianity finds its true meaning. How pleasing it was to see the dominant presence of Religious sisters in these settings living out the Christian message for our times. Their expression was not in word but in presence – being with and amongst those on the peripheries of a society that can become so self-absorbed in a consumerist culture. Here in such places the Religious women and men give expression to their faith in their own compassionate encounter with ‘the other’ who becomes sister and brother to them.

In his recent work The Afternoon of Christianity : The Courage to Change, Tomáš Halík reflects that “ traditional religious institutions have lost their monopoly on religion.” What then is the place of a religious institute today?

“The fruitfulness of the reform and the future vibrancy of the Church depend on a reconnection with the deep spiritual and existential dimension of faith.” (Preface). Tomáš urges us “even at this time of weariness and frustration, we need to give Christianity another try. Trying does not mean doing the same thing over and over again, including repeating past mistakes. It means going deeper, waiting attentively and being ready to act” (Chapter1). Indeed, this was captured in a gathering of young people at Leuven University with Pope Francis. In this setting hard questions were asked about the future of the planet and the place of Church and society in addressing our ailing Earth. Abuse of power was forefront as was the exclusion of women in participating in Church authority. There was no side stepping the issues that impact on our world and culture today. This encounter required deep listening to the heart ache of the young people. No answers came easily.

As members of Religious Institutes this too is our daily mantra to keep exploring, keep encountering those who are outside of our tent and inviting them in to give expression to our common search for meaning. May we be heartened by the efforts of Pope Francis to do just that by widening our tent!

Br Gerard Brady CFC,

President, Catholic Religious Australia.