Dear Friends

As you know Pope Francis recently made an official visit to Canada.

Most State visits are designed to encourage the Faithful and build relations with governments, however this one had another special purpose: to address the past harm done by the Church’s residential school system in Canada. Francis referred to it as a penitential pilgrimage, which was given the official title of Walking Together. During the visit he met with government officials, Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors. He offered his profound apology and asked for forgiveness.

He also made some notable speeches. They were a medium for him to re-state his key themes, especially from his most recent Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. He emphasised the common sisterhood and brotherhood of all; irrespective of differences in nationality, language and culture. He stressed the importance of encounter, and of attentive listening and respectful dialogue. He reminded that forgiveness can’t be demanded, but only accepted when offered.

More important than talking about these matters, is what he did. In his actions he witnessed to listening, dialogue, encounter and seeking forgiveness. In many ways his gestures and actions were the message he wanted to deliver. For example, when he met with survivors and former students of the residential schools, he sat among them in a row of chairs in the shape of a circle. He came as an equal to listen and share their pain.

I’d like to focus on one speech he gave during his visit. It was to priests, religious and Church workers and delivered in Quebec’s Notre Dame Cathedral. Canada and Australia obviously have much in common. One experience the Church shares in both places is rapid secularisation and declining participation, and another is the devastating impact of abuse.

The topic of this particular speech was secularisation. The Pope encouraged those present to take a “discerning view” of secularisation, rather than a purely “negative one”. He described the latter approach as one where people feel under attack and think of faith as a kind of “armour” against the world. The world is seen as evil and sinful, and by contrast, the Church as the bastion of truth, goodness and purity. This approach can lead to a “crusading spirit”. He stated simply that this is the wrong approach because, quoting the Gospel of John, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). The Creator has a positive view of the world. “We are called” he said “to instead, have a view similar to that of God, who discerns what is good and persistently seeks it, sees it and nurtures it. This is no naïve view, but a view that discerns reality”. He was inviting us to consider our world not as a threat but as one with which we need to engage and where we need to take an honest, questioning approach to trends and developments, and to build on the good.

He went on to say: “God does not want us to be slaves, but sons and daughters; he does not want to make decisions for us, or oppress us with a sacred power, exercised in a world governed by religious laws. No! He created us to be free, and he asks us to be mature and responsible persons in life and in society”. The days of the Church exercising control over people’s lives is of the past, thankfully. Church power and control has not been of the Spirit; the evidence abounds.

“…the real issue of secularisation, for us Christians, should not be the diminished social relevance of the Church or the loss of material wealth and privileges. Rather, secularisation demands that we reflect on the changes in society that have influenced the way in which people think about and organise their lives”. He then addressed the heart of the matter: If we do this we will realise that “what is in crisis is not the faith, but some of the forms and ways in which we present it”.

Francis believes that secularisation represents, first and foremost, a challenge for our imagination. Quoting from the renowned Canadian theologian Charles Taylor, he said this period offers “an occasion for restructuring the spiritual life in new forms and for new ways of existing”. This means we need to look for fresh ways of communicating the joy of faith. It will involve developing new language and forms of expression, changing pastoral priorities and focusing on the essentials of the faith, not the superfluous or outdated. Essentially the Pope is calling us to be creative, embrace the new and search for ways to proclaim the ‘joy of the Gospel’ today.

Finally, he outlined three key challenges for Church communities. Let me paraphrase:

1. Make Jesus Known: We must find new ways to proclaim the heart of the Gospel. This calls for a pastoral creativity capable of reaching people where they are, not waiting for them to come to us. We need to find opportunities for listening, dialogue and encounter.

2. Witness: We must be credible …The Gospel is preached effectively when life itself reveals the “freedom that sets others free, the compassion that asks for nothing in return, the mercy that silently speaks of Christ”. We need witnesses of Faith; real, human, good and faithful.

3. Communion (Brotherhood and sisterhood): The Church will be a credible witness to the Gospel the more its members embody communion, create opportunities and situations that enable all those who approach the faith to encounter a welcoming community, one capable of listening, entering into dialogue and promoting quality relationships.

Every community, school, Diocese, Parish, Religious Community, even family, would benefit from reflecting on these challenges. How are they best achieved today?

Like so much of what he writes and says, these words of Pope Francis are refreshing. He honestly identifies the situation the Church faces, suggests we embrace the world in love not condemnation, recommends we are discerning, and proposes we use our God given capacities to imagine and then create the new. With God we are co-creators of the world and the Church – both of which will flourish with imagination, care and love.

Peter