A RE-ENERGIZED CATHOLIC CHURCH REQUIRES THE EFFORTS OF LEADERSHIP
AND MEMBERSHIP
by Sr. Brenda Walsh, Racine Dominican
As we welcome and celebrate
the election of our new leader, Pope Francis, in the Catholic
Church, we pray that he will be guided by the Holy Spirit in his
very important role of leading the one billion Catholics worldwide
who are commissioned to carry on the mission of Jesus.
Before the election, many
expressed their hopes clearly and directly. They want a leader who
will take the mission of Jesus given to the early members, to preach
the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We are to study that mission
and bring the Good News of the Gospel to all people and cultures of
our time. To fulfill this mission, leaders and members must be led
and nurtured by the Holy Spirit. This calls us to remove all that
hinders the work of the Spirit in our midst, issues like prejudice,
power and control, lack of connectedness to the vital issues of our
world today, lack of understanding and contact with people of other
cultures who are a growing part of the membership at this time.
Dealing effectively with the scandal of clergy sex abuse must be
effectively addressed. The gifts of all church members, male and
female, and people of all ages, should be recognized, developed and
used for the creation of strong faith communities.
We start out by leading people to
study Scripture, do faith sharing, and use contemplation. Pastors
and other leaders will be trained in good preaching and leadership
practices. The Church cannot successfully transform culture without
first transforming itself. Gandhi once said; “We must be the change
that we want to see happen” Children and families are to be well
prepared in faith formation and for living their faith wherever they
will be. Leaders also must be in touch with the issues individuals
and families are struggling with today. Deep listening to the needs
of individuals, families and society is an important requirement of
leadership today. We are hopeful that our new pope will effectively
accomplish these goals.
The Church membership must also be
dedicated to working for justice and peace and creating a culture of
non-violence in both public and private life. It is important to be
aware of the issues that affect people’s lives and deprive them of
the means to live a full and meaningful human life. Members also
are encouraged to know their political leaders and be ready to speak
truth to power and engage them in restoring compassion, justice, and
peace to a broken and bleeding world. People could gather in small
groups and explore ways to address these issues as part of living
their faith.
There is a growing effort to meet
the needs of parishes where there is a great shortage of priests and
spiritual nourishment for the members. The gifts of women should be
recognized and used to fill this need. There are many ways to
involve and train youth to name and use their gifts in meaningful
ways to help people in need. Welcoming people of other cultures is
also very important. We can learn from their ways of expressing
their faith, and help them put their faith into practice wherever
they are.
All of us must practice civil
discourse as a tool for healing and understanding each other in both
public and private life. We all called to reflect and ask ourselves
“How do we individually and as a community need to be transformed to
reflect the face of Jesus? Name some of the things we can do as
members and leaders of the Catholic Church to reach out effectively
to the ends of the earth, so that God’s purposes will be fulfilled
through us. How can we restore hope in the Catholic Church? The
choice is ours. Let us begin today with courage, conviction and
hope. With God’s unfailing help we can accomplish our mission. No
effort is too small to make a difference.
