Priesthood--John Churchman

The culture of clericalism

has been solidly entrenched in the Catholic Church

ever since it took center stage in the Roman Empire.

It is a by-product of the model of Church,

which sees itself as self-sufficient,

superior to and separate from the outside world.

Its security, reputation and internal relationships

are the center of attention.

The Church in this model

isthe Church of the ordained

at the expense of the baptized.

As a result, the ordained became an exalted and elitist club

that protects the interests and privileges its members.

This explains the deceit and cover-up,

which is so endemic to this club mentality.

It is a far cry from the model of the Humble Servant

that Jesus exemplified

and this celibate clerical club provides the ideal condition

for the disease of clericalism to fester.

We must jettison the clericalist model of Church

with its byproduct of the exclusive clerical club.

It has lived beyond its use by date.

The Church as understood and articulated by the Second Vatican Council

sees itself as a pilgrim People of God,

incarnate in the world.

It is a new paradigm,

one that is based on mutuality, not exclusion,

love, not fear,

service, not clericalism,

engagement with the world,

not flight from or hostility against it,

incarnate grace, not dualism.

The time has come to embrace and implement

unambiguously and decisively

the vision of the pilgrim Church,

that the Second Vatican Council entrusted to us.

The time has come for the Church

to be truly the Church of the baptized

and together with the ordained,

all the People of God can create a new culture of humility,

accountability and service.

The model of the Church based on clericalism

has run its course.

Insofar as it is deeply embedded in patriarchal and monarchical structures,

it is incapable of helping us

to meet the needs of the world

and culture in which we live.

We have long moved out of the age of absolute monarchs.

We are on this side of the secular state and the rise of democracy.

The deeply entrenched

patriarchal and monarchical structures of the Church

have failed to correspond with our lived experience.

Adding women into the archaic structures that need fundamental reforms may be likened to pouring new wine into old wineskins.

For the Church to flourish,

it is crucial that we come to terms with the flaws of clericalism

and move beyond its patriarchal and monarchical matrix.

We need to find fresh ways of being Church

and fresh ways of ministry and service

for both men and women disciples.

The separated, exalted and elitist priesthood,

which is a byproduct of the ecclesiology

that emphasizes the perfection of the Church

must be consigned to the past.

This kind of priesthood has been mystified

by a notion that a priest has exclusive and privileged access

to the divine.

This religious elevation is suspect and unreal

to say the least in the light of the clerical sexual abuse crisis.

In fact, such an image of a priest

has become discredited and shattered.

There is no going back

to the self-enclosed, elevated and exalted clerical world.

We can be certain that the pieces of the old exalted and elitist priesthood cannot be put back together.

The myth of the mysterious, heroic, uncontaminated, unblemished

men in black

has imploded.

Instead of doctoring the image

and reviving the mythology and mystique of the priesthood of yesterday,

we can accept that what has been destroyed is irretrievable.

Perhaps the end of the old world

could lead to a new era

and the current crisis offers the priesthood a chance to free itself

from the manacle of clericalism.

The priest is not a lone and exalted figure

exclusively chosen and gifted with something,

which most people do not have.

Rather, the priest is the presence

in whom the implicit priesthood of the baptised

is called to become explicit and active.

In this way,

we learn to discover a deeper and more holistic identity

as members of the People of God

and as presbyters

in the sense of going in front leading people

but not hermetically sealed from them.

We must rediscover the specific and full charism of the priesthood

within the matrix of the universal priesthood of the faithful.

The priesthood cannot be lived fully apart

from the community of disciples.

This is one of the key insights of the Vatican Council.

The Church is not the Church of the ordained

but of all the baptized.

There existed a variety of ministries in the early Church.

Paul bears witness to this

when he lists a number of gifts or charisms

that Christ gave to the Church for the building up of His body.

Yet over the centuries,

this richness has been gradually concentrated in the ordained

at the expense of the baptized.

In effect, the priesthood of the ordained

has assumed and usurped

the rich and varied ministries of the baptized.

It is time, therefore, that the notion of priesthood

needs to break open anew

so as to fully honor what Paul says,

everyone is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

If we are to break open the priesthood

and allow the ministries of the baptized to flourish,

we need to revisit the clerical and patriarchal culture

along with its many institutional dynamics

such as titles, privileges, customs, structures etc.

The institutional dynamics

that breed clerical superiority, elitism and power

over against the non-ordained,

stifle rather than facilitate the outpouring of grace

through the whole body of Christ.

The priesthood on a pedestal

is the priesthood dehumanised.

It is bound to lead us into the illusion of a messiah complex

and an inability to claim our wounded humanity

and to minister in partnership.

What we need to do is to humanize the priesthood

so as best to equip ourselves with relational power

for authentic Gospel living and service.

Like the wedding feast of Cana,

the wine of old has served the Church

but it is running out.

The old way of being a priest has, likewise, served the Church we love.

But that model of the exalted, separated and elitist priesthood

is drawing its last breaths

in many parts of the world.

There is a better wine that the good Lord has prepared for us.

The new wine of God's unconditional love,

boundless mercy,

radical inclusivity and equality

needs to be poured into new wineskins

of humility, mutuality, compassion and powerlessness.

The old wineskins

of triumphalism, authoritarianism and supremacy,

abetted by clerical power, superiority, and rigidity,

are breaking.

When Jesus sent out his disciples on a mission

to announce the Good News,

he sent them not as lone rangers but in pairs.

What I derive from that practice of his

is that Christians can only minister effectively

when they recognise their limits as individual

and are open to partnership with others.

Priests particularly must learn to minister in relationship with one another and with their community.
Yet, ironically, the whole clerical culture

is often geared towards individual heroism

and even Messiah complex.

If the priesthood has a better future,

it has to be humanized;

it has to find expression

in better mutual support, collaboration and partnership.

It has to free itself from the variant strains of clericalism

such as sexism, narcissism and paternalism.

While ordained for service,

the priest remains not apart from

but a part of

the faithful

in need of support, ministry and community.

Though he preaches,

he listens with open heart to the preaching of others.

Though he blesses, he also bows his head to receive the blessings of others.
Though he leads with a leadership of service,

he must be willing to be led by others.

Though he ministers,

he also recognises the ministerial charisms in others

and works with them in collaborative ministry

for the good of the community.

Maintaining the healthy tension of this dialectic

is a key to the priesthood oriented to mutuality and partnership.

It seems to me that the Church cannot have a better future

if it persists in the old paradigm

of triumphalism, self-reference and male supremacy.

So long as we continue to exclude women

from the Church' governance structures,

decision making processes

and institutional functions,

we deprive ourselves of the richness of our full humanity.

So long as we continue to make women

invisible and inferior

in the Church's language, liturgy, theology and law,

we impoverish ourselves

as if we heard with only one ear,

we saw with only one eye

and we thought with only one half of the brain,

often the lowest reptilian section thereof.

Until we have truly incorporated the gift of women

and the feminine dimension of our Christian faith,

we will not be able to fully energize the Church.

Love, John

John Churchman