A missed opportunity: recent papal liturgies in Canada

 
Religion  LaCroix
August 16, 2022
A missed opportunity: recent papal liturgies in Canada
A liturgist explains how, despite liturgical inculturation in the Canadian Church, no attempt was made to give a voice to the First Nations during the eucharist celebrated by the pope
A missed opportunity: recent papal liturgies in Canada

As a liturgist with a particular interest in inculturation I was curious to see how the Canadian Church included First Nations peoples in the two major liturgies presided over by Pope Francis during his recent pilgrimage of penance.

Canada has a National Indigenous Parish, the Sacred Heart Parish of the First Peoples in Edmonton, one of the venues for Pope Francis' visit. The church building was recently refurbished after a fire.

I watched the papal reception, and was struck especially by the throat singing and steady beat of the drum to welcome the pope.

While other cultural aspects were evident, a fuller illustration of the First Nation's rich liturgical involvement at Sacred Heart – its environment, the wonderful tepee that covers the ambo and altar – both also beautiful pieces of art in wood; and their liturgical inculturation is evident in a short video entitled Re-dedication of Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples - Pope Francis in Canada (papalvisit.ca).

Clearly liturgical inculturation is experienced and celebrated in the Canadian Church.

With this in mind I watched the two livestreamed liturgies – the first a Mass in the open-air Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton that seats 65,000, and the other, a Eucharist of Reconciliation at the Shrine of St Anne de Beaupré in Quebec.

First Nations peoples had assembled, in large numbers, distinguishable by their unique dress, with chiefs in their elaborate feather headdresses and women wearing ribbon skirts.

As the popemobile entered the stadium to the sound of drums and the welcome song of Canadian First Peoples and the cheers of Canadians, I was transported back in time, more than two decades ago, when another pope – now St John Paul II, entered the Randwick racecourse in Sydney, Australia, to beatify (now) St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

As the official co-ordinator of the papal liturgies in Sydney, I, together with my team, spent many hours in consultation with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. While we met with the local group, they in turn were in contact with others around the country.

A Gumbaynggirr man, Aden Ridgeway, at the time a government senator, was chosen to greet the pope, which he did in his first language.

Immediately after the welcome, the procession to the altar began, consisting of women religious leaders and bishops as well as servers – women and men.

All were 'smoked' by a Sydney elder.

Meanwhile more than a hundred indigenous peoples – representatives of every diocese in Australia – moved through the huge assembly of more than 100,000 smoking the people assembled and the place to offer cleansing, as they and their forebears have done in their own traditional ceremonies for tens of thousands of years.

Before the Sydney celebration, I was asked to take the ceremonies to Rome for discussion and approval.

Pope Francis during Mass at the 'Commonwealth Stadium', in Edmonton, Canada, 26 July 2022. (Photo by ANSA EPA-EFE/Vatican Media / MaxPPP)

A number of priests and myself sat with Archbishop Piero Marini, the then papal master of ceremonies.

Over the two days I learnt many things from this great liturgist, but one is indelibly seared into my brain: "If we wanted Roman liturgies, we would celebrate them here in Rome. How are you preparing liturgies that reflect the nature and circumstances of your own church?"

So back to Edmonton. My first observation was that there seemed nothing in the décor of the altar area that identified or spoke to me of First Nation communities – no artwork or liturgical furniture design, nor anything that depicted the deep indigenous connection to nature.

Perhaps this would be rectified in the eucharist with a traditional indigenous ceremony that speaks of reconciliation? Indigenous music and the drum accompanied by processional dance? A variety of native languages in the prayers?

Surely some or all of these would be included in the liturgy, especially where First Nations are the focus of Pope Francis' visit.

When all was ready, the assembly was told to prepare for Mass, clearly defining that the liturgy had yet to begin. The drums and indigenous voices were merely a prelude.

A choir led the singing – perhaps including First Nations peoples but not obviously. The hymns chosen could have been sung in any Western English-speaking setting. The entrance procession of altar servers – all men – and clergy were in Roman vestments.

As a non-indigenous Australian I would have felt totally familiar with this celebration, but I had looked forward to being enriched by First Nation spirituality.

Sadly, beyond the First Nations participants in the assembly, there was nothing uniquely or even remotely indigenous in the ceremony, except one lector and psalmist (both using English).

No attempt was made to give a voice, an opportunity, to acknowledge their rich tradition of ceremony, or even a face to First Nations.

They were simply invisible in a celebration that could have been at home in St Peter's Square! Indeed, a curious addition to the Mass was the Eucharistic Prayer prayed entirely in Latin.

Pope Francis during Mass at the National Shrine ofSainte-Anne-de-Beaupre, Canada, 28 July 2022. (Photo by EPA-EFE/VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT /MaxPPP)

Hardly it would seem, showing sensitivity to those with long and painful memories of the Latin Mass at residential schools.

And yet Pope Francis came from Rome on pilgrimage, especially to bring about reconciliation with First Nations peoples, in reparation for the harm and destruction caused by the church with regard to residential schools.

Just a little more than two years ago, Pope Francis issued a response to the Synod of Amazonia.

In this document he said: "We can take up into the liturgy many elements proper to the experience of indigenous peoples in their contact with nature, and respect native forms of expression in song, dance, rituals, gestures and symbols." (QA 82)

Clearly Pope Francis' words were not heeded when this Mass was prepared.

I can only add my voice to that of Father Daryold Corbiere Winkler, a M'Chigeeng priest who lamented: "For this indigenous person and priest this Mass was a missed opportunity of the celebration of indigenous spiritual ways."

How powerful and enriching this could have been! What a missed opportunity, not just for First Nation peoples in Canada, but indigenous people in Australia also, so many of whom were forcibly stolen from their families in an effort at assimilation that continues to have disastrous consequences to this day.

Today there is a growing consciousness in civil society in Australia that whenever a significant event is celebrated, the program begins with an acknowledgement of the First Nation peoples on whose land the ceremony occurs.

In consultation with traditional local elders, some form of ancient ritual, whether a smoking ceremony or water blessing, is often part of the celebration. A ceremonial dance accompanied by native instruments, the didgeridoo, or clapsticks, and of course singing, usually in local language, might also be included.

I suspect that this acknowledgement and deliberate inclusion of First Peoples is major events is also the practice in Canadian society, and as already been seen – is at least in some places, practiced in the local Canadian church.

Society rightly includes the richness of our First Peoples in formal ceremonies, and this was evident on many occasions during Pope Francis' visit to Canada. So why didn't this richness also flow into the church's liturgy, which we say is the "source and summit" of our Christian lives?

Why did the Vatican officials and Canadian local organisers see no need – except for one hymn during the Reconciliation Mass at the Shrine – to honour First Nation spirituality in the two liturgies celebrated?

Pope Francis was probably as disappointed with the liturgies as I was.

Pope Francis receives a war bonnet during a meeting with Indigenous people for a silent prayer at the Maskacis cemetery, Canada, 25 July 2022. (Photo by CIRO FUSCO/EPA/MAXPPP)

Why did the organisers ignore Pope Francis' clear call to "take up into the liturgy many elements proper to the experience of indigenous peoples"?

Is this simply a missed opportunity or is something deeper happening here?

I am reminded of the disappearance of the Pashamama statues – sacred to the native peoples of the Amazon – into the Tiber River during their Synod in Rome.

While many of us were horrified by this action, other Catholics rejoiced, and even lauded the event, giving hero status to those responsible. Pope Francis was moved to apologise to the Amazonian peoples, acknowledging the hurt they felt.

Most early missionaries who brought Christ to the "new" world made it clear that all that had gone before was "pagan". Their ancient traditions and ceremonies, regardless of whether compatible with Christian values or not, had to be disregarded and the church's sacramental and liturgical life embraced.

Is this colonial attitude continuing to shape our liturgical practice? In his Amazonian statement Pope Francis declared: "The Second Vatican Council called for this effort to inculturate the liturgy among indigenous peoples; over fifty years have passed and we still have far to go along these lines." (QA 82)

It seems to me that we will never truly reconcile with our First Peoples until we include them in all areas of life, and in particular our liturgical celebrations – our official work as Christians.

After all, their rich spirituality expressed in thousands of years of cultural ceremony, story, song, ritual, symbol, as the Pope reminds us, can but enliven our liturgies and invite from us a fuller participation in our identity and union with our First Peoples.

A missed opportunity indeed!

Carmel Pilcher, an Australian Sister of St Joseph who recently taught liturgy to First Nations' seminarians at the Pacific Regional Seminary in Fiji and who works in the area of liturgical inculturation.
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