007 :
04 Apr 2013

Discerning Pope Francis' understanding of priesthood from his Chrism Mass homily... A consistent topic of conversation on Catholica over the last six years has been questions of the nature, the reform and possibly even the need for the sort of priesthood that most of us have been familiar with. Perhaps the member of our community who has spent at least half a lifetime in serious academic study of the scriptural and theological foundations of priesthood has been Dr John N Collins. Dr Collins in recent days was attracted to the homily Pope Francis delivered at St Peter's on Holy Thursday for the Chrism Mass as it might provide some insights into the new pope's thinking on what role the priest plays in society today. Dr Collins comes to the conclusion that people seeking reform of the priesthood are likely to be disappointed if they expect any significant change in the fundamental outlook Pope Francis is likely to offer regarding the role of priests. [more]

007 :
04 Apr 2013

"What is the meaning of Christian ministry today?" Our lead commentary today comes from Dr John N Collins. He actually wrote it and submitted it the day after Pope Francis gave his inauguration homily on 19th March but it got lost in the email difficulties we had in the changeover to our new server. Dr Collins was away over Easter and we only received the commentary yesterday. Despite the passage of time since Pope Francis delivered his homily, this commentary might provide insight into some of the paradigmatic mindframe – the mindset – from which the new Pope sees the world, and his role in it. Quite apart from that though Dr Collins shares with us some fascinating knowledge learned from his 40-year study in seeking to understand the meaning in Jesus' words in Mark 10:45: 'the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many'; and Matthew 25:44: 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'. What is the meaning of Christian ministry today? You might be surprised, and educated a little, by the insights Dr Collins gives into how this concept of service – diakonia in Greek – has been translated down through recent centuries in the principal translations of the Bible into English and how it has been interpreted by theologians in the different Christian traditions. [more]

006 :
08 Mar 2013

"A medieval morality tale about being a churchman" The recent humiliating resignation of the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland for Dr John N Collins recalled the story behind the murder of a previous Archbishop of that Diocese, one David Beaton in 1546. Dr Collins went rummaging through his library and brings to our attention today some relevant quotes from a book by John A. Duke, published in 1937 titled, the History of the Church of Scotland to the Reformation. Dr Collins enjoins us not to read this as a morality tale specifically applying to the recent Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, but a morality tale both for all priests and for all non-priests who claim membership of the Church today (and, by implication, any age in history). [more]

005 :
19 Feb 2013

A papal agenda to get Catholicism back on the pathway of Jesus... As regular readers of Catholica would be aware Dr John N Collins' has devoted much of his life to a study of the nature of priesthood, and how it evolved. In the course of approaching him yesterday to do a review for us of Garry Wills' new book, "Why Priest? A Failed Tradition", Dr Collins sent me this reflection he originally wrote in 1992. While tonque in cheek to some extent many readers might also appreciate it as a serious analysis of where things have gone so wrong with the Church and some of the things that might be contemplated by a new pope and the leadership of the Church to put the institution back onto the pathway blazed by Jesus and his earliest followers. As they say when presenting a delightful piece of music, art or writing: ENJOY! [more]

004 :
03 Oct 2012

What is the role of the priest? Part 2 This powerful conclusion to Dr John N Collins' essay examines the Vatican II impulse to reach back to the insights of St Paul in discerning the role of the priest in the modern world. This paper was recently presented at a workshop in Melbourne marking the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. [more]

003 :
02 Oct 2012

What is the role of the priest? Part 1 An ongoing topic of conversation on Catholica has been the role of the priest in the religious community. Even without the more recent clerical abuse scandal, the drift away from participation can probably be read as an indication that the trust in priests, or their role, has been under question in educated societies for quite some time. It is a pleasure today to add a more scholarly examination about how the role of priests has been interpreted and changed down through the centuries. This extended essay by Dr John N Collins was recently presented at a workshop in Melbourne marking the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. [more]

002 :
10 Mar 2012

Book Review: "Goodbye Father" by Richard A. Schoenherr Dr John N Collins has been following Tom McMahon's series of commentaries on two models of priesthood with much interest — and has contributed some of his own thoughts in our forum. He was particularly interested on Wednesday last [LINK] when Tom mentioned a book by Richard A. Schoenherr Goodbye Father: The Celibate Male Priesthood and the Future of the Catholic Church. Dr Collins has himself been a contributor to discussions on the nature of priesthood at an international level and has written two books on the early history of the priesthood in the Church. Dr Collins had written this review back in 2002 around the time Richard Schoenherr's book was published but this is the first time it has been published. While acknowledging the valuable perspectives modern disciplines such as psychology and sociology bring to our understanding of the nature of priesthood, Dr Collins argues we also need to remember the theological dimension. [more]

00` :
15 Oct 2008

House Churches and their Ministers… The recent commentaries by Francis Brown and Dr Charles Kelliher on the "house churches" of early Christianity have generated significant discussion. Today, another scholar who has an enduring interest in the subject, Dr John N Collins, contributes some further background information. Dr Collins raises, without answering, the interesting question of what sort of formation the ministers to "house churches" might need? He argues that small communities need leaders and the chief responsibility of the leader is "to proclaim in the name of the Body of Christ the central mystery of faith: his death and resurrection". [more]