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MICHAELJ BAYLY...
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Authentic Catholicism...  Cliff Baxter is indisposed at the moment and has taken a coupleof week's break. As a fill-in for Cliff's commentary today I came acrossthis excellent argument last night by blogger, Michael J Bayly. I emailedMichael immediately but have not yet heard back from him so I'm takinga risk here re-publishing this blog without having yet obtained his OK. Pope convenes the Council of Istanbul! First task: the eradication of clericalism and the building ofan authentically "catholic" community of spiritual seekers! Yes, I know, these are headlines that are yet to appear. But, ever theoptimist, I remain hopeful, and here's why... Pope Benedict XVI has concluded his historic visit to Istanbul,the cultural heart of Turkey, and I must say I was somewhat envious. Thebeautiful and ancient city of Istanbul, situated midway between East andWest, is a place I've long desired to visit.* Interestingly, Loreena McKennit's latestalbum, released here in Australia just prior to the Pope's visit toIstanbul, contains a number of songs inspired by the singer/songwriter'sown visits to various Turkish locales - including Istanbul, Gordion, Ephesus,and Cappodocia. In the liner notes for one of these songs, "The Gates of Istanbul",McKinnett notes that the reign of MehmedII (1432-1481) was "a time of creative renaissance as well asreligious tolerance, when people were invited to repopulate the city nowknown as Istanbul, bringing with them their hopes and aspirations". Time for the Council of Istanbul As Benedict XVI breathed the air and walked the ancient streets of Istanbul,my hope is that he was similarly moved and inspired to usher in a "renaissance"within the Catholic Church — a new era marked by creativity, tolerance,and the inclusion of the experiences and insights, hopes and aspirationsof all. Just as Mehmed II revitalized Istanbul, may Benedict XVI facilitate arenewal within Catholicism. This "renewal" could be initiatedby the Pope's convening of a truly ecumenical council — perhaps inIstanbul! On various levels I envision this council being attended by representativesfrom the entire human race. After all, we are all infused by and thuspart of that ultimately mysterious and unbound reality of the sacred.The understanding of the Mystical Body of Christ can be seen as one waythat Catholics have grappled with this wondrous awareness of the sacred'spervasive presence within and beyond humanity and creation. Accordingly, the Council of Istanbul would be attended not just by Catholics,and not just by Christians; not just by bishops, and not just by men;not just by heterosexuals, and not just by celibates. Rather, all wouldbe included in discerning the calling of God's spirit in our world today. Does this sound like a logistical nightmare? Well, then let us utilizethe wonders of the internet and other forms of contemporary communicationstechnology for this ecumenical council centered in Istanbul. Creativity,after all, is one of the values this council would be dedicated to fostering! One of no doubt many issues that would need to be rigorously and honestlyaddressed by the Council of Istanbul would be clericalism - an obviousobstacle for any hoped for renaissance within the Church.
For as theologian DiarmuidÓ Murchú notes in his book, Rediscovering Spirituality(Gill and Macmillan, 1997): "The Catholic Church universally consistsof 1.1 billion members, 99 per cent of whom are lay people of non-clericalstatus. Yet anywhere and everywhere [the] church is both defined and activatedprimarily according to the rules and expectations of its governing clericalbody. Ultimately, whether in the North, South or Far East, it is clericalismthat runs and controls the Catholic Church." Yet what exactly is clericalism? And why is its control of the CatholicChurch such a bad thing?
In his book, Between the Rock and a Hard Place: Being Catholic Today(ABC Books, 2004), theologian Paul Collins provides an insightful analysisof the meaning and historical development of the Catholic Church's celibateclerical system. It's a system, writes Collins, "which has developeda kind of moral immunity over the centuries. While it existed before thetime of Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085), it was he who imposed celibacy universallyon the clergy of the Western Catholic Church, and the development of adistinct clerical caste can be roughly dated back to then. Over the centuries,clerics have gradually gained a kind of extraterritoriality by which someof them see themselves as exempt from the usual constraints that governhuman behavior." "What happens", says Collins, himself a former priest,"is that everyone who works in the system, no matter how generous,saintly, and virtuous they are, has to struggle to avoid being inexorablycaught up in a clericalism that misuses power and that is essentiallydeceitful and corrupt." Collins is quick to point out that he doesn't believe that priests themselvesare necessarily corrupt. Many, he notes, are "men of considerableintegrity". Nevertheless, "they work in a diseased systemand it is very difficult for them to avoid the consequences of clericalism." Ó Murchú offers a similar analysis, observing that, "Innateto clericalism is a patriarchal, subconscious driving force which is muchmore about power in the name of religion, rather than about service inthe name of spirituality."
Like Ó Murchú, Collins, and the vast majority of Catholics,I "don't belong . . . in the closed world of clerical domination".I concur whole-heartedly with Ó Murchú when he declares:"I am weary of power games, ritualism, moralism, and all the emptyrhetoric" of clericalism, and am much more interested in "egalitarianism,vulnerability, prophetic contestation, engaging with the God of flesh,the God of passion, the God of real personal, interpersonal, and earthlyincarnation". The shift from clericalism to authentic Catholicism, and thus to a "renaissance"based on the compassion and radical (and thus subversive) inclusivenessof Jesus, won't, of course, be achieved by a single church council —even if it is the one in Istanbul I envision. But such a council wouldbe a start, and Benedict XVI could make it happen. Until he does, rest assured that a significant number of non-clericalCatholics will continue doing what they've always done: embodied a catholicityof life; a way of being unfettered by trappings of imperial power; a waydedicated to seeking, discerning, and celebrating the presence of Godin the lives and relationships of all. It's a "way" exemplified by Jesus, who, Ó Murchúreminds us, "proffered a counter-cultural view: a new world order,marked by right relationship of justice, love, peace, and liberation". It's also a "way" that increasing numbers of Catholics arerecognizing is simply not being embodied by the "official" CatholicChurch, burdened as it is by clericalism. For the sake of all of us, but especially those mired in the corruptingmire of clericalism, the Council of Istanbul can't come soon enough. So now, if our hearts be true *One of my favorite films is Ferzan Ozpetek's Hamam:The Turkish Bath (1997), which is set in Istanbul. For my theologicalreflections on this film, click here.
What are your thoughts on Michael's suggestion? Michael can be contracted through his blogsite TheWild Read. |
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MICHAELJ BAYLY has a blogsite called The Wild Read which he describes asfollows: "I planted and continue to nurture The Wild Reed as asign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrationand wholeness – though, in particular, with gay people seeking tobe true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith.The Wild Reed simply invites people to observe, reflect upon, and perhapsrespond to one man’s progressive, gay, Catholic perspective on faith,sexuality, politics, and culture."