Monsignor Mario Grech, Bishop of Gozo, has a track record of making prophetic statements of all sorts. He makes his statements in the “city”, which unfortunately sometimes looks more like a spiritual desert. It is unfortunate that the media very often ignores them. They should at least be published for their news value! However, one need not wonder, as this was frequently the lot of the prophets. As Pope Benedict recently told the Australian clergy, “Certainly there are times when every faithful disciple will feel the heat and the burden of the day (cf. Mt 20:12), and the struggle of bearing prophetic witness before a world which can appear deaf to the demands of God’s word.”
On 6 July, Bishop Grech started his homily in the small village of Gharb by addressing a big problem. It was the feast of the Visitation of Mary to Elisabeth. Essentially, he was addressing the priorities of his diocese, but these priorities are relevant to both our dioceses.
True to the Gospel’s pedagogy, he started his homily with a story. There was once a Synod of the Orthodox Church. The participants – bishops and presbyters – could not conclude the Synod because they could not arrive at an agreement on which colours their clothing should have and which hats they were to use during liturgical functions. In the meantime, someone rushed in, telling the Bishops and the presbyters that while they were making such an issue of senseless stuff, “out there” a revolution had broken out, which they did not even notice!
Then came Mgr Grech’s punch line: “I am convinced that we can apply this story to us today. We are living at a time when we are still discussing and creating conflicts about ecclesiastical titles (read “honours”) and while we are wasting time which should be applied to pastoral ministry, a revolution is taking place. We have great responsibility in front of God as regards the response which we as a Church are going to give to God and fellow human beings”. Straight and clear words for those “who have ears let them hear”!
The same thing can be said about parochialisms, issues of precedence, festa-partiti, temple decorations, and so on. It is a fact that these types of squabbles took place even in apostolic times: “it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that they are put here to defend the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.” (Phil: 1).
Paul’s position is made clear in Philippians 2: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
It is a pity that a few weeks after the Bishop Grech’s statement a priest was assaulted in the sacristy of St George’s Basilica in the presence of the bishop, who has obviously publicly deplored the incident.
The futility of the behaviour, which Mgr Grech deplores, brings to mind a dialogue in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons. The scene is Thomas More’s trial. As Richard Rich leaves the witness stand, there is the following short but persuasive exchange:
“MORE: I have one question to ask the witness. That’s a chain of office you are wearing. May I see it? The Red Dragon. What’s this?
CROMWELL: Sir Richard is appointed Attorney-General for Wales.
MORE (looking into Rich’s face): For Wales? Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world… But for Wales!” and may I add… but for “my/our” parish, “my/our” title, “my/our” right!
The demands of the Gospel make all forms of parochialism, clerical careerism and ecclesiastical “honours” appear so petty. The exponential increase in the number of younger clergy seeking a post at the Roman Curia and other Roman ecclesiastical institutions, and the distribution of ecclesiastical “honours”, have no negligible sociological and spiritual significance, and they clamour for an explanation!
When people and institutions that are supposed to live by and proclaim the tenets of Gospel speak of “rights” and “precedence”, then there is something spiritually lame. I do not think that it is a moot point that Christ insisted that “if someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him also the other. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.” Any minister of Christ who behaves contrary to this teaching of the Lord has misunderstood or not yet understood the essence of Christian ministry. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).
The essence of the Lord’s salvific ministry lies in his “kenosis” and Paul exhorts us: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”. Christ “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!”
Unless we change, we will be like the Pharisees who sat in judgement against Jesus, who warned his people “… do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach”.
Exercising his Episcopal responsibility, Bishop Grech warns us that “out there” (that is, outside the temple and the clerical world) a great cultural revolution is taking place! “I am not quite sure whether in the Church we are conscious of the wind of change that is blowing in our society”. Then, he spells out this cultural revolution in greater detail. His clarion call for action includes an irresistible mandate.
Last August, Cardinal Cláudio Hummes in a letter to priests wrote, “The Church knows that it cannot remain inert or limit itself to receiving and evangelising those who are seeking the faith in its churches and communities. It is also necessary to rise up and go to where people and families dwell, live and work... We must go to everyone: companies, organisations, institutions and different fields of human society. In this mission, all members of the ecclesial community are called: pastors, religious and laity.”
Hanging on to traditions handed down to us (Mark 7:13) – especially when these counter the dictates of the Gospel – is a short cut to ministerial, religious and spiritual bankruptcy.
Father Inguanez is executive director of DISCERN