The crisis in church governance

Thank you for the excellent article by Bruce Russet. (CNT April 10 2005). I agree with much in his article, e.g., his remark that "No one is free of imperfection or self-centredness. Church leaders, like all of us, will sometimes fail."

Many of the faithful have endured the effects of human imperfections in our leaders. With no effective redress, the outcome of these imperfections goes unchecked. Most sins are sins of opportunity, and the absence of redress, checks and balances creates the opportunity for abuse of power. This in itself is not evil.

But the absence of Shared governance with the faithful creates a heady climate in which abuse breeds. Our leaders are good people, but human nonetheless. We, the faithful, are obliged to be obedient, loyal, and supportive, without correlative accountability in return. The abuse we suffer ranges from annoying arrogance at one level, to spiritual damage in extreme cases in which the victim is blamed.

But does the machine need fixing or does it need replacing? Who are we anyway? Are we the peons of the church, or are we the church?

Is the pope the head of the church, or is Jesus Christ? Do we serve the pastor, or do we serve the Parish community? Do we obey the will of God, or do we obey the hierarchy? We have seen much activity in recent years focused primarily on personalities and events. One news medium coined the phrase "pope-idolatry."

It is not so much what we do, but why we do it--to live the Gospel; the "why" has been muddied.

Hence, our focus and direction are unclear. The monarchical model, as depicted correctly by Bruce Russett, needs structural change. Any reform is futile that does not address the need for extensive structural repair and renovation. Extensive repair is required to bring the hierarchy fully back into the church.

Fergus P Egan

Mississauga

COPYRIGHT 2005 Catholic New Times, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group