Culture, conviction and compensation

The Pastoral Letter of our Bishops which was read in Churches during last weekend's masses addressed a very important topic, but .... Yes there is a "but", I will write about it further on. For now, let us concentrate on the importance of the topic.

The Bishops challenged us to reflect on the quality of our Christian life. The quotation from Pope Benedict, which the Bishops used to bolster their position, states that we have to move away from a culture-based-Christianity towards a Christianity-by-personal-choice. Both our bishops have, in the recent past, emphasized the importance of this transition.

The Pope's quote speaks against the privatization of religion. We have a place and a voice in the public sphere. He clearly stated that even when Christians are in a minority they should propose their values to the rest of society. This socio-cultural (besides evangelizing) role does not reduce Christianity to a cultural phenomenon. Benedict clearly states "that we are not identical with culture and with the nation". On the other hand, we are not foreign to them though we cannot depend on cultural support.

The Bishops stress this in their pastoral letter.

"The Church can do without the cultural and political support as she has an inner spiritual power. The Church must continually look to purify itself from all that is just an external support to that which is the strength in the conviction of the Faith and of the Holy Spirit. These are strong moments of rising up when who gives his part in the Church will have no support of social privileges and so will feel the need to entrust himself or herself in the hands of God."

The Pope and the Bishops take this argument further when they speak of the need of "a Christianity of personal decision" and a "Christianity of conviction" over the culture bound version of Christianity.

The theme of the Pastoral Letter is a core theme of the evangelizing mission of the Church. It is the backbone of its strategy faced by a society which is being secularized. This is a matter of life or death for the Christian community.

But there is a "but"!

Now we come to the "but". The message is essential but was its medium (i.e. a pastoral letter read out in churches) appropriate and effective?

I asked several people what the Pastoral Letter was about. Most said that it was about child abuse by priests; others told me it was about divorce. One concerned individual asked me: What is the decision that the Bishops are speaking about?

I doubt the effectively of the medium for the diffusion of a message such as that one espoused by this weekend's Pastoral Letter. The idea is too complex; the space available to explain it too brief; the audience too varied; the reading skills of several not always top notch; and the comprehension ability and receptivity of many in the audience too limited.

For the communication of such complex messages one needs a holistic strategy of which a Pastoral Letter can be part, albeit a small part. Does such a holistic strategy exist?

Pastoral solicitude vs. legal arguments

There was another problem. The Pastoral Letter referred to the cases of abuse of minors by priests as one of the "big realities that make our choice more difficult for a deeper faith in the Lord and for a greater commitment to build up the Church on the teachings of Jesus". But are the style and content of the treatment given to this "big reality" in this Pastoral Letter similar to the style and content of the statement about this problem recently released by the Church?

In my opinion one jars with the other.

The Bishops are right to point out the problems that these incidents of abuse have caused. The Pope himself, on his way to Germany, admitted that there were people who left the Church because of these abuses.

The Bishops wrote:

"There will be persons who take a decision to stay away from, or leave, the Church. We should not judge them. The love of God the Father towards each person, whoever one may be, does not let us judge but only love, and love as God the Father sent His Son to show us the Truth in Love which is the essence of our Faith."

This paragraph from the Pastoral Letter is written by a pastoral heart brimming with love.

On the other hand, on reading the September statement of the Church on the abuse of minors, I felt a legalistic mentality and attitude. This surprised me a lot as our Bishops' attitudes and mentalities are very pastoral. Could it have been that the recent negative shenanigans adopted by some of the abused victims panicked the Church and let the lawyers take the upper hand? In the Church, there is a place for lawyers, but it should be a very minor one; a necessary EVIL.

The Maltese Church had been treating the problem with great compassion. All of a sudden we give the impression that tack will be changed. Compassion drives us to give the maximum; while the law hugs the minimum that cannot be avoided. We should move away from the duties imposed on us by the law to put into practice what we are exhorted to do by compassion.

The statement showed the Church's willingness to move in this direction. At its tail end, and not at its starting point, we are informed that Church authorities "are taking the necessary steps for the setting up, of their own funds, a structure which will include psychiatric, psychological and social professionals who will provide all the necessary help in their respective field. This applies for every individual who, in any way, is proved to be a victim by individual pastoral functionaries. The Church is doing this as part of her pastoral and spiritual ministry."

Well done, but unfortunately the impact of this positive and praiseworthy proposal was cushioned by the general legalistic tone of the statement and also by the vagueness of the idea. The problem had been with us for so long that there was enough time to think of and launch a concrete project. This has not happened; worse still, fifteen days later we are still waiting for the details.

It is a pity that the enormous amount of goodness that ooze from the Church at all levels is, sometimes, undermined by knee-jerk reactions led by fear, poor strategies and lack of communication skills.

The Pastoral Letter of the Bishops can be accessed from: http://maltadiocese.org/lang/en/news/pastoral-letter-the-quality-of-christian-lifeittra-pastorali-il-kwalita-tal-hajja-nisranija/