A very devout and zealous Maltese was, a few years back, addressing a meeting of the Charismatic Movement in Rome. The person in question felt inspired to enlighten the gathering by boldly declaring that we have to evangelise even from the rooftops. He could not understand why the polite clapping was overwhelmed with suppressed laughter. A friend later explained that rooftops are tetti and he should not have changed the final ‘i’ into an ‘e’!

I do not believe in a Church which does a lot of pussy-footing to please the secular strains within society- Fr Joe Borg

Recently Malta’s parish priests had a live-in seminar where evangelisation, I believe of the ‘rooftop’ type, was studied. I was invited to speak about the parish priest as the evangeliser of the so-called imbegħdin. A literal translation would be ‘those who are distanced or estranged from the Church’.

It has become fashionable in the Church to talk about l-imbegħdin. Those so described are then compared to the ‘good’ Catholics.

Both are defined from the perspective and exigency of the institution. Within this approach, the Church is compared to a club. It sets its rules which the members are expected to comply with. Those who don’t obey become l-imbegħdin.

Truth be said, the ecclesiological and pastoral infrastructure underpinning such talk troubles me. The comparison of the Church to a club is unfortunate. This is perhaps the poorest image that one can conjure for the Church. A club is a juridical entity. The New Testament comparisons of the Church to a ‘vine’ or a ‘human body’ show the Church to be mainly a living organism always evolving according to the historical context surrounding her.

For a number of reasons inspired by, among others, research about social identity theories, I propose that the starting point for a definition of who is a Catholic (or l-imbegħdin) should be the person not the institution. Within this approach Catholics are those who feel themselves Catholic whatever their motivation, even if they are just cultural motivations. I would consider as l-imbegħdin only those who so label themselves. Was it not Isaiah who wrote about taking care of weak rods and dim lanterns?

I really do not like the trend that considers the Church to be a club, particularly one of the committed élite. In the Church of Christ there is a place for all. John Henry Newman, the Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism and was later elevated to the cardinalate, compared the Catholic Church to a river where a little lamb can quench its thirst and an enormous elephant swims at leisure. The cultural Catholics (whom many would classify as a sort of imbegħdin) are like the lambs; the committed élites are like the elephants. A contrary approach would endanger the building of an exclusive not inclusive church.

The club analogy tends to forget that pluralism, a sense of adaptation and of ecclesial development is part of the DNA of being Catholic. Throughout the ages many were estranged or even condemned not because they were in the wrong but because the institution forgot its pluralistic DNA and became exclusive instead of inclusive. Aquinas was condemned by the Bishop of Paris and did not suffer worse fate thanks to the defence of Albert the Great.

The good work of Matteo Ricci and the Jesuits in China was stifled by the rigidity of other religious orders who managed to get Rome on their side. The damage done was irreparable. Theologians that were suspect before Vatican Council II became the architects of the Council. Need I give more examples?

The institutional approach to labelling a good Catholic or an estranged one can lead to a dangerous dichotomy; the ‘ta’ ġewwa, ġewwa; ta’ barra, barra’ syndrome. The good are on the inside, while the bad or the suspect are on the outside.

Let me take the divorce referendum campaign as an example. I actively campaigned against the introduction of divorce as proposed. But I never subscribed to the dichotomy that considered those in favour of divorce as against the family and those against divorce as pro-family. Being pro- or anti-family is not a one item issue. Families are much more complex than that.

The issues that face the Church in the 21st century are both novel and complex. I do not claim that I have a solution. I am humbly making a proposal. Our pastoral strategy cannot be a simplistic one. It has to respect this complex reality and react creatively to it.

I am not advocating a Church that dilutes its beliefs. This should not be on. I am advocating a strategy that clarifies the hierarchy of importance within these beliefs and the adoption of an incremental pastoral approach to communicate them.

I do not believe in a Church which does a lot of pussy-footing to please the secular strains within society. I am for a Church that speaks clearly on issues. Archbishop Gerhard Müller, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a very good comment about the current run-up to Italian elections.

He said that some politicians want the Catholic Church to ‘talk about love, charity and mercy of God’, but not insist that the truths it preaches be upheld.

However, the Church has to do this while respecting the legitimate autonomy of politics which is the art of the possible; and while being cognisant of the fact that stating principles is one thing, while putting then in concrete social policies and legislative projects in a pluralistic society is another.

The Church should also be as vociferous on matters of social morality and justice as it is vociferous on matters of sexual morality. Rooting for social justice is as, if not more, important than advocating against the introduction of same-sex marriages.

The Church needs carefully planned pastoral strategies than can communicate God’s love to contemporary human beings. Sometimes the Church has a tendency to think of herself as a satellite that orbits the earth, cut off from the daily struggles of humankind.

This results in knee-jerk reactions, moral panic or pious intentions akin to the introductory anecdote. The Church is not of the world but as the Second Vatican Council said, it is firmly rooted in the world.

Its pastoral strategies should reflect this reality.

joseph.borg@um.edu.mt