Today marks an important anniversary, unfortunately probably unsung and un-commemorated. Fifty years ago, the Pact of the Catacombs was signed by a small group of churchmen, determined to make a difference.
It was the time of the Vatican Council II. It was the closing phase of that momentous experience in the Church’s life – a transforming event about which many still talk about, half a century later.
A handful of bishops – 40 outof an impressive two-thousand-plus contingent meeting in St Peter’s Basilica – decided to assemble in the dead of night inside the Catacombs of Domitilla, outside Rome.
During that eventful night of 16 November 1965, they dreamt of a poor servant Church. In that holy place, beneath the earth’s surface, where many generations of early Christians met to pray and to bury their loved ones, those 40 modern-day bishops met in heartfelt prayer to celebrate the Eucharist. They also signed the Pact of the Catacombs as they committed themselves to the ideals of Vatican II.
The group of like-minded courageous shepherds was led by Archbishop Helder Camara of Recife, Brazil, the revered champion of the downtrodden poor and marginalised. Those gathered made a common pledge to live according to the daily manner of ordinary people, with regard to housing, food, means of transport and such routine needs.
Their evangelical intention was focused on avoiding any sort of vanity
In the Pact, they renounced the appearance and trappings of wealth, especially the use of gaudy vestments, resembling those of earthly monarchs, and symbols of precious metals, insisting that such signs should rather be according to the spirit of the Gospel. They promised to divest themselves of earthly riches and properties, and if they had to possess something they placed it in the name of the diocese or some charitable foundation.
In the humble consoling light of flickering candles, the group renounced all those aspects which appeared to be associated with privilege, prominence and the wealthy echelons of society. In line with this, they expressed their desire not to be addressed verbally or in writing with titles expressing power (such as eminence, excellency, lordship), but rather with the more scriptural and homely title of “Father”. Their evangelical intention was focused on avoiding any sort of vanity.
The signatories, that night at the Domitilla Catacombs, affirmed that “we will give whatever is needed in terms of our time, our reflection, our heart, our means, etc., to the apostolic and pastoral service of workers and labour groups and to those who are economically weak and disadvantaged, without allowing that to detract from the welfare of other persons or groups of the diocese. We will support lay people, religious, deacons and priests whom the Lord calls to evangelise the poor and the workers, by sharing their lives and their labours”.
They committed themselves to promote all initiatives based on justice and charity, insofar that all persons, whoever they are, would be served. It is worth noting that the Pact also bound those who signed it to work hand-in-hand with those in civil authority by encouraging them, to “establish and enforce laws, social structures and institutions that are necessary for justice, equality and the integral, harmonious development of the whole person and of all persons, and thus for the advent of a new social order, worthy of the children of God”.
They pledged that, together with all their brother bishops, they would support the most pressing Church initiatives in developing nations, and to urge international organisations to adopt economic and other structures reducing the chasm between the rich and the poor.
Strongly convinced of the real meaning of pastoral charity, the members of that 40-strong group committed themselves to share their life “with our brothers and sisters in Christ… so that our ministry constitutes a true service… We will seek collaborators in ministry so that we can be animators according to the Spirit rather than dominators according to the world; we will try to make ourselves as humanly present and welcoming as possible; and we will show ourselves tobe open to all, no matter what their beliefs”.
I am sure that had Jorge Mario Bergoglio been present at Domitilla’s Catacombs – he could not be, as he was not even a priest, back in 1965 – he would have agreed with all the above. In the way he speaks and acts, Pope Francis, like many others before him, puts into practice the substance of the Pact of the Catacombs.
Fr Hector Scerri is deputy dean, Faculty of Theology, University of Malta.