Continuing from the December issue on the Synod (which is about becoming a mutually listening and caring family of God) we listen to three more church members as they share their experience and views of the church, and their suggestions for becoming what we should be. We start with an educated layman.
- “Church” for me means:
- The magisterium
- The hierarchy – Cardinals, Bishops, Priests
- The religious orders, including nuns
- Churches (Buildings), Catholic institutions – schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the old and infirm, etc.
- Catholic faithful
Desirable: The Kingdom of God as described in Revelations – Triune God, Mother Mary, saints, angels and the faithful in heaven and on earth.
- My Experiences of Church:
A loving family of faith led by Christ-like leaders?
Yes, in the context of the Pope and teaching of the Church.
No, when it is dominated by pomp and majesty, huge edifices, outdated honorifics used for Cardinals (His Eminence), Archbishops (His Grace) and Bishops (Lordship). Even secular society has done away with most of these. The honorific for the Pope is just a plain ‘Holy Father’!
The hierarchy gives one the impression of pomp and ceremony. The emphasis appears to be on the upkeep of the monuments and church edifices; the spectacular rather than the mundane.
That explains why Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity were much appreciated as true examples of Christ’s teaching and vision of His church. But it was an exception, rather than the norm.
LARRY D’sOUZA
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