A Miracle of Change
Three books caught our attention over recent months.  One is What Happened At Vatican II by John W. O’Malley, SJ (Belknap-Harvard Press, 2008).  Beginning with what O’Malley calls “the long nineteenth century,” the book reveals what a departure the Second Vatican Council was from all that went before – a shift in both tone and content.  Three issues emerged that are still present in the Catholic Church today. One was “the circumstances under which change in the Church is appropriate and the arguments with which it can be justified.” (p. 8)  Change happened at the beginning of the first session (1962) as the bishops debated the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.  The outcome was a shift from Latin to the vernacular in the Mass, a result that affected every church-going Catholic throughout the world.  A second issue was how authority is distributed between the papacy and the rest of the Church.  A long-fought battle erupted around collegiality and the relationship between the Pope and local bishops.  It’s still being debated.  The third dealt with the style according to which authority should be exercised, whether by mandate or through dialogue.  At a critical juncture near the end of the first session, Cardinal Suenen’s, Archbishop of Brussels, called for a new and distinctive mode of speaking and behaving.  “In calling for dialogue with the modern world,” O’Malley writes, “the speech clearly distanced itself from the berating of the modern world characteristic of the long nineteenth century.” (p. 159)  A new era had dawned, but not without much politicking, intrigue and maneuvering.  This book takes the reader through these struggles, especially the conflicts between the traditional leanings of the minority and the progressive desires of the majority that reflected Pope John XXIII’s call for aggiornamento.  This clear and practical look at the recent past of the Church gives added perspective to the struggles of the present.

Keeping Dialogue Alive
The second book is Archbishop Rembert Weakland’s A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church (Eerdmans Press, 2009).  It tells the story of one person’s journey immediately following Vatican II up to the present.  As with O’Malley’s book, it provides insight into the inner-workings of the papacy, the Roman Curia and the American Church.  “Here, then,” Weakland writes, “are some convictions I arrived at during my first years as a bishop after meditating on Vatican Council II’s documents about the Church and how it should function, keeping in mind the need for consultation.” (p. 252).  He goes on to list three convictions:  1) No single group – hierarchy, religious or laity – has a monopoly on the Spirit’s gifts.  2) Everyone has a contribution to make in building up God’s Kingdom.  3) The direction of the Church “must be re-created, re-discerned as the pilgrims move along and encounter new problems and challenges, experience new joys and sorrows.”  He goes on to state, “If all the baptized are full members of the Church and have received gifts from the undivided Spirit, then that Spirit working in them must be consulted.” (p. 253).

Becoming Present in the World
The final book also emphasizes dialogue and consultation.  Presence by Peter Senge, C.Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers (Currency-Doubleday, 2004) suggests a movement toward planned change that includes “sensing,” “presencing” and “realizing”.  Sensing means “not imposing pre-established frameworks” but observing deeply “until ultimately you become ‘one with the situation.’” (p. 88).  “Presencing” means spending time in silence to allow inner knowing to emerge.  The authors explain, “We chose the term ‘presencing’ to describe this state because it is about becoming totally present . . . to what is emerging through us.” (p. 91)  “Realizing” is putting the discernment into action.  “The magic comes from the capacity to sense something new and act . . .in accordance with what that felt knowledge dictates.”

Tom Sweetser, SJ & Peg Bishop, OSF
www.pepparish.org
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Parish Newsletter - November, 2009
A Service of the Parish Evaluation Project
Milwaukee, Wisconsin