Although in a 1950 speech Pius XII made the short but strong statement that “something would be lacking in [the Church’s] life if she had no public opinion. Both pastors of souls and lay people would be to blame for this”, few pastors and lay people have contributed to or dared to create a public opinion in the Church. Due to lack of space I will not elaborate about the almost total silence that followed.
However, besides lack of public opinion in the Church, there was another huge pastoral problem related to it – the lack of co-responsibility and participation at all levels of the Church. In 1958, Yves Congar, OP, wrote that in the Church “what affects everyone should be treated and approved by everyone”. In same vein, Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens wrote that co-responsibility is the central idea of Vatican II. Unfortunately, however, what followed was much lip service and minimal practical changes as regards co-responsibility at all levels of the Church. Recent scandals and failures speak loudly about this vacuum.
No wonder then, that when in the early days of his pontificate, St John XXIII exhorted the Church, to “throw open the windows of the Church and let the fresh air of the Spirit blow through” many in the Church leapt with excitement. They considered these words to be a clarion call introducing the Church and the world spirit of the Second Vatican Council.
In Vatican II documents the issue co-responsibility and participation appear under different concepts grounded in solid tradition, namely the “sense” of believers, sensus fidei (LG12), “sensus Ecclesiae” (DV23), sensus apostolicus and sensus catholicus (AA25, 30), sensus Christi et Ecclesiae and sensus communionis cum Ecclesia (AG19), sensus christianus fidelium, and, christianus sensus (G&S52, 62). More recently Curial language started using the concept of “synod” as an event, and “synodality” as praxis, as a substitute to the concepts of “co-responsibility and participation”. But praxis is more important than rubrics!
The 2014 document published by the International Theological Commission on the “Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church” states that “the whole Church, laity and hierarchy together, bears responsibility for and mediates in history the revelation…”. Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium (par. 27) affirms that this is “entrusted to the Church… the entire holy people, united to its pastors”.
The Theological Commission reminds us also that “the council clearly taught that the faithful are not merely passive recipients of what the hierarchy teaches and theologians explain; rather, they are living and active subjects within the Church… it underscored the vital role played by all believers in the articulation and development of the faith”.
If one is to believe Pope Francis’s demand that the Church must be a listening Church, one is justified to look at the flip side. The danger lies that there might be a lot of hearing and too little listening. If listening is not turned into praxis, the Church will continue to lose credibility among its members and in the world. The antipode to this is honest, transparent and effective dialogue. Otherwise we will see those who feel ostracised, and the majority of those are on the margins, disenchantedly repeating Dante’s “non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa” .
Fr Joe Inguanez, Sociologist, national chaplain, Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara