My year of hope and joy

Being told by your editor that you are going to write a year-long series on a subject you know little about is a daunting prospect, and hardly a cause for joy.

“Vatican II? What do I know about Vatican II?” I thought when I was first assigned my part in the Hope&Joy series, which concluded last week.

I instantly pictured myself trudging through archives armed with an English-Latin dictionary, sitting at a desk surrounded by mounds of documentation, prematurely greying from trying to understand the ins and outs of the most profound gathering of the world’s bishops some 50 years ago.

But the trepidation of the unknown – and concerns of needing to invest in hair dye – were short-lived.

The work, in theory, would prove quite simple once I realised that the Catholic world around us is the direct product of Vatican II. My entire life has been in a Church that was the direct result of that council, so I was actually proficient on the topic without even realising it.

Quickly my apprehension turned to enthusiasm as it became clear the series would look at important themes in our lives as Catholics today, and discuss why our Church is a place of both hope and of joy. It would do so on 25 themes.

Best of all, while research was done – and lots of it – the voices of the series would be from those on the ground: Southern Africa’s Church. And of course Anthony Egan SJ, my co-pilot in the series, would handle the real nitty gritty of the year-long project, presumably without graying prematurely.

A total of 122 people were interviewed, from 27 dioceses in South Africa and Swaziland. I interviewed bishops, priests, religious sisters and brothers from all corners of the country, all of whom contributed to my ever-expanding knowledge and appreciation of the local Church.

But the most profound contribution was by the laity of our Church. More than half the interviews conducted were with everyday Catholics. From school children to nurses, economists to ecologists, academics and housewives – the series stands as a representation of who we are: the Church as the People of God, as Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium put it.

Finding these people was a challenge. The 888-page Catholic Directory is filled with all those closely associated with the Church, but I also wanted to give a voice to those who are unknown but still very much a part of the Church.

Once found, these people were quick to share their stories. They could have been stories of disease, economic downturn, tumultuous governing, unemployment and general social issues that remind us the world is not a happy place. But their stories, while at times nit cheerful, each had a positive side. From the interviews I conducted, it was clear that the Church and her projects are abundant with hope and joy. The very objective of Vatican II, a concept I had mistakenly regarded as complicated, was present in countless ways all across the country.

This discovery was quite awesome and a reason to be proud of the faith we follow. The Hope&Joy series ended up reaffirming my confidence, enthusiasm and respect for the Church. Even more inspiring is the fact that the examples that were covered represented a mere fraction of what is actually happening on the ground in South Africa today. The series could easily continue indefinitely – and in The Southern Cross’s regular coverage of the Church, in many ways it will.

Sure, the Church is not perfect. We’re reminded of it all too often. But if you occasionally cast aside the negativity that overshadows what is happening every day in the Church, you realise that this is a Church that changes lives.

And 50 years ago when Vatican II took place, the world witnessed the start of a revolution. It was a revolution of change and of hope and of joy – one that I have had the pleasure of learning and writing about over the past year.