Does the Church cling too tightly to its own power structures?

by Letters Editor · May 16, 2013

I was favourably impressed by your account in the May 1 issue of the pastoral letter issued by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences in Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

The challenges the document poses to the states and political institutions of the continent are timely and pertinent, and it is good to see the Church bearing witness and challenging the world in which we live and struggle.

>I could not help, however, asking myself if the Church is willing or able to submit its own structures to the same criteria.

The document states: “It is important therefore to move away from the omniscient and omnipotent state towards a state that seeks to facilitate the public space in favour of positive interactions of its citizens, so that there would be only one society for all.”

I find it difficult to square this challenge with my experience of a Church which seems to cling so tightly to its own omniscience and omnipotence and circumscribes the public space of its citizens to the extent that it forbids their discussion of matters of significant importance to the life of the Church, such as married clergy, the place of women in the ministry, and so on.

Its response to such discussions is invariably one of silencing and excluding those who speak.

And what of its pastoral response to its already many citizens who find themselves excluded, such as divorced and remarried people, practising homosexuals, and so on? The Church’s view of the family of God seems to be: “You are welcome to sit at table with us but, sorry, you may not eat.”

Will the hierarchies of Africa lead the way in saying: “We do not have all the answers so let’s struggle together till we find them, drawing strength from the sacramental life to strengthen and enrich us”?

Such action would lend credence to its political challenges and be a powerful force for the edification of the African and the universal Church. Updated from 2013