Open Dialogue in Church

by Editor · February 18, 2015

Almost two years into the papacy of Pope Francis, it has become clear that this pontiff thrives on hearing different opinions in the Church.

Pope Francis gestures as he talks with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. A two-day meeting focusing on reform of the Roman Curia was being held before the pope creates 20 new cardinals. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Where Popes St John Paul II and Benedict XVI sought consensus, even if it had to be enforced, Francis has made it clear that he wants to hear the range of positions held within the Church, by the bishops but also by the clergy and even the laity.

Of course, these views must adhere to the teachings of the Church. Pope Francis is interested not in changing doctrines, but in how to best apply them in the Church�s mission of leading people to God and his promise of salvation. This requires open, sincere and transparent dialogue that is characterised by respect and charity of mind.

The pope planted an important pointer in that direction during the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family in October. He invited lay people to address the synod, and to his bishops he said: �A cardinal wrote to me saying that it was a pity that some cardinals did not have the courage to say certain things out of respect for the pope, thinking perhaps the pope thought different. This is not good.�

Opposition to pastoral positions ascribed to the pope is permissible. Pope Francis� predecessors also had their loyal critics in high places. One may think of Cardinals K�nig of Vienna, Hume of Westminster, Quinn of San Francisco or Danneels of Brussels�and, indeed, our Archbishop Denis Hurley.

Pope Francis might well regard sycophancy as a disloyal value. The pope has made it clear that he seeks a spirit of collegiality: the principle, affirmed by the Second Vatican Council, that bishops share the responsibility for the governance and pastoral care of the Church with the pope.

There are times, however, when criticism, from whichever side, needs to be tempered and carefully expressed.

For example, some comments by US Cardinal Raymond Burke can be applied to create partisanship and hostility within the Church. This month he told a French TV interviewer that he �will resist� Pope Francis if the pontiff were to change doctrines (which the pope is not proposing to do), adding that the Catholic Church is facing �a difficult time� that is �painful� and �worrisome�.

In an interview in November, Cardinal Burke said that �there is a strong feeling that the Church is a ship without a rudder� and that �[i]t seems to many that the Church�s ship has lost its compass�.

Whether he intended it or not, such remarks feed a perception of the Catholic Church being in a situation of chaos and doctrinal crisis.

Commentators who feel that Cardinal Burke represents them, especially in the US, have pushed this narrative. In doing so they may well be seen as adopting a regrettable political strategy which in the past quarter century has served to polarise American politics to levels where fruitful cooperation between parties has become difficult.

In brief, this strategy is predicated on the demonisation of those who hold opposing views�this is true of both the right and the left, and often also finds an echo in Catholic discourse.

The US right especially (but not exclusively) further employs a tactic of presenting opposing administrations as being rudderless and rooted in chaos � reminiscent of the perception of the Church which Cardinal Burke referred to in his interview.

While disagreement on any number of pastoral matters is normal and must be stated freely, the Catholic Church in the Anglophone world and universally must resist whatever agenda polarises the faithful, because polarisation creates disunity. It defies Christ�s call that we shall be one in him, and therefore is a cause for scandal.

Pope Francis knows this, and appeals for open dialogue that is rooted in respect and integrity, not in bitterness and belligerence.

The pope would surely endorse the dictum often attributed, incorrectly, to St Augustine, but which even in its 17th-century Lutheran provenance retains its currency for Catholics: �In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.�

The important point for us is not so much to identify which matters are essential and which are doubtful, though there is a place for that, but how to introduce into all things charity.