This is the resource material I had collected for the third of the three sub-parts to Theme 6, and it is a loose grouping because there will be a degree of overlap with the other two sub-parts.
It should be useful for choosing people to interview and lines of inquiry for research, and providing common language to talk about these ideas.
NB. I have not repeated the relevant material from the pre-requisite reading list which you can find here
Open to Reform: Changes in structure and paradigm, at parish, diocese, national and world-wide levels
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/be-open-to-the-surprises-of-the-holy-spirit-pope-francis-advises-78992?platform=hootsuite 28 Apr 2016
Pope Francis asked Mass-goers at the Santa Marta chapel April 28 how the Church responds when faced with something new, and perhaps never done before, clarifying that this is “not worldly newness, like fashions and clothes, but the newness and surprises of the Spirit, because the Spirit always surprises us.”
The answer, he said, is “by meeting, listening, discussing and praying before the final decision.” This is the same method the Church has used since the beginning, and is how she answers resistance based on assertions such as “it was never done this way,” or “you must do it like this.”
This process of gathering to speak and pray about an issue is “the so-called synodality of the Church, in which the communion of the Church is expressed,” Francis observed, noting that it is the Holy Spirit who creates this communion.
“What does the Lord ask of us? Docility to the Spirit. What does the Lord ask us? Not to be afraid, when we see that it’s the Spirit who calls us,” he said.
Tweet from @DisabilityJ (Disability&Jesus) 10 July 2016
https://twitter.com/DisabilityJ/status/752028684559720448/photo/1
The biggest lesson that I learned on the journey is that all of us are created in His image, that is all of us, equally without exception or qualification. There is a huge movement of the Holy Spirit through the wider Church right now, at the heart of which is the message of inclusion.
https://www.hprweb.com/2016/08/the-church-just-did-for-movements-what-she-did-for-religious-in-1978-only-better/
1 Aug 2016 Fr Matthew Schneider LC
An introduction to Iuvenescit Ecclesia
The deeper theology in Iuvenescit Ecclesia gives it a much higher starting point than Mutae Relationes when it gets to the practical elements. Charisms are not just seen as useful for the Church, but seen as something fundamental to our nature and something which cannot be independent from the hierarchy by nature, rather than do something which, for practical reasons, cannot separate itself.
The gist of the Welcome to Country address at Proclaim 2016:
Uncle Neil Evers a direct descendant of the Guringai clan that lived in this area (Chatswood) gave the Welcome to Country address.
I draw upon and acknowledge the strength and courage of the traditional custodians of this land. The word that we use for 'Welcome to Country' means 'Come Together'. Welcome to Country is a rite of showing respect to the custodians of country, whether you were going through their land or to their land. Otherwise it would be like going into someone's house uninvited. If you have seen a map of the Aboriginal language groups of Australia, you would know that there were at least 350 language groups. Each one represented a different country. Everyone knew the boundaries of each country, because they were clearly marked. You only went in with permission and with respect to the rules of the country you were in. This wasn't political correctness, but age old tradition. Imagine how it was before European colonisation, with everything crystal clear, an abundance of wildlife, with designated hunting, gathering and hunting grounds. They didn't own the land, they were custodians of it. When we 'come together' we can be strong, we can make a difference. The more we learn, the more we understand. On behalf of them, elders and custodians past and present, I welcome you to this beautiful country.
https://catholicmissionarydisciples.com/news/without-accountability-we-will-not-grow
Approx Feb 2018
'Having worked in the Catholic Church for many years now, I know many of the dysfunctions which are part of the internal culture of Catholic parishes, dioceses, and ministries. It is no secret that many are not healthy places. There is mistrust, lack of clarity in mission, church politics, infighting, fighting for power, etc. In other words, sinners run the Church! Furthermore, there is a culture of management - not mission. There is little vision for growth, but maintenance of decline. There is little transformation and a lot of status quo.
Even with all of this, we see a lack of leaders, who know what to do about it and want to change. There are numerous reasons, some of which I will lay out here:
•Seminaries (and grad schools) aren't forming leaders for the modern parish
•Pastoral training rarely helps our leaders understand real evangelisation and discipleship
•Change is hard, and all of us like comfort
•Lack of openness to 'experimentation' and new movements
•Culture of teaching (good), but with little evangelising (bad)
•Stopping after we make converts – so we fail to raise up missionary disciples
•We don't change, because to do so means we have to admit we haven't always operated the right way'
Tweets about content from DR18 (Divine Renovation Conference 2018, and @FJMallon
Three advice to Bishops: 1) Period of Christendom has long been over. We need to change the model of running a parish;
2) Find and invest in the 16% of priests who are on fire for the mission; 3) Change the structure of the diocese to support the mission.
Fr. James Mallon on the question of moving priests every 4-6 years: 'if the diocese were to hire a consulting group to come up with a plan to ensure that the organisation would never reach their goals, this would be the strategy they would come up with.'
Some slide decks from presentations on Communications and Groups at DR18
https://app.box.com/s/268r9zlbhqqpifxmz7ckm30g4fwon9qx
https://app.box.com/s/heudqq8w4vlpnerc88i7ekgmc4zn93p4
https://careynieuwhof.com/some-thoughts-on-why-megachurch-pastors-keep-falling/
Feb 2019 Carey Nieuwhof
Billy Graham was certainly a leader who finished well. Most people in church leadership are aware of the Billy Graham rule: never meet alone with a member of the opposite sex…The Billy Graham rule actually had four aspects. Billy and a few of his colleagues got together in 1948 in Modesto California after seeing other evangelists become entangled in affairs, greed and running down local churches.
•Financial integrity…so that Billy Graham and his team would not raise money themselves at crusades.
•Sexual integrity…so they wouldn’t fall victim to affairs or impropriety.
•Respect for local churches…so they would build up local churches, rather than compete with them.
•A commitment to accuracy in reporting…so they would not exaggerate how many people attended or how ‘successful’ their ministry was.
You can read Billy Graham’s own description of the Modesto Manifesto here.
Gideon Goosen
https://www.booktopia.com.au/saving-catholics-gideon-goosen/prod9780648232469.html
This is an interactive workbook bringing together historical, theological, sociological, and experiential insights to illuminate the main issues surrounding reform. Taking a measured approach by looking at both the positives and the negatives arising from the experience of Catholics, Goosen examines such things as what reform actually is; the need for reform, and psychological attitudes and resistance towards reform. He tackles thorny subjects like clericalism head-on and addresses the abuse of power in the church. He also seeks out signs of hope--following the example of Pope Francis--and explores possible strategies for the future.
'The family is the basis in the Lord's plan, and all the forces of evil aim to demolish it. Uphold your families and guard them against the grudges of the Evil One by the presence of God'
St Charbel
'Dare to do something completely different', Sr Margaret Purcell sm
Ken Fish, speaking at Servants of Jesus (video and audio), on 'The Anatomy of an Awakening' on 22 Jul 2019 speaking about the prophet Daniel's links to the return of the exiles and the rise of the prophet Haggai, and how a radical turn around can take place in a short amount of time. An awakening is more than a revival, more like God pressing the reset button. Unless there is preparation and follow-up, a revival can fade very quickly, like a flash in the pan.
https://movies.toxicwap.com.ng/watch?v=ReO92EfwSEg
Submission of the Australian Council of Catholic Clergy to the Plenary Council
https://www.clergy.asn.au/the-chairmans-word/submission-to-plenary-council/
This is well worth reading and considering.
Part of the script, transcribed and edited from 'Brexit: the uncivil war', telemovie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit:_The_Uncivil_War
The vision wasn't flawed.....it's people that are flawed.
and they ruined it.
I said the entire Downing Street There is a systems failure
operating system needed overhauling.
in this country and across the West.
You were pushed out, once again.
You reset. And that's all I did.
We're languishing, we're drifting without a vision or a purpose.
when there's a systems failure?
And what do you do usually……I reset.
And what did they do?
What did all of you do? ...... You rebooted
the same operating system,
the same tired, old politics
and self-serving, small-thinking
of short-termism, the virus, it infects.
Yes, yes, don't think that I don't
but that's what the system does,
know I'm as bad as the rest of them,
But I was hoping, just praying,
..to actually happen, for someone
that someone, anyone,
with a minimalist amount of... of imagination or vision
could see that there was the
opportunity for something to...
to step in and do something...
..to just.....to make a change to...
When the nation ceases to put the highest value on the home, it will not be long before it ceases to put a value on a person. Soon a man will begin to be valued because of what he can do for a revolutionary class, and then comes communism.
When men and women reach appoint where they are no longer interested in watching a seed they planted grow, or caring for its flower; when they are more concerned about increasing dollars in their bank accounts than obeying the primitive impulse to increase and multiply then know ye that a night has dawned when a thing is more important than a person and Hic facet (Here lies) must be inscribed on the tombstone of democracy.
Beyond and behind all the schemes and blueprints of politics and economics there is nothing more fundamental to the revival of true democracy than the restoration of the family.
Venerable Fulton J Sheen 1948
.............................................................................................
The next blog-post in this cycle will be background reading resources for the Topics of Controversy pertinent to theme 6: Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform.
#PlenaryCouncil #PlenaryCouncilTheme6
At the very end of the cycle I will put it all together in a printer friendly PDF.
It should be useful for choosing people to interview and lines of inquiry for research, and providing common language to talk about these ideas.
NB. I have not repeated the relevant material from the pre-requisite reading list which you can find here
Open to Reform: Changes in structure and paradigm, at parish, diocese, national and world-wide levels
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/be-open-to-the-surprises-of-the-holy-spirit-pope-francis-advises-78992?platform=hootsuite 28 Apr 2016
Pope Francis asked Mass-goers at the Santa Marta chapel April 28 how the Church responds when faced with something new, and perhaps never done before, clarifying that this is “not worldly newness, like fashions and clothes, but the newness and surprises of the Spirit, because the Spirit always surprises us.”
The answer, he said, is “by meeting, listening, discussing and praying before the final decision.” This is the same method the Church has used since the beginning, and is how she answers resistance based on assertions such as “it was never done this way,” or “you must do it like this.”
This process of gathering to speak and pray about an issue is “the so-called synodality of the Church, in which the communion of the Church is expressed,” Francis observed, noting that it is the Holy Spirit who creates this communion.
“What does the Lord ask of us? Docility to the Spirit. What does the Lord ask us? Not to be afraid, when we see that it’s the Spirit who calls us,” he said.
Tweet from @DisabilityJ (Disability&Jesus) 10 July 2016
https://twitter.com/DisabilityJ/status/752028684559720448/photo/1
The biggest lesson that I learned on the journey is that all of us are created in His image, that is all of us, equally without exception or qualification. There is a huge movement of the Holy Spirit through the wider Church right now, at the heart of which is the message of inclusion.
https://www.hprweb.com/2016/08/the-church-just-did-for-movements-what-she-did-for-religious-in-1978-only-better/
1 Aug 2016 Fr Matthew Schneider LC
An introduction to Iuvenescit Ecclesia
The deeper theology in Iuvenescit Ecclesia gives it a much higher starting point than Mutae Relationes when it gets to the practical elements. Charisms are not just seen as useful for the Church, but seen as something fundamental to our nature and something which cannot be independent from the hierarchy by nature, rather than do something which, for practical reasons, cannot separate itself.
The gist of the Welcome to Country address at Proclaim 2016:
Uncle Neil Evers a direct descendant of the Guringai clan that lived in this area (Chatswood) gave the Welcome to Country address.
I draw upon and acknowledge the strength and courage of the traditional custodians of this land. The word that we use for 'Welcome to Country' means 'Come Together'. Welcome to Country is a rite of showing respect to the custodians of country, whether you were going through their land or to their land. Otherwise it would be like going into someone's house uninvited. If you have seen a map of the Aboriginal language groups of Australia, you would know that there were at least 350 language groups. Each one represented a different country. Everyone knew the boundaries of each country, because they were clearly marked. You only went in with permission and with respect to the rules of the country you were in. This wasn't political correctness, but age old tradition. Imagine how it was before European colonisation, with everything crystal clear, an abundance of wildlife, with designated hunting, gathering and hunting grounds. They didn't own the land, they were custodians of it. When we 'come together' we can be strong, we can make a difference. The more we learn, the more we understand. On behalf of them, elders and custodians past and present, I welcome you to this beautiful country.
https://catholicmissionarydisciples.com/news/without-accountability-we-will-not-grow
Approx Feb 2018
'Having worked in the Catholic Church for many years now, I know many of the dysfunctions which are part of the internal culture of Catholic parishes, dioceses, and ministries. It is no secret that many are not healthy places. There is mistrust, lack of clarity in mission, church politics, infighting, fighting for power, etc. In other words, sinners run the Church! Furthermore, there is a culture of management - not mission. There is little vision for growth, but maintenance of decline. There is little transformation and a lot of status quo.
Even with all of this, we see a lack of leaders, who know what to do about it and want to change. There are numerous reasons, some of which I will lay out here:
•Seminaries (and grad schools) aren't forming leaders for the modern parish
•Pastoral training rarely helps our leaders understand real evangelisation and discipleship
•Change is hard, and all of us like comfort
•Lack of openness to 'experimentation' and new movements
•Culture of teaching (good), but with little evangelising (bad)
•Stopping after we make converts – so we fail to raise up missionary disciples
•We don't change, because to do so means we have to admit we haven't always operated the right way'
Tweets about content from DR18 (Divine Renovation Conference 2018, and @FJMallon
Three advice to Bishops: 1) Period of Christendom has long been over. We need to change the model of running a parish;
2) Find and invest in the 16% of priests who are on fire for the mission; 3) Change the structure of the diocese to support the mission.
Fr. James Mallon on the question of moving priests every 4-6 years: 'if the diocese were to hire a consulting group to come up with a plan to ensure that the organisation would never reach their goals, this would be the strategy they would come up with.'
Some slide decks from presentations on Communications and Groups at DR18
https://app.box.com/s/268r9zlbhqqpifxmz7ckm30g4fwon9qx
https://app.box.com/s/heudqq8w4vlpnerc88i7ekgmc4zn93p4
https://careynieuwhof.com/some-thoughts-on-why-megachurch-pastors-keep-falling/
Feb 2019 Carey Nieuwhof
Billy Graham was certainly a leader who finished well. Most people in church leadership are aware of the Billy Graham rule: never meet alone with a member of the opposite sex…The Billy Graham rule actually had four aspects. Billy and a few of his colleagues got together in 1948 in Modesto California after seeing other evangelists become entangled in affairs, greed and running down local churches.
•Financial integrity…so that Billy Graham and his team would not raise money themselves at crusades.
•Sexual integrity…so they wouldn’t fall victim to affairs or impropriety.
•Respect for local churches…so they would build up local churches, rather than compete with them.
•A commitment to accuracy in reporting…so they would not exaggerate how many people attended or how ‘successful’ their ministry was.
You can read Billy Graham’s own description of the Modesto Manifesto here.
Gideon Goosen
https://www.booktopia.com.au/saving-catholics-gideon-goosen/prod9780648232469.html
This is an interactive workbook bringing together historical, theological, sociological, and experiential insights to illuminate the main issues surrounding reform. Taking a measured approach by looking at both the positives and the negatives arising from the experience of Catholics, Goosen examines such things as what reform actually is; the need for reform, and psychological attitudes and resistance towards reform. He tackles thorny subjects like clericalism head-on and addresses the abuse of power in the church. He also seeks out signs of hope--following the example of Pope Francis--and explores possible strategies for the future.
'The family is the basis in the Lord's plan, and all the forces of evil aim to demolish it. Uphold your families and guard them against the grudges of the Evil One by the presence of God'
St Charbel
'Dare to do something completely different', Sr Margaret Purcell sm
Ken Fish, speaking at Servants of Jesus (video and audio), on 'The Anatomy of an Awakening' on 22 Jul 2019 speaking about the prophet Daniel's links to the return of the exiles and the rise of the prophet Haggai, and how a radical turn around can take place in a short amount of time. An awakening is more than a revival, more like God pressing the reset button. Unless there is preparation and follow-up, a revival can fade very quickly, like a flash in the pan.
https://movies.toxicwap.com.ng/watch?v=ReO92EfwSEg
Submission of the Australian Council of Catholic Clergy to the Plenary Council
https://www.clergy.asn.au/the-chairmans-word/submission-to-plenary-council/
This is well worth reading and considering.
Part of the script, transcribed and edited from 'Brexit: the uncivil war', telemovie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit:_The_Uncivil_War
The vision wasn't flawed.....it's people that are flawed.
and they ruined it.
I said the entire Downing Street There is a systems failure
operating system needed overhauling.
in this country and across the West.
You were pushed out, once again.
You reset. And that's all I did.
We're languishing, we're drifting without a vision or a purpose.
when there's a systems failure?
And what do you do usually……I reset.
And what did they do?
What did all of you do? ...... You rebooted
the same operating system,
the same tired, old politics
and self-serving, small-thinking
of short-termism, the virus, it infects.
Yes, yes, don't think that I don't
but that's what the system does,
know I'm as bad as the rest of them,
But I was hoping, just praying,
..to actually happen, for someone
that someone, anyone,
with a minimalist amount of... of imagination or vision
could see that there was the
opportunity for something to...
to step in and do something...
..to just.....to make a change to...
When the nation ceases to put the highest value on the home, it will not be long before it ceases to put a value on a person. Soon a man will begin to be valued because of what he can do for a revolutionary class, and then comes communism.
When men and women reach appoint where they are no longer interested in watching a seed they planted grow, or caring for its flower; when they are more concerned about increasing dollars in their bank accounts than obeying the primitive impulse to increase and multiply then know ye that a night has dawned when a thing is more important than a person and Hic facet (Here lies) must be inscribed on the tombstone of democracy.
Beyond and behind all the schemes and blueprints of politics and economics there is nothing more fundamental to the revival of true democracy than the restoration of the family.
Venerable Fulton J Sheen 1948
.............................................................................................
The next blog-post in this cycle will be background reading resources for the Topics of Controversy pertinent to theme 6: Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform.
#PlenaryCouncil #PlenaryCouncilTheme6
At the very end of the cycle I will put it all together in a printer friendly PDF.