Time for Critical Reframing Not Restorationism

Herald Malaysia
August 25, 2016

http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/time-for-critical-reframing-not-restorationism/31320/8

“In Australia, we seem to have reached a critical juncture. Not only are we afflicted by such things as the decline in Sunday worship, the fall in religious practices, the dearth of the priesthood and religious life etc

“In Australia, we seem to have reached a critical juncture. Not only are we afflicted by such things as the decline in Sunday worship, the fall in religious practices, the dearth of the priesthood and religious life etc…, we also face the biggest challenge to date, which is, the loss of our moral credibility and trust capital due to the sexual abuse crisis,” said Vietnamese-born Australian Bishop Vincent Long. He has called for a “prophetic reframing” of the Church’s attitudes rather than a “retreat into restorationism,”

Delivering the Ann D. Clark Lecture, Bishop Long of Parramatta diocese in western Sydney observed that the Australian Church is living a “watershed” moment in the wake of a series of recent crises,

Nevertheless, Bishop Long continued, the unexpected election of Pope Francis “and the way he exercises his leadership give us a breath of fresh air and a source of great hope.”

“I make bold to say that this is the unexpected way of God. Watershed moments can be catalysts for renewal and transformation.

“It is not ‘business as usual’,” Bishop Long stated. “There needs to be an attitudinal change at every level, a conversion of mind and heart that conforms us to the spirit of the Gospel, a new wine into new wineskins, not a superficial change or worse a retreat into restorationism.

“I believe that one of the critical challenges for the Church today is that of prophetic reframing. It is the ability to read the signs of the times and interpret them in a way that offers fresh and hopeful vision for the future despite appearances to the contrary. The prophet knows the past promise of God’s word, but knows how to interpret this word in her or his life and to speak that word to others that will lift them up.

“Pope Francis constantly calls us to move beyond the security of status quo and take the risk of going to the periphery. The Church must be the Church of the poor and for the poor.

The Church must go out of itself in order to be close to those in need. Conversely, the Church that does not go out into the world keeps Jesus imprisoned.

“Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Church was suspicious of the world which was perceived as evil. Remember the classic three enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil.

It was a defensive, fortress Church.”

Following the lead of Pope John XXXIII and his optimistic aggiornamento, guided by “the signs of the times,” the gathered bishops recognized that the Church needed to open itself to the world, engage with the world and even to learn from the world.

Gaudium et Spes – the guiding document of the Council presented a new paradigm: the Church is not an enclosure which protects its members against the sinful world. It is a fellow pilgrim with the men and women of our age. It is a Church incarnate in the world.

“Therefore, it is time not of fearful retreat, disengagement and self-referential pomp, but of accompaniment and engagement.

“In summary, I believe we are living a time of grace and hope precisely because this fallow time allows us to rid ourselves of what is unworthy of Christ and to grow more deeply in our identity and mission as his disciples. Hence, it is the time to reclaim for the Church:

-- Less a role of power, dominance and privilege but more a position of vulnerability and powerlessness;

-- Less an enclosure for the virtuous but more an oasis for the weary and downtrodden;

-- Less an experience of exclusion and elitism but more an encounter of radical love, inclusiveness and solidarity;

-- Less of an attitude of “we are right and you are wrong” and more of an attitude of openness to truth wherever and whoever it is to be found;

-- Less a leadership of control and clericalism but more a diakonia of a humble servant exemplified by Christ at the Last Supper;

-- Less a language of condemnation but more a language of affirmation and compassion; and

-- Less a preoccupation for its own maintenance but more a concern for the kingdom of God.

“The Second Vatican Council set in motion a new paradigm that cannot be thwarted by fear and paralysis,” Bishop Long concluded. “That new paradigm is one that is based on mutuality not exclusion, love not fear, service not clericalism, engagement with the world not flight from or hostility against it, incarnate grace not dualism. The Holy Spirit is at work even at a time of great anguish. He accompanies us as we move in the direction of the Kingdom.” -- Global Pulse