Archbishop Prowse address to CHARIS Leaders Conference
Input by
Archbishop Christopher Prowse
at the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Leaders Conference (CHARIS) Catholic Charismatic Renewal in a Synodal Church
Friday 12 August 2022
The word “Synod” and “Synodality” seem new but they are in fact ancient words. The Biblical symbol is the Emmaus scene. Here we see Jesus walking together with the two Disciples. He encourages them and challenges them, and in a kind of Eucharistic celebration offers them an encounter that changes their lives. They then return to the very place that they were running from – the struggles of Jerusalem. They report back as Apostles that “He is Risen! They become one of the first Missionary Disciples of the Resurrection – The quintessential definition of what a Disciple is.
Pope Francis is using this word “Synodality” regularly and teaching about it around the Catholic world. He has called an International Synod on Synodality next year in Rome. We have tasted some of this also in our recently concluded Plenary Council of Australia where Synodality was in action, at least in part. Synodality is not a program or a yearly focus but it is the way the Vatican II Council, going right back to the early Church and the Scriptures, asks us to live out a way of being Church together in the Risen Christ.
Firstly, I want to reflect, in part, on what the Ecclesial culture of Synodality might teach the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
Surely, we must say for a start that the institutions and charisms alive in the Church are the action of the Holy Spirit. These are bigger than just Charismatic prayer groups.
People in prayer groups would need to be very humble to realise that they cannot “domesticate” the Holy Spirit. Any talk that the rest of the Church is “catching up” to what the Charismatic Renewal has been living out is to be avoided.
Pope Francis recently teaches about being aware of two historic heresies that continue to tempt the Church.
There is Neo-Gnosticism. Here we have groups who feel that they have a special knowledge or access to the Holy Spirit above that which is available to all other believers. Another heresy that still seems to linger in part is that of Neo-Pelagianism. Here there is exaggerated emphasis on human effort in coming to God. The image here is that God is quite passive and we are building our own type of “Tower of Babel.”
Catholic Charismatic prayer groups need at all times to avoid these subtle temptations. We need to be docile and offer what the Holy Spirit is clearly demonstrating in our midst in service to the wider Church.
Another point is that there is a huge diversity in Charismatic expressions in the Catholic Church.
Charismatic Renewal is not simply prayer groups. We need to broaden our horizons.
For instance in the recent Plenary Council of Australia you could definitely see a Charismatic experience happening in the Church. Here we saw the many charisms brought into the wider Church in a fresh way. For example, there was the Eastern Catholic Rites now present in big numbers here in Australia. Often coming from persecuted countries, they bring a real charism of vibrancy and freshness as Eastern Catholics and Western Catholics meet together in our Multicultural society of Australia.
In addition, it was quite clear that the different charisms of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are becoming more evident in our Church. I was so pleased to see our First Australians there in big numbers and sharing so much about their spiritual life from a largely ecological dimension. We have much to learn in this area of Integral Ecology.
Of course, we must recognise that Synodality teaches the Catholic Charismatic Renewal even further about our understanding of the Holy Spirit (Pneumentology).
It is almost as if we are revisiting our theology of the Trinity and emphasising the particular role of the Holy Spirit in pastoral life.
This, of course, is being encouraged by our Jesuit Pope who clearly is a very Charismatic Pope. Being the first Jesuit Pope in history, Pope Francis brings teachings on the discernment of the Holy Spirit according to St Ignatius into so many of his talks.
In this regard, I would recommend we all read the Homily that he gave on Pentecost Sunday in Rome were he summarised very beautifully the teaching of the Human, Good and Evil spirits.
We must always remember that the Holy Spirit is not only a “comforter of the afflicted”, but also an “afflicter of the comforted!” It is tough to listen carefully and not just simply hear. It is tough to be able to put aside our own biases and agendas and listen to anything new that the Holy Spirit might be telling the Church.
It is interesting to note that Pope Francis has now reorganised the Vatican Curia making Evangelisation the preeminent Dicastery from which the other Dicasteries are to follow. Evangelisation is a top priority for the Pope. Here we also hear our Pope calling us to mainstream the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, found so much over the last 50 plus years in Charismatic groups. I am so pleased to see so many efforts of this, also in Australia. It is all to do with a “Marian” style of evangelisation, which stresses the closeness, and tenderness of God, particularly to those who live on the peripheries of society.
All of this gives a real freshness to our Theology of the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, in this input I would like to ask another question: What can Charismatic Renewal teach a Synodal Church?
Two things come to mind immediately.
First of all the importance of Kerygmatic evangelisation. This is a particular feature of the Catholic Charismatic movement and something that we are now teaching, even if we are not always aware, to the wider Church.
Sometimes is has been said that priests are good shepherds but poor fishermen. I am sure that the same could be said of the lay faithful. Often we are evangelising only within our Catholic environment and seem rather timid to evangelise appropriately in a Marian style in the wider world. Especially in Australia, we have a very secular society. It is not easy to be able to see links between what is happening in Australia and opportunities for the action of the Holy Spirit…but there are and we must be true “fishers of people.” Otherwise, we are just simply, as seen in the early chapters of Luke’s Gospel, washing nets on the side and not throwing them out into the “deep water.”
Evangelising in the wider world is real “deep-water” evangelisation. The Lord has instructed us to do this, let us obey him and be confident that he who leads us will draw it to completion.
Certainly in Australian culture and in much of the developed West, there does seem to be a loss of sense of sin and God. A fluid or rudderless society seems to be the consequence. No longer can we presume belief in people. There is a difference between a Religious faith and Christian faith. We must propose, but never impose, belief by conversion and a fresh proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Conversion in not only of individuals but also of the social strata of a culture. All must find a home in the out breaking of the Kingdom God.
This is all done with catechesis, but let us be aware of the importance of a Kerygmatic evangelisation that leads to a vibrant catechesis.
In addition, it must be said that the Holy Spirit has taught Charismatic Renewal, for over 50 years, wonderful ways of praying and this is becoming somewhat mainstream in our Catholic life, almost unperceptively.
Apart from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and its popularity in different forms, there is also evidence of Catholics generally being more comfortable now with the following: Spontaneous prayer, Personal testimony, small groups led by lay people, Scripture groups that are so often of an ecumenical nature, quiet time and how to pray and meditate in silence, music and hymns that truly inspire, the emergence of mature covenant communities, the talk of the Holy Spirit at the popular level and Kerygmatic preaching which outside the Sacraments can include lay people by virtue of their Baptism and the Charismatic gifts of the Church.
These and so many other ways can show how the Charismatic movement is teaching a Synodal Church about Liturgy and the life of Evangelisation.
Thirdly and finally, could I make just a couple of brief reflections on the emergence of a Synodal Charismatic renewed Church.
Perhaps this might start by truly allowing the Holy Spirit to be free in our midst. Too often, we “domesticate” the Holy Spirit in the way that we want. The Holy Spirit is not only a Dove but also a Raptor. It challenges us as Church to allow the current of grace of God to flow wherever the Holy Spirit wishes it to go.
Secondly as the lay faithful become more involved in the life of the Church, let us see this as emanating from the Sacrament of Baptism, the gateway Sacrament of the Church. The Ministerial priesthood is to serve the priesthood of all the Baptised in the lay faithful. This brings about a fresh Catholic Church that is truly Evangelising to everybody. I notice with interest that more recently the renewed Instituted Ministries of Lector, Acolyte and Catechist are based on recognising charisms of the Holy Spirit in the midst of God’s people. All of this is derived from the Sacrament of Baptism and not simply the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Finally, perhaps a renewed Mission statement of a Synodal Charismatic Renewal Church could be expressed as follows: “All the Church, preaching all the Gospel, to all the people, all the time.”
This is only possible if the Church arises in its Mission energies from being close to the peripheries of society. Here the Lost, the Lonely and the Last shout out to us more than anywhere else where the Holy Spirit it leading us.
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN