How secular society "views" our efforts in the Roman Catholic Church of Montreal to implement "responsible pastoral ministry" and accountability in our Church's use of its "servant authority" - with attention to protecting, defending, and promoting the safety and rights of all members of the population - especially the most vulnerable.

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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The Roman Catholic Church of Montreal has been going to bold, innovative, and costly lengths in her efforts to implement "responsible pastoral ministry" and accountability in our diocesan Church's use of its "servant authority" - with the explicit intention of protecting, defending, and promoting the safety and the rights of all members of the population - and with particular attention to the most vulnerable, such as those who have suffered abuse. 

How our secular society "views" our efforts VS what that looks like in the "inside"

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The Press

Morgan Lowerie of The Canadian Press posted on April 19th, 2022 an article titled "Montreal Catholic church ombudswoman details delays, resistance to complaint process." At first view, the impression given is that the institution of the Roman Catholic Church in Montreal is "dragging its heels" in following through on its commitment to move away from "the way things were done" to doing things with greater responsibility, transparency, accountability, and especially with commitment to take the point of view of vulnerable people, especially those who have suffered any form of abuse.

Perhaps it is inevitable that anyone standing "outside" the local Church would see the situation that way, which is precisely the stance of the Ombudswoman herself, Me. Marie Christine Kirouack, Ad.E.. One of the reasons she was chosen for the role of Ombudswoman for the Diocese of Montreal was precisely because she is not a R. C. Christian, and therefore, not part of the R. C. Church of Montreal. She is completely independent and, it is therefore believed, completely impartial. 

The models of responsibility and accountability from society's governments

However, from the point of view those on the "inside" of the local R. C. Church, this can at times seem to be a great disadvantage. Our society generally has several "measuring sticks" for honesty, transparency, accountability, responsibility, and many other "values" held by consensus in our society to be important. Such values are important in government in order for the said government to be seen as, and actually to be, true to the population, to whom any government is accountable. Members of the general population, in particular citizens, manifest their satisfaction or lack of it at election time. However, all those who work in public service are directly accountable normally only to their superiors, but only indirectly to the public through people's communications with them.

The models of responsibility and accountability from business, commerce, science, & technology

In business and commerce, as well as in science and technology, the individuals and organizations which "carry on the activity" are equally accountable to those who own said enterprises, which includes shareholders, but also the employees, without whom there would be no activity. These enterprises are more sensitive to the satisfaction of the general population, which manifests itself through success in the quantity and value of total transactions in the course of the business year and its quarters.

The models of responsibility and accountability from educational institutions

In educational institutions as well, the activity carried on in elementary and high schools, colleges, universities, and technical schools also have the means of ensuring that those who carry on the activity do so in a manner sensitive to the expectations of those to whom they offer their services, that is, the student population, which can vary considerably from one year to the next. 

The R. C. Church is not at all like government, or business, or commerce, or science, or technology, or even educational institutions

Unlike all of these other realms of society, the "point of contact" between those who carry on the principal activity for which the institution or agency exists, at the "providing or giving end" on the one hand, and all those at the "benefitting or receiving end" on the other hand, that "point of contact" is comparatively minimal or small or even practically non-existent.

Government services and all the apparatus of its bureaucracy - with its thousands of public servants and employees - are "at work" the standard number of hours every week of the year, with possible exception for reduced hours during summer vacations and statutory holidays. There are constant and unceasing "contacts" between government agencies and "the population" all year round.

The same can be said for businesses, commerces, scientific institutions, technological enterprises, and all manner of educational institutions. These all have "business or school hours" and other times during which contact with the public is made possible. 

What all these institutions have in common is their ability to implement policies with immediacy and clarity by passing them down the "chain of command" or "channels of communication". They have the liberty and the means to implement "ongoing formation" of employees through statutory formation days by means of the funds generated by their principal activities. 

All of society's institutions and organizations are put together in such a way as to entrust specific functions to specific individuals, such that each worker's "duties" are fairly clearly defined and more often than not restricted to a fairly narrow "corridor" of focus of activity. That makes it fairly easy for these workers to implement policies sent "down from above". These institutions also generally have the means to ensure "quality control" by the appointment of supervisory personnel for this purpose.

The R. C. Church is very different from all of these

There was a time, when society was still considered a manifestation of "Christendom", that is, a society principally organized on the principle tenets of the Gospels. The Church's "authority" was generally acknowledged and accepted by the general population, and those who dissented were generally deemed to be in various states of "rebellion" or "heresy" of "disobedience", for each of which states there were very specific "sanctions" or "punishments" or "consequences". 

Principally since WW II, the "faithful", that is the "baptized", have questioned and even "walked away" from that authority, and some have even "walked away from God", or at least the "version of God" as presented to them in the R. C. Church. This phenomenon of "walking away" is currently being painfully felt by local businesses who observe their sales volumes shrinking to the benefit of Amazon and other online enterprises. 

However, the key difference between the R. C. Church and the rest of our society's institutions is that the "point of contact" between those providing the services in the Church - the clergy and those assisting them, both employees and volunteers - is comparatively minimal. Those who go to Church on Sunday - in Québec deemed to be around 2% of the baptized - are not there every Sunday. Even when they are there, it is only one hour or less a week. The vast majority of the "clientele" or "membership" have no contact at all with those providing the service except occasionally for baptisms, the other three sacraments of initiation, weddings, and funerals; as well as occasionally for the Anointing of the Sick.

So, from the point of view of the clientele or membership, the Church has very little contact with them or means of implementing any policies. This can only be done when people make contact for services or when we manage to reach out to them through social and other media. From the point of view of the workers and their supervisors, the sheer magnitude of the challenge of a severely aging workforce while maintaining services and infrastructure, such as buildings, is so great as to be practically unmanageable, let alone finding time and energy to impart, offer formation for, and actually implement fundamental changes in policy and practice, and for several reasons.

First, the clergy are aging and working well beyond the age of retirement and even working in sickness and disability; moreover, they are almost entirely not being replaced by younger recruits.

Secondly, the attendance rate is so low, that most churches are unable to sustain their very existence, let alone any projects for improvement or expansion. It is the minority of parish churches that have enough people attending, and enough representation from younger generations and families, that they are able to generate such projects. 

Thirdly, the rate of contribution of the members is ridiculously low. There is a  gap of logic which seems insurmountable between social secular standards in spending and contribution standards within the Church. Most of us go out occasionally to a restaurant. We generally think nothing of giving the 15% tip and those hand held invoice machines even show a choice of 18% now for the tip. This would amount to anywhere from $4 to $20 or more, depending on how many meals we pay for. We don't hesitate to pay such tips but when in Church, for most people their offering hasn't changed from the $2 they thought was generous enough decades ago. 

Rare are those who make weekly offerings of $20 to $100. As a result, most parishes cannot even afford the salary of their priest, let alone maintenance and repairs. Most of our churches are so run down they would require millions of dollars of work in order to avoid being condemned by the public health and security authorities in the next few years. 

Fourthly, the shrinking financial viability of the parishes has also caused the "well to run dry" for the Diocese's Curia and its central governing services. In the 1950's parishes contributed 3% of all their receipts to the Diocese, but parishes at that time were seeing from 5,000 to 15,000 people every Sunday, including children, youth, and the aged. At Sunday attendance began to drop in the 1970's that 3% "diocesan contribution" was gradually increased to 5%, then to 7%, and finally to 9% in the 1990's. That final measure was almost useless due to the degree to erosion of Sunday attendance. 

Fifthly, what this means for the Diocesan Curia is that it no longer has the means to employ all the people it would need in order to adequately serve all the parishes, movements, families, and individual members of the Diocese of Montreal. The personnel it does have are overloaded with duties required of them by the development of all the activity generated by the Church's expansion after WW II when the number of parishes more than doubled. Over the same period, the number of clergy has shrunk and most of these are now aged beyond retirement and health. 

Not only that, but it is often a challenge for the personnel that we do have, both aging clergy and laity, to take their weekly day of rest (day off) and annual vacation and annual retreat. Some even find it difficult to take sick days and feel obliged to go on working even while sick or disabled or in varying degrees of convalescence. If women were priests, they would be unable to take maternity leave. 

For the size of operation of our Diocese, our Human Resources department should have a staff of at least 4 or 5 people, but we had only one person for three years and only recently hired a second. Our Office for Pastoral Personnel has a few more people but even they are unable to keep up with the sheer magnitude of the challenges arising from hundreds of priests, deacons, and thousands of lay workers, both employed and volunteer. 

Sixthly, all of these conditions make it practically impossible for the Diocese to implement with any efficiency and speed the reforms to which it has committed itself. Valiant efforts are being made, and in particular cases, specific attention is being applied to effectively implement many of the reforms made manifest in the Capriolo Report. However, overall, it will take considerable time for all the personnel in all the departments and in all of the parishes to also integrate all of these principles.

Seventhly, we must keep in mind that the "culture" and "ways of doing" and "mindsets" of the Diocesan Curia took many decades to develop over the past century. It will take at least a full generation, so we're looking at a comple of decades, for the new "culture" and "ways of doing" and "mindsets" of the "new paradigm" to be fully integrated and implemented. It took a century for the reforms of the Council of Trent to be more or less fully implemented, and the reforms of the Second Vatican Council have yet to be "fully implemented" throughout the whole Roman Catholic Church worldwide.

Conclusion: If the Roman Catholic Church has not only survived but prospered for two millennia, it is because it follows and observes a timeline that is eminently "human" and which respects the frailties and possibilities of our human nature. In the secular world, governments fall, businesses fail, and all manner of agencies cease to exist. For such reasons, they feel obliged to function on the basis of quarterly reports, even when doing so causes them to lose sight of inevitable developments on the horizon immediately ahead of them. 

So, dear Reader, that is why the Press will continue to suspect that our Church is not progressing "fast enough" with these reforms, which is to be expected from anyone who knows nothing of the way the Church actually is "on the inside". For those of us who are on the inside, we can barely manage to keep up with the regular duties from our call to serve the people of God, both those who are "regulars" and those who merely expect the Church to "be there" when they want or have need of it or when it just happens to be convenient for them - let alone take care of infrastructures - while we continue to age and not be replaced by younger recruits. 

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Previous posts of interest: It is enlightening and even amazing to see how the Lord our God has been constantly preparing us over time for the trials, troubles, and tribulations awaiting us in the future. Browse the following list of links to posts since this time six years ago in 2016 and see how the key issues of life, both individually and collectively, are brought to our attention when we most need them.

Everywhere we turn, we see the human condition in all of its poverty, struggle, anguish, and dissatisfaction; with life and love just out of reach.... March 30th, 2022

Ukraine - Russia - Europe - NATO - U.S.A. - February 28th, 2022

Note to U.N. regarding U.N., N.A.T.O., the U.S.A., Russia, & Ukraine - February 25th, 2022

Marriage or celibacy? What is better, healthier, more likely to lead to happiness: a life with sex or a life without sex? What about contentment versus loneliness? Does human life have a universal purpose and meaning? - November 26th, 2021 

Mercy or “The Law” – God or Man? - August 18th, 2021 

Let us choose life and every Sunday worship God with gratitude for all He does for us - and avoid scandalizing little ones which is what we do when we stay home. - May 23rd, 2021

Pope Francis - What on Earth is he doing? - May 12th, 2021 

Response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a doubt regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex. - March 15th, 2021 

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the LORD IS WITH THEE..." - March 11th, 2021

A Catholic wants to come back to the Church... Where do you begin? - January 21st, 2021

Entertainment and the related industry vs art that is true and meaningful as well as beautiful and good. - January 8th, 2021

Human sexuality - gift of God which, used otherwise skews our vision, but used in accord with His plan, calibrates our vision to blessedness. - January 2nd, 2021

Even children are impelled by the Holy Spirit to go out with Jesus as missionary disciples. November 21st, 2020

The Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and Lawyers are at it again, only this time, instead of going after Jesus it's Pope Francis! - October 22nd, 2020 

The Covid-19 Pandemic - an excuse to strangle the practice of religion? September 21st, 2020

How can high level bankers and financiers hold their heads high in public? - September 9th, 2020

DAY 148 of the COVID-19 WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC in 2020 - "Do not be afraid!"- Reflection on the "Law of the Gift". August 4th, 2020

It may be legal, but it remains offensive - the Québec / Newfoundland and Labrador hydro electric agreement and long term contract - July 21st, 2020

Abortion is a failure of manhood more than a woman's choice - Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist - June 24th, 2020

Compare Covid-19 to all other deaths worldwide - Day 72 - May 20th, 2020

Communing with God in our everyday life - April 16th, 2020 

A Catholic view of life and death inside a worldwide pandemic - April 4th, 2020

The pain of not being able to find a priest - February 15th, 2020

The wonder of our vital human strengths - January 28th, 2020

God's plan to bring us into abundance of life - By mere coincidence, today happens to be the Eve of the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the day the Lord Jesus Christ met him on the road to Damascus - January 24th, 2020

The Boeing 737 Max controversy - What about the common good? - January 13th, 2020

A family activity: Reading Pope Francis' Letter "On the Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene" - December 15th, 2019

Is the Pope a heretic, or are we Pharisees, Sadducees, Chief Priests, Scribes, or Lawyers? - November 25th, 2019

Green for our environment but toxic for human life? - October 19th, 2019

Canadian Federal Election Guide for Roman Catholics and Other People of Good Will - September 22nd, 2019

Why are some of our beautiful youth killing themselves or turning violent? We can do a lot! - September 10th, 2019

Capitalism - to suck us dry or to build us up - it's our choice - July 31st, 2019

Hope through resistance in the midst of troubled times - Could Venezuela's "social meltdown" happen to us? - July 25th, 2019

Abortion - how has it come to this? - The way it once was and the way it is now. - June 4th, 2019

Value of life - harm of abortion - what to do? - There are different views: society's changing views, "humanistic" views, various religious views, Christian views, and oh yes, what might be God's view? the view of our Creator? - May 25th, 2019

Christians, like Jesus Christ, have always been hated - See the "Letter to Diognetus" from the 2nd century A.D. - May 23rd, 2019

Madonna House Apostolate - from a visit there - April 10th, 2019

Homophobia Schmobophobia - A lot has been happening, has it not? March 2nd, 2019

Baptism by water and the Holy Spirit - what difference it makes - February 18th, 2019

A girl (boy) wants to be a boy (girl) - What do you say? - January 13th, 2019

Why does losing a loved one hurt so much? - November 5th, 2018

Evil, pain, suffering - how can these be God's will for us? - October 24th, 2018

We are never far from God... in fact... - October 17th, 2018

On a Mission... Together! - October 9th, 2018

"The gates of hell shall not prevail against it (my Church)" said Jesus to Peter - August 17th, 2018

To tattoo or not... I feel incomplete.... - August 5th, 2018

Anthony Bourdain suicide - What? But why? - July 17th, 2018

Not every human relation or attraction need be sexual - June 23rd, 2018

Elderly parents - impatience or loving interest? - June 12th, 2018

Why does God allow us to be tried, tested, and made to suffer? - See Saint Ignatius of Loyola's teaching on the "Discernment of Spirits" from his "Spiritual Exercises" - May 30th, 2018

How easily we misunderstand one another as well as life situations - April 27th, 2018

Authority and Service in the Roman Catholic Church - March 13th, 2018

What about Marriage of a Roman Catholic with a Muslim? - February 7th, 2018

Fathers - You are vital; Males - Be Men before God! - January 30th, 2018

Where Love Is, God Is. - On the 1st World Day of the Poor a poor man became a blessing to all who met him in the church. - A World Day of the Poor Story - December 10th, 2017 

Understanding and discernment as well as LOVE versus LAW - Understanding, moral development, discernment, and the "Law of Love" - coming to understand the "ways of the Lord" - November 3rd, 2017 

Who will defend the innocence of our children? What about women, men, and the elderly in their dignity? The gift of human sexuality? - August 24th, 2017

“Please, talk to me about love, Mommy, Daddy.” Children can best receive formation in their affections and human sexuality from their parents. - April 24th, 2017 

The suicide of a loved one provokes an upheaval in the survivors. What happens when we die? What comes next? What can we do about death before it happens to us? - April 8th, 2017

When a loved one dies, our loss plunges us into deep grief. We need God's help to continue caring for ourselves and for others. - March 24th, 2017

Controversy and confusion over Pope Francis & "Amoris Laetitia" Part 2 - In more personal settings and situations we need to show more compassion, wisdom, understanding, and counsel. - February 20th, 2017

Controversy and confusion over Pope Francis & "Amoris Laetitia" Part 1 - Many are uncomfortable with God's mercy and prefer to "lay down the law". - February 18th, 2017

There are more affluent people than ever in human history; yet why are they / we so miserable? The original sin as rebellious selfish will still pulls at us. - February 6th, 2017

How do we discern God's calling in our daily lives? Q & A - Wanting to "be special" versus giving meaning and purpose to our lives. - February 4th, 2017

Eroticization and the unique developmental process of human persons - part 2 with conclusion - January 18th, 2017

Pope Francis vs critics = mercy vs legalism - People have trouble holding to both the truth and mercy as God has always done towards us. - January 18th, 2017

Why do people destroy plants, torture animals, or hurt other people? - November 27th, 2016

Eroticization and the unique developmental process of human persons - part 2 continuation - September 9th, 2016

When did the U.S.A. become the U.S.S.R.? - August 31st, 2016

Eroticization and the unique developmental process of human persons - part 1 - May 20th, 2016

Fatima, the Church, and the World – Standing Together Before God - April 22nd, 2016

Admirable fidelity to Jesus Christ in the face of death and the onslaught of the conquering armies of Islam - The converging and intertwining histories of Christianity and Islam - April 5th, 2016

We should not stay away from our assembly as is the custom of some, but encourage one another - March 14th, 2016

Older posts..... 

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My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2022 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2022 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Authority and Service in the Roman Catholic Church

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Authority and Service as we are called to live them in the Roman Catholic Church

SOME USEFUL LINKS

Life in Christ - Man's Vocation Life in the Spirit - Social Justice - Respect for the Human Person - Equality and Differences... & more in the Catechism of the Catholic Church Part Three 

LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

ON THE COLLABORATION OF MEN AND WOMEN

IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD

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QUESTION:   Does it make sense for lay people to offer spiritual direction and to even become spiritual fathers / mothers to clergymen?

Of course, it is God's intention that we live our lives in freedom and with generosity in the service of divine love. No one is obliged to make particular choices and Saint Francis de Sales advised a woman to diligently seek out the spiritual director in whom she would find the direction she needed and her soul desired under the conduct of the Holy Spirit.

Still, in the kingdom of God each order has its proper place in cooperation with divine grace.

Some ordained priests can not only hear confession and grant absolution, but they also have natural gifts, formation, and supernatural charisms to enable them to also offer psychotherapy and the direction of souls; some are even medical doctors, such that they can do it all.

In the normal course of life, however, God wants each domain to bring its proper activity with its properly competent, trained, experienced, and supervised service provider.

When as a priest I have health issues I must seek out a competent medical doctor as well as pray to God.

When I have trouble with my muscles or joints in addition to prayer I must seek out a physiotherapist.

When I have a moral struggle I must go to confession, preferably to the same confessor, but not necessarily when it is impossible or too difficult to do so on a regular basis.

When I struggle with some form of compulsion or psychological difficulty or blockage or various kinds of interior resistance or recurring emotional difficulties, then it is necessary that I confess to a priest, but it is also necessary that I seek out the counsel of a trained therapist; who has the training and dedication to pay attention to what I share and help me discover deeper understanding about the complex workings of the human psyche in general and of my own self in particular, with all my personal, family, and communal history. In addition, these professionals are responsible to seek out and receive ongoing professional formation and to offer their service under supervision so that they are accountable in the service they provide.

All of this has been proven to be true and effective and it is recognized by our Church as a way of offering and seeking healing and growth that is not only approved but given and blessed by Almighty God.

QUESTION:   In fact the INTERNAL FORUM has always been the privileged field of the church. That is the reason we could be so much convinced that there is a strong link to be a spiritual father with the sacrament of confession. That link is strengthened by the confessional secrets.

The internal forum concerns matters of morality and the human will in our struggle to conform ourselves with the divine law and with the will of God. It is true that the confessional relationship between the confessor and the penitent expressed and symbolized by the "seal of confession" is the privileged place given to us by Christ for the exercise and formation of the human conscience of the believer who is a baptized Roman Catholic.

However, there are other dimensions of our life for which we desire and seek our confidentiality and are able to find it. We also find it with doctors, lawyers, notaries, and other professionals. Whenever these breach their obligation to maintain confidentiality there are sanctions imposed on them by their professional associations.

Nonetheless, I believe and our Church does too, that God offers us more abundant opportunities for personal growth in more diverse professional relationships of help and service within which we can also receive God's help and the healing grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is because in the Church there is at work a harmony of cooperation between the hierarchical gifts (by the ordained) and the charismatic gifts (by all the faithful), and it is the Holy Spirit who maintains the harmony in all of these in accord with the will of the Father and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

That is why a priest can go regularly to his father confessor, and in addition, as he has need for it, he can also go to a therapist for additional help with complicated struggles in his emotions, or psyche, or self-understanding; just as he also goes to a medical doctor or physiotherapist or surgeon for their very specific services.

I can witness to you that at least on many occasions I have been blessed by God through people who were not priests. Of course, I have had incredible experiences of God's presence and power to heal and forgive through priests in confession since my childhood.

Confession was insufficient to help me overcome certain struggles and in the course of therapy with a religious sister who was a psychotherapist I receive incredible help. First, however, for two years I found myself blocked and could make no progress, but she very patiently continued with me until one day, as I waited to see her, the Lord showed me interiorly that when she would open the door to me it would be He, Jesus, who would receive me and care for me.

That amazing grace allowed me to open my spirit to her in trust, not so much trust in her, but trust in Jesus my Lord and Saviour, who for reasons He alone knew wanted to touch my life through the caring spirit and competencies of this religious sister who was also a trained and supervised psychotherapist.

From that point on, now that I could trust her (Jesus in her), I made incredible progress and learned so much more about myself and the interior working of my own spirit and became able to make great strides in caring for myself. As time went by and I faced more difficult challenges, I ran up against new walls deeper within my spirit, within my human psyche, and once again I needed the assistance of a trained therapist.

That is why when I became a resident in a formation and therapeutic program I was so eager to trust the therapist into whose care I was being entrusted. From the very beginning I learned a great deal about myself. The more I opened myself to the therapist, the more he could have insight into me, and so the more he was able to offer insightful help and guidance, and I experienced profound growth and healing.

This therapeutic relationship went hand in hand with the spiritual direction I received from the wonderful woman spiritual director, with the confessor I saw regularly, and with all the other services in which I participated. The Holy Spirit was orchestrating all of those services in order to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of his love for me and the other residents through the different members of the body of Christ dedicated there to our service.

QUESTION:   Jesus Christ himself had private talks with the twelve that he could not disclose to the outsiders! He explained to them for example that in order to chase away some evil spirits they have to fast and pray.

We as priests also have this as members of the Presbyterium and in the privileged relationship we have with our proper bishop and with his officers who are our direct supervisors and superiors. This privileged relationship we enjoy as priests does not preclude or prevent or block or forbid all of the other possibilities we enjoy as I have been describing them above....

QUESTION:   In the Acts of the apostles you know the episode of a certain Simon who wanted to have the same power as the apostles.... To this day simony – the buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges continues to be strongly condemned by the Church as an act "latae sententiae"... which is the severest excommunication reserved for judgement by the Holy See.

I believe that evoking the evil intentioned Simon in the Acts of the Apostles here is a quotation out of context which has nothing to do with our current dialogue about the role of the laity in spiritual direction and is, I believe, only confusing to bring into our discussion in this way.

That man Simon had an evil desire and thirst for power and this is a thing against which God has spoken very strongly in the Old Testament. Such evil desires open the door to Satan and his demons, which is why God denounces such practices and desires so strongly. This has absolutely nothing to do with a priest benefiting from the services of a doctor, or therapist, or teacher, or professor, of even a lay spiritual director. I cannot denounce this insinuation more vehemently, my brother.

QUESTION:   If then spiritual direction is no longer under the powers of the church let's call that counselling and guidance and not spiritual direction. Otherwise we reinforce a tendency to stir up confusion in our modern society. The role of the priest in our society is becoming more and more overlooked!

It is true that even today some people seem to think that only the ordained clergy are "under the powers of the Church", which is not the case. We are all of us subject to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ in accord with the will of the Father, the lay people no less than the ordained.

Counselling is a technical term that can only properly apply to a person who has been properly trained, tested, and is supervised to offer a service of counselling. Therapy is also a technical term that is sometimes used interchangeably with counselling but actually brings a little more than counselling.

The counsellor accompanies a person and helps them understand what is happening within them, so that they can conduct themselves with more insight and wisdom through self knowledge and understanding. The therapist can bring a person further through specific strategies to remove obstacles or learn to go around them or to undo "knots" that have tied up our inner processes of life.

Spiritual direction is separate from these two services and activities and has its own very specific objective which is the discernment of the will of God, the presence of God, and the action of God in our lives. It also considers our efforts to align ourselves with God in obedience to his will, to pay loving attention to his presence, and to work together with God under his direction in order to bring about his will in the world.

QUESTION:   Unfortunately this is our sad reality in our parishes where lay people want to take over the role of priests....  Priests have experienced on their own body the consequences of this permissive situation. Lay people think that there are no privileged rights for consecrated people. Whatever these are doing, those can do it too!

There are many sides and dimensions to the church situations which you evoke with this statement.

There is of course the specific role of the priests, as of the bishop, but there are also the roles of the laity. The first role of a priest is to operate as an agent of the mercy of God to build, repair, and maintain bridges of charitable relations within the parish community.

Like Saint Paul, the priest must be willing to endure the cross in order to become all things for all people in order to help them come to Christ and to love one another. He must help them overcome obstacles to understanding, to mutual help, to kindness towards all, to charity in every situation.

When the priest experiences difficulties with people, which is inevitable, he must not take any of it personally, but continue to love people, and when he must point out the teaching of Christ and the Church, he must do so in a dispassionate way, with great kindness, and never using the law as a "club" or instrument of discipline by way of authority through a show of strength. Only in exceptional circumstances and when everything else has been tried are we to resort to the strength of authority, as Jesus only did against the religious leaders BECAUSE they were preventing ordinary people from coming to Him, from experiencing the love and mercy of God.

So we are called to accept to be crucified, in little ways but also in big ways, in the course of our service to the Body of Christ. We are to lead by example in demonstrating the primary principle of charity, after the example of Jesus, who accepted to suffer in order to reveal the true nature of the love and mercy of God. So, as you say, we are called to experience these troubles in our body and well as in our spirit and emotions or psyche.

The thought or desire or appetite for "privileged rights" is a dangerous trap for clergy. Jesus made it very clear that those who wish to be first must accept to be last and servant or slave of all, of everyone, including those whom we find most difficult.

It is true that both the consecrated and the ordained are privileged, but only in a supernatural way, not in natural ways. We have a place reserved for us personally on the back of Jesus' Cross, which is empty and waiting for us. Some saints have called the back of Jesus' Cross the "marriage bed" between the soul and the Beloved who is the Lord Jesus, because it is in that "place" that we experience the intimacy of the marriage relationship between God and the human soul. It is an intimacy more profound than that of Marriage, but Marriage is God's special image and expression of the intimacy the Holy Trinity offers to human souls.

However, when the ordained and the consecrated expect, want, or seek to enjoy in the natural sphere a status of privilege because of their station or role, then they fall into the danger of careerism and clericalism, setting themselves up as separate from the "ordinary laity" and, in this way, superior to them. Much evil has entered into the Church through these dangers, and each step in this direction takes us far away from the Son of God who "came to serve, not to be served".

QUESTION:   According to Canon law, the ordinary minister of Holy Eucharist is a male ordained person. But now things are changing: you will see the activity of extraordinary ministers of the Holy Eucharist as something automatic, not even a basic formation ad hoc! I have seen a lay person doing a transfer of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday, and yet the priest in charge was there! Where is the Church of Christ heading?

What you describe can be an abuse, but it is not necessarily that these lay people are guilty of bad conscience. Most often it is the instability in the availability of priests that over time leads to such a situation. In fact, the Church of Montreal has procedures to avoid such abuses and to gently correct them whenever they occur.

First, when a new priest arrives, he must spend himself generously as a servant of charity and unity in peace. As he observes practices that may be wrong or at least could make room for greater excellence in justice, truth, devotion, and charity; he must take note of these things and bring them to the Lord in prayer.

Second, he must resist the temptation to do violence to the people by imposing authoritative changes, because to do so would express condemnation of people's motives which are usually good, and he would fail to acknowledge with gratitude the service they have been trying to render for the glory of God.

Third, the priest must do his best to express gratitude to all those who offer service and encourage all who come to persevere in their walk of faith with the Lord and in the exercise of charity to one another.

Fourth, in the natural course of time and in ways that do not do violence to people, the priest walks with them and offers gentle leadership through the instruments of collaboration already in place, such as liturgy committee or parish pastoral council, and fabrique, and gradually leads by example, by leadership of prayer, and by bringing teaching and instruction.

An excellent example of a practice undertaken by a newly ordained priest after only two years – a priest who became the youngest bishop in Canada ten years later – was the leadership he offered, with the approval and the support of his pastor, to the liturgy committee. He proposed to them that what would please God and would be for the good of the faithful would be for them, the liturgy committee, to respond to the Pope's call to strive for excellence in the Liturgy.

He proposed that at their regular meetings they slowly read through together the GIRM - General Introduction to the Roman Missal - and that they take notes as they read and discuss it. Their objective would be to examine the excellence of the way they participate together in the Liturgy and to see what they could do to increase that excellence, either be dropping practices that take away from the excellence of the Liturgy, or by correcting errors, or by slowly adding pieces that may be missing.

By proceeding this way, the priests did not need to intervene with "shows of authority" because the lay people themselves saw what needed to be corrected and the priests could then lead them in a discussion of strategies for making the corrections in ways that would not offend anyone but would win the enthusiasm of everyone to do their best for the glory of God and the good of souls and the growth of the Church.

Fifth, regarding the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion or of the Holy Eucharist, as it is also for Lectors, it is the domain and responsibility of the pastor to oversee the selection, formation, encouragement, continuing formation, and mandating of competent members of the faithful to undertake these liturgical ministries for a limited time. 

He can walk with them until a relationship is established and, at an appropriate time, meet them for an informal interview to establish a simple file for each one. Then he can call them all to formation sessions and explain the difference between Ordinary and Extraordinary Ministers. 

He can help them discern whether to continue, he can call others after proper screening, and give them all a mandate at a Sunday Liturgy for a limited period of time, such as one year or two or, at most, three years. They are to understand that the mandate may or may not be reviewed through a process of discernment and consensus.

We have to remember that the first Holy Week, the Son of God accepted to allow his Body to be tortured and his Precious Blood to be spilled all over the earth, in order to demonstrate the true nature of the divine and merciful love of the Father. That violence continues to be done to the Body and Blood of Christ through the ignorance of both clergy and laity, but Jesus continues to allow this in order to continue to demonstrate the true nature of the divine love and mercy of God.

Love requires us to show the utmost love and reverence to Jesus in his Body and Blood as well as in the least of these his brothers and sisters. However, it is divine love that continues to move Jesus to expose himself to abuse at our hands, and we cannot – nor should be attempt – to prevent Him from doing so; as Peter once tried to prevent Jesus from going to Jerusalem to be killed.

Every situation is in God's eyes an opportunity to meet Him, to learn about Him, to be touched by his love, to grow in faith and trust, and for all of us to love one another, and to strive together for excellence under the supreme guidance of the law of love, which is also the "law of the gift" of ourselves in imitation of God who is constantly pouring himself out for us. We must become like Him if we are ever to enter into his presence in eternity, and it is a grace and gift for us to have time here on Earth to correct ourselves and to grow in love.

QUESTION:   If we go back in the history of the Church we will find that these errors have been addressed by competent authorities to avoid confusion in the Church.... I think that this is a sensitive subject to be handled seriously. This is all that I am saying here in my humble view of things... May God bless you.

I quite agree with you, dear brother priest, but as you can see above, the Church cannot tolerate that we, the clergy, go about these serious matters like the religious leaders in Jesus' day who flexed the muscles of their authority but showed no love, no compassion, no kindness, no patience, no tender mercy towards the people, but were only concerned with their own status, their own privileges, their own perfection, their own superiority. They thought nothing about the good of souls.

May you also continue, dear brother priest, to enjoy the blessing of God by continuing to walk in his ways, and may you too, dear reader, enjoy this same blessing of walking in the ways of the Lord!

                Pax + Caritas, Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Montreal

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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