CaSPA Conference: Keynote – Frank Brennan, “A faith that does not trouble us, is a troubled faith; a faith that does not make us grow, is a faith that needs to grow.”

Frank’s address was so dense and so interesting that this is at best a poor reflection of all he had to say, but how lucky were we to have him speak about leadership. We did this as the poor old protesters sat outside muttering their Hail Marys, and Frank noted that he gone up and introduced himself and offered to speak with them. Their response? “We already know what you think.” More Church Ignorant than Church Militant.

The paper is published on Eureka Street.

The quote is from Pope Francis, and Frank’s call is to enable our communities to be fired up in imagination and witness. Leaders as enablers of other’s worldviews and futures.

There are institutional mindsets which have changed over the decades, usually for the better. Leadership is human and has a history, and that includes bishops. We have received wisdom, but there are limits on that wisdom.

Justice Brennan’s letter to the paper on the cave rescue: prayers of all faiths showed compassion and gage courage to the rescuers. A world where Christianity is not the only story but where we claim that our faith sustains us.

Principals:

• Care of LGBTI staff and students
• Dealing with diversity
• Managing community in the wake of the Royal Commission

As church communities, we must be more inclusive and more expansive – welcoming everyone at the table. We need to be engaged in the mess and complexity of the world. CF Amoris Laetitia – the church as a mother who always does what good she can even while dirtying her feet in the mud of the street. Stop looking for institutional niches and enter into the reality of other people’s live Complication and tenderness, not just firmness and clarity.

Bring conscience to bear. Francis has a different emphasis from JPII: conscience helps us to recognise that a situation does not correspond to the demands of the Gospel, but it helps us recognise what God is asking us to do even when it falls short of the objective ideal. We are called into relationship with Jesus to a life of Grace, even while we are not yet capable of achieving the objective ideal.

Called to live a sacramental life; so call all to the table. “A person can be living a life of grace while in a state of sin.” The Eucharist is not food for the perfect as much as medicine for the sick. Clergy are called to be open and honest in dealing with the lay realities.

We must engage in spiritual discernment: the church’s sound norms are not sufficient and we must go beyond reason and prudence (sounds like a case for Newman’s theological imagination).

The Church’s moral teachings will retain currency only when the structures of the institutions and its behaviour remain credible when measured against it’s own standards. The role of women is the canary in the coal mine. JPII said the door was closed, but at least he said it was a door and not a wall.

Francis’ position is incoherent, because while he acknowledges that sacramental power should not be exercised like general power, he does not go the next step and recognise that, currently, sacramental power dictates the path of canon law and theological discussion. The official position is no longer comprehensible to people of good will and cannot stand in the face of Francis’ own acknowledgement of the role and dignity of women.

In the wake of the Royal Commission, we need to take heart from the fact that now people can come forward and be believed. All social Instrumentalities failed the children. It is important to remember that we still have to cope with the vast majority of abuse victims who are injured in domestic circumstances.

It is important that Archbishop Wilson resigns, even though there is a good prospect he will succeed appeal; however, under Canon Law he is the sole arbiter of when he should resign, and this is not an acceptable situation in contemporary Australia. The days where governments would or should commit funds to someone who is unfit or incompetent but is the sole arbiter of his own fitness to lead, have long gone. Bishops need to be taught and need to learn from lay people exactly what good governance is.

The diversity of views on the Truth, Justice and Healing Council should be aired in the community, rather than filtered to a single view which may not be comprehensive.

The Pell matter: we don’t know the complainants, we don’t know the evidence, so we should pray for all those involved, because it is the church, the police, the justice system and the media who will be tested.

School funding: the Cheney reviewed identified that the SES system has disadvantaged Catholic schools. Craven’s statement that the current system doesn’t pass the pub test. As school leaders, we should hold forth that the principle should be just and fair funding for all students, and special deals or structural distortions should be rejected.

Marriage: happy to vote yes, because civil marriage has diverged from sacramental marriage for many years. The question was about the contours of civil marriage. Given the mobility of populations and the increasing number of children brought up in same sex families, the law of Australia had to adapt. The defence of sacramental marriage doesn’t answer the question. The letter of some bishops indicated that there was a recognition of the role of conscience, notwithstanding the objections of some bishops. ABp Coleridge: “It’s perfectly possible for a Catholic to vote yes (or no) – it depends on the reasons, and one’s vote will not send one to hell.”

The long-standing practice of turning a blind – or compassionate – eye to marriage irregularities in teachers and other church workers should obviously be extended to other unions.

We need to reflect on the Downlands motto – Fortes in Fide.

Instead of burning the institutional church down, lets hold the clerical leaders to account and create a manger in our schools and communities where the Christ can be born.

Questions:

Francis as a Jesuit: governance involves listening to all and then discernment. As leaders, we are called not to choose between good and bad but to choose the greater good. There is no moral calculus, but an engagement in the art of discernment of where we might do the greater good. See the latest document. The world is messy and complex and that is where we are called to mission.

How to deal with leaders who are also employers? These are not ordinary times and respectful silence is no longer responsible. Most bishops want leaders who are respectful but have a robust spirit to engage in dialogue – not necessarily in the public square. WE need to speak frankly and fearlessly to power, and we can’t in conscience keep silence when we have greater knowledge and competence than those to whom we draw our leadership, but must speak on behalf of those for whom we are responsible.

Frank also gave a beautifully pastoral answer to the question of how one would deal with a request for a same sex marriage in the church – that it is not possible in the current understanding of Catholic marriage, but that a Catholic couple could be pastorally welcomed and blessed.