Christ's Call to "Renew My Church"

In a pivotal scene from the 2000 historical drama 13 Days, which chronicles the behind the scenes maneuverings during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it's been discovered that a Russian cargo ship has slipped passed the United States Navy's blockade of Cuba. In the War Room the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, is overseeing what is officially being called a quarantine, keeping his eyes on the admirals and generals, who he and President Kennedy suspect are itching for an excuse to start a shooting war with the Soviet Union. When he overhears an admiral give the order to fire upon the ship, he quickly intervenes and a shouting match erupts between the two. The officer informs McNamara that they were firing warning flairs, not shells. It's implied that the Secretary is in over his head and should leave them alone to do their job - the Navy has been running blockades since the days of John Paul Jones, proclaims the frustrated admiral.

McNamara informs the admiral that it is he who is out of his depth, not seeing that President Kennedy is actually engaging in an entirely new form of military diplomacy designed to avoid war while protecting American interests. He says, as he points up to the big board tracking the ships:

"This is not a blockade. This is language. A new vocabulary, the likes of which the world has never seen! This is President Kennedy communicating with Secretary Khrushchev!"

I was reminded of this scene recently when I attended a day of reflection and prayer for parish staffs and volunteers here in Chicago (Cicero, to be exact). Cardinal Blase Cupich has begun an initiative of reorganizing the parishes of the Archdiocese which is called Renew My Church. The symbol of the initiative is the San Damiano Cross, in front of which St. Francis prayed, and from which Jesus spoke to him, telling the Saint to "Rebuild my Church." The Church in Chicago doesn't need to be rebuild, but like the Christian community of all times and places, we need to be renewed in the Spirit so as to be more effective evangelizers for today. We are at "Phase Zero," at this point of the initiative, as the facilitators put it. We are to get together with the other parishes in our groupings, get to know each other, and maybe engage in what is being called "soft collaboration": maybe holding joint processions or social out reach programs before the formal implementation of the groupings over the next several years. These moments of reflection were opportunities for the members of the various parishes to come together and begin the process.

I was reminded of this little episode from the movie, not because there were any dramatic confrontations at the two sessions I attended, far from it. But that at times I felt that the questions being asked from the floor, while reasonable, were missing the point. Participants were asking what plans the Archdiocese had for things like ecumenical outreach, vocation recruitment and bringing fallen away Catholics, especially young people, back to the Church. Again, all valid concerns. But Renew My Church is not a pastoral plan in the traditional sense, where the orders come down from the Pastoral Center to the parishes, and it's up to each place to check off a list of predetermined tasks. It very much is a new language, spoken with the vocabulary of subsidiarity and shared responsibility. The question isn't what is the Cardinal is going to do, or what plan does the Archdiocese have, but rather how are our parishes, working in concert as opposed to isolation, going to address the challenges faced in their neighborhoods and towns.

This doesn't mean that the Pastoral Center doesn't play a vital role in the life of our local church. Cardinal Cupich has already begun reorganizing the the bureaucracy of the Archdiocese, streamlining the central offices while putting more staff into the vicariates, to help the parishes where they live. In many ways he is following Pope Francis' lead of decentralization. The Cardinal, like the Pope, gives us the big picture scenario, but it will be pastors, their councils, volunteers and parish groups who will see, judge and act according to the needs on the ground. 

Cardinal Cupich is well aware that there is a crisis in both vocations and young people leaving the fold. He is personally involved with ecumenical efforts, especially with the Islamic community. But who knows your parish community better than you? Who knows your children better than you? Who knows the ecumenical landscape in your area better than you? At the same time, we may know that something is wrong, but don't know how to address the issues. Or, we have been doing things the same way for so long that we really don't see what's going on beyond the church parking lot, or that it has anything to do with us. This is where the Archdiocese, under the Cardinal's leadership, can assist the local parish groups to formulate and execute a plan to fit their situation. 

This won't be a quick or painless process. People are worried about the future of their parishes, and that's understandable. One person Tuesday night asked where the money from any potential parish land sales would go, and even though he was reassured that any proceeds from real estate deals stay with the local community, I don't think the questioner believed it. But again, while an understandable question, it still misses the point. The purpose of the groupings isn't to close and merge parishes. That may be a byproduct of Renew My Church, but it's not the goal. The goal is to get parishes working together, sharing pastoral resources, working to their strengths. A parish that has a strong religious education program can pick up the slack for ones that may be weaker in that area. Another with a developed social outreach initiative can take the lead for the group with that. It will mean forming intentional disciples of Jesus Christ, who have a real friendship with Him, and are dedicated to leading others into relationship with the Savior. 

Renew My Church will only succeed in the long run if we all have a change of mentality, and this will not be easy. Bishops and pastors needs to take a good part of the blame if the faithful find it hard to trust. For too long bishops and pastors have been positioned as regional executives and middle managers in what George Weigel calls "Catholic Church, Ink," with he pope as CEO. Clerics became seen as professionals instead of ministers of the Word and Sacraments.  The perception still is that pastors are always asking for money, and leading fundraising efforts rather than serving as spiritual guides. Pope Francis is trying to break that image, getting back to the model of bishops and pastors as fathers and teachers of the Faith, first and foremost. This is the Scriptural and patristic image of the bishop, as well as the vision Vatican II called the Church to recapture. The role of administrator of the goods of the Church will always be an important part of what bishops do (it's in the Bible too), but the first job is to guide the flock with a shepherd's care, binding the spiritually wounded, calling back to stray, building bridges to the world. They are the first animators in that mission to make disciples and lead people into friendship with Christ. 

This is what Cardinal Cupich is proposing. It's the vision of Pope Francis translated to the reality of Chicago. It's the vision of the Church as an evangelizing force on mission, not an institution to be maintained, with the parish and new groupings serving as the launching pads. It's an ambitious program, but one that can be implemented with openness to the Spirit, who wants to teach us a new language with a vocabulary that speaks of intentional disciples in deep friendship with Jesus, on fire with sharing the Good News of salvation.