Today’s financial challenges should be a catalyst for change in the Catholic Church, writes JamesSomerville-Meikle
The Catholic Church should embrace the opportunity to do things differently.For some it was the sight of sports fans back in stadiums. For others it was the sound of live music or going on a foreign holiday. For me, the ultimate sign that the pandemic had come to an end was the return of the collection at Sunday Mass.
I remember a priest once joking during his homily on Holy Thursday that it was the one time of year the Church didn’t ask for money. That was before the pandemic. But the sight of those leather pouches and wicker baskets weaving through the pews is now returning in many churches.
The return of the collection plate is another sign that we are getting back to something like pre-pandemic life. It’s also a sign that many of our churches desperately need the money. But these financial challenges could be the catalyst for some long overdue changes. As the Herald has observed recently, this is an exciting moment for the laity of the Church.
It’s no secret that many churches – like many people – have emerged poorer from the pandemic. Pope Francis spoke at the beginning of his Pontificate about his desire to see a poor Church, for the poor. He may be getting his wish.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that some parishes have managed to weather the storm of the pandemic reasonably well, emerging with more direct debits and brand new card machines for donations. But the overall picture suggests most churches are having to make do with less.
This is at the same time as costs continue to rise. The recent Autumn Statement warned of recession, with high inflation expected well into 2023. For churches, which can be black holes for cash at the best of times, this is worrying news.
Financial pressures are forcing individual churches, and the Church as a whole, to think about what it can to do – or needs to do – with the resources available. The response so far has been characterised by a mixture of asking people for more money and looking at cutbacks where possible.
It’s an approach remarkably similar to the one adopted by the current Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to the nation’s finances. But like critics of the Government, there are those calling for a ‘plan for growth’ in the Church, not just a way to balance the books.
Part of the solution has literally been staring our clergy in the face every Sunday. There is a wealth of talent and expertise amongst the laity in this country. Some people’s time and talents are already being used to great effect, but there is scope for lay Catholics in this country to play a much greater role in the life of the Church.
The Herald’s recent survey of Catholic leaders in the UK and US (www.catholicherald.co.uk) has shown that some of the greenest shoots in the Church are from lay leadership in areas such as business, education, and the arts. These men and women are already making an important contribution in national life, and in many ways are the tip of the iceberg in lay Catholic leadership.
The Church has never had difficulty in asking people for money, but it is still not great at asking people what they can do to serve in their parishes and at a national level. There are many projects and initiatives that would be better in the hands of the laity, and it would be good to hear more from lay groups on matters of importance to Catholics such as healthcare, schools, and family life.
We are blessed in having so many volunteers in the Church already. But often it is the same people, called on time and time again. It’s up to all lay Catholics to ask how they can serve the Church, especially at this time. Even if Sunday collections return to their pre-pandemic levels and donations increase, money is far from the only pressure facing us.
There are some wonderful people discerning and living out the call to priesthood and religious life, but there is no denying that seminaries and religious communities are less full than they used to be. Southwark has closed its seminary at Wonersh, and the Archdiocese of Aberdeen currently has one person in seminary. This must surely be a wake-up call on how the Church can expect to function in future.
The legacy of child abuse continues to cast a dark shadow over the Church. The final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October, makes for difficult reading. It’s clear that past sins have damaged the standing of the Church. Statements from Bishops carry a little less weight in the eyes of many, certainly outside the Church, in the wake of scandal. It has surely also dealt a fatal blow to clericalism in this country.
This is all before the Synodal process initiated by Pope Francis gets down to business. The gathering of Bishops in 2023/24 is at very least expected to reinforce the teaching of Vatican II on the importance of the laity. The questions thrown up are already proving challenging and the answers could be even more challenging yet.
It is tempting to see this moment as one of anxiety, perhaps even one of “managed decline” as some would see it, but I do not think this needs to be the case. So many of our parishes are vibrant and active, and in so many ways the contribution of the Church to our community and national life is needed more than ever. But it is clear that things need to change.
Covid and the financial pressures on our churches have made some of these decisions more pressing, but the winds of change have been blowing for some time. Rather than battening down the hatches, the Church should embrace the opportunity to do things differently. This is the moment for the laity in this country to step up and be counted.
James Somerville-Meikle is Deputy Director of the Catholic Union of Great Britain
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