A new movement is beginning in the Catholic Church in our country. It is called the Association of United States Catholic Priests - AUSCP for short. It began about a year ago when some priests used the rally cry: 'Just Say Wait' when it was announced that a new translation of the Roman Missal was about to be promulgated. The feeling was that not enough input had been gained from the grass roots level of the church, and perhaps, instead of just ramming this new translation down people's throats, it might be in the best interest of everyone to try it on an experiemntal basis and, after reviewing feedback, tweak it to better assist Catholics in worship. As you know, those calls went unheeded, and we have a cumbersome set of prayers that are not proclaimed in wording that is at all familiar to most people in the pews. In fact, the United States had almost no input into the English translation, whose committee was headed by someone from Great Britain.
From that futile effort at having our voices heard came some priests who thought it might be nice to rally like-minded priests in the United States, and perhaps, if our numbers became sizable (we are hoping to get 10% of the Catholic clergy to sign on), our voice might not go unnoticed as much as before. Austria and Ireland are among countries that already have such organizations. I have, until now, not been actively associated with this group because part of me wonders if anything can ever be accomplished, and wouldn't it be better to use all my energy ministering here in the parish.
However, I agreed to attend today's meeting of our Archdiocese's chapter of AUSCP, in part because my curiosity was piqued by the question 'Where do we go from here?' as the topic of discussion, and in part because it is raining and not worth heading to New Hampshire for my days off.
I am glad I went. There were sixteen of us, several for the first time. And alot of the discussion centered around our interpretation of the documents of Vatican II, which is a vastly different interpretation than what the hierarchy has been proclaiming in the recent years. The vision of the 2nd Vatican Council was a church where everyone has a voice, and while it is clearly not a democracy, nonetheless, it is no longer a monarchy either. In fact, the 'pyramid' is turned upside-down by Vatican II. No longer is the wide base of laity on the bottom with the Pope as the tip, resting on top. Rather, the wide base of laity is on top, supported by the tip.
We most certainly need the hierarchy to guide us, but the direction the Church is heading is formed by the needs of its members. 'Collegiality' comes through loud and clear in the documents of Vatican II, and the vision of Pope John XXIII. We see that a return to that is needed in our church today.
There are two ways to proceed, and we have not gotten to the point of deciding on one particular way. Some advocate for having an agenda and meeting with the hierarchy to hammer home our points. Others see nothing to be gained by getting in the face of the hieracrchy. Rather, we should seek ways of implementing the spirit of the Council in our ministries, and our periodic gathering would be to show solidarity for one another, gain support for our work, and share ideas to accomplish our common goal.
All in all, I was thought the meeting was productive. I am glad I spent part of my day off attending. I look forward to our next meeting in January. And in the meantime, we seek ways of adding to our numbers. Pray for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment