PERTH, WA: February 2, 1989
Registered by Australia Post Publication No. WAR 0202
Number 2621
POST ADDRESS: PO Box 50, Northbridge, 6000 W.A. LOCATION: 26 John St, Northbridge (east off Fitzgerald St).
TELEPHONE: (09) 328 1388
The big moves in and around the Perth parishes
FAX (09) 328 7307
PRICE 600
Catholic Church in China • Pages 6 and 7
Message loud and clear
• Pages 2 and 3
Top donor parish of Applecross got the 1989 Project Compassion message loud and clear as Bill Huxley struggled home with promotion materials after last Tuesday night's launch in the Cathedral parish centre. (Report next week.)
ift Ia levels ...AND DON'T STAY IDLE SAYS THE POPE
VATICAN CITY: The long awaited document of Pope John Paul on the laity calls for improved religious formation of Catholics, a greater role for women in the church and a stronger Christian witness at all levels in society. But the pope also is concerned with a too indiscriminate use of the word "ministry", a confusion and equating of the common priesthood, and the lack of observance of church laws and norms and the tendency to clericalise the laity.
The pope urges a mar- subjects of separate VatHis reiteration of the of the laity to ican studies, the pope shalling priesthood ordained being for men is bal- evangelise a world which said. The document also anced by a call for greater he said is increasingly involvement by women indifferent or hostile to raises concerns the pope has often voiced: Christianity. in the church. increasing • With The pope warned of a The admission of women to the ministries "new state of affairs" in threats to human dignity of acolyte and lector are both church and society and Christian belief, and not dealt with but a which "calls with a on the eve of third Vatican spokesman said particular urgency for millennium of Christianthe matter is being the action of the lay ity, Catholics should renew themselves and faithful". studied (see page 12). "It is not permissible for their societies. The 200 page papal • In the face of religious document responding to anyone to remain idle," indifference and seculathe 1987 world Synod of he said. As recommended by rism, the "responsibility" Bishops is titled The Vocation and The Mis- the Synod, two hotly of Catholic laity "is to sion of the Lay Faithful in debated issues — lay testify how the Christian the Church and in The movements and minis- faith constitutes the only tries — continue to be the valid response. . . to the World.
problems and hopes that life poses to every person and society". The pope balances support for past-conciliar developments with an affirmation of traditional structures and disciplines, particularly in his discussion of lay ministries, the role of women and new lay movements. His praise of the laity for its desire to be more actively involved in the life of the church is balanced by a caution against a blurring of roles between the ordained non-ordaisned and ministries.
Certain tasks such as the ministry of the word and distribution of Communion can be performed by the laity "when necessity and expediency in the church require it". he said. But the pope warned pastors to "guard against a facile yet abusive recourse to a presumed 'situation of emergency' or to 'supply by necessity,' where objectively this does not exist or where alternative possibilities could exist through better pastoral planning".
Words of encouragement On the vocation of women and their role in church and society, the pope repeated his condemnation of sexual discrimination and other threats to the dignity of women contained in his 1988 apostolic letter "Mulieris Dignitatem". In his exhortation, the pope acknowledged the "indispensible contribution of women to the building up of the church and the development of society."
His reiteration of the church's teaching that the ordained priesthood is reserved for men was balanced by a call for greater involvement by women in the church. "Above all the acknowledgement in theory of the active and responsible presence of women in the church must be realised in practice," he said. Canon law contains many provisions for
such participation, he said. Canon law contains many provisions for such participation, he added, but they "must be more commonly known" and "realised with greater timeliness and determination". No mention was made of female altar servers or deacons, two issues raised by individual synod delegates but not included in the synod's final propositions.
The pope balanced praise for the local church and particularly the parish with words of encouragement for new lay movements. "In our day the parish still enjoys a new and promising season, he said, and he encouraged various efforts to renew it. The pope also spoke of a "new era of group endeavours" in movements, groups and associations. The laity have a right to form such associations, he said, and they can be for many a "precious help ... in remaining
faithful to the demands of the Gospel" and the committed to Church's mission. The pope said criteria were needed to recognize such groups, including: • The importance they attach to the call to holiness. • "The responsibility of professing the Catholic faith." • Communion with the pope and the local bishop. • Participation in the Church's apostolic goals, and a "missionary zeal." • "A commitment to a presence in human
society," including efforts to improve social conditions. The pope repeated his announcement of last June that the Pontifical Council for the Laity is preparing a list of associations which "have received the official approval of the Holy See" and is studying the conditions of granting approval for ecumenical associations which have a majority of Catholics. The pope said a "total and ongoing formation of the lay faithful" should be a priority of the Church. Declaring the division betw-ween "spiritual" life and "secular" life one of the
"serious errors of our age," the pope called for a formation which would stress the unity of life. This must include spiritual and doctrinal formation, and a "more exact knowledge" of the Church's social teachings. In a final appeal. the pope said the Church was standing on the "threshold of the third millennium." "A great venture, both challenging and wonderful, is entrusted to the Church — that of a reevangelization, which is so much needed by the present world," he said. The laity are an "active and responsible part of this venture."