YOUNG OBLATES MEETING IN LESOTHO
Five Oblate Priests from the OMI Zambia Delegation attended
the Young Oblates Congress in Lesotho from 24th –28th April.
It was a refresher session. The Facilitator was Dr Francis C.L.
Rakotsoane from the National University of Lesotho, Department
of Theology and Religious Studies. The Topic of his talk was:
“Challenges that Young Priests are faced with today”. Below
is his conference: CHALLENGES THAT YOUNG PRIESTS ARE
FACED WITH TODAY
by Dr. Francis C.L. Rakotsoane
The National University of Lesotho
Department of Theology and Religious Studies.
P.O. Roma 180
Lesotho.
E-mail: lobiane@yahoo.co.uk.
Presented at YOMI Congress 2006 April 24-28
Held at Lelapa la Lerato – Mahobong
As we enter the new millennium, the world in which we live is
becoming more and more a global village. “--- (T)he world’s
governments and peoples are increasing their efforts to reach
common understanding on issues that affect the future of
humankind” (The Prosperity of Humankind, 1995: iii). Such a
globalized world has its own problems many of which present new
challenges for today’s Christian Church in general and its
clergy in particular.
Historically, human consciousness has depended upon science
and religion as the two agencies through which the humankind’s
experience has been organised, its environment interpreted, its
latent powers explored, and its moral and intellectual life
disciplined. The two have acted as the real progenitors of
civilization.
History also shows that the effectiveness of this dual
structure has been greatest during those periods when, each in
its own sphere, was afforded chance to have its impact on
society (The Prosperity of Humankind, 1995:17).That dual rhythm
is no longer experienced in the world of today.
While science has always been afforded its fair share of
infiltrating all aspects of human life, things have not been the
same with regard to religion. A general tendency of various
governments of the world has been to sideline religion or have
it relegated to a non-priority area.
Many parts of the world are today in moral crisis as a result
of this imprudent marginalization of religion. Our world is
becoming more and more secularized. That is, the influence of
religion in the world affairs is getting reduced by day. As a
result of this state of affairs, the world is today plagued by
all sorts of inhuman experiences: Murder, rampant rape, drug
trafficking, devaluation of people, lack of will to resist evil,
robbery and theft, women and child abuse, domestic violence,
fraud and embezzlement of public funds, dishonesty, inefficiency
in public service delivery, perverted beliefs and breakdown of
family as a fundamental social institution as the process of
secularization takes in ever wider circles in our increasingly
industrialized and scientific world.
These are, indeed very disturbing experiences, which can no
longer be left unchallenged.Today there is a general awareness
that if ever the world is to be human again, people must be
morally regenerated. For this reason various voices calling for
a moral regeneration are heard in many parts of the world.
As people, we are born neither morally good nor bad, but grow
up to be good or bad persons depending on the kind of social
context we are subjected to during the course of our growth. In
a normal setting of any given society, healthy social context
ought to be provided by families, schools and society to their
members. But with family structures collapsed (as witnessed by
today’s high rate of divorce), our schools and societies
highly secularised (as witnessed by the exclusion of Religious
Education from schools’ curriculum), the question is who/what
else is there to carry on with this important responsibility of
socializing members of society into human beings?
It is quite clear to me that in the absence of proper
functioning of the institutions identified above, the
responsibility of doing so now rests squarely with the Church.
This is, in my opinion, the main challenge the Church is faced
with today.For the Church to be able to effectively change this
state of affairs in the world, it is imperative for it to have
humble, informed, sensitive and responsible clergy that is
responsive to the needs of today’s humanity.
Becoming the kind of clergy described above while surrounded
by so many tempting things in an irresistibly seductive world
like ours is what I consider the biggest challenge the young
priests are faced with today. What the above statement implies
is that opting for a religious life in today’s hopeless world
is itself a great challenge because of the high expectations
people have when it comes to the role the clergy have to play in
reclaiming the world for God. It becomes such a disappointment
when the servants of God, for one reason or another, fail to
live up to these expectations. Such disappointment has often led
to apostasy, decline in Church membership, attendance and
vocations.
In today’s world there are a number of factors that may
contribute to the failure of the servants of God (the clergy) to
deliver as expected. The following are some of such factors:
Poor Seminary Training
If the curriculum offered at seminaries fails to take into
consideration the fact that we live in a changing world with its
changing needs, the products (trainees) produced at such
seminaries will lack competence and skills necessary for them to
function effectively and efficiently in the church of God.
When last did the seminaries or houses of formation you come
from review their curricula? In the midst of pain and suffering
in the world, God wants his servants to act as salt, showing
love compassion, forgiveness and justice. The ministerial
formation received from the Houses of formation should be such
that it prepares God’s servants for this important task.
So often the ministerial education seems to focus on teaching
for service in the temple (how to celebrate Mass and to
administer all other sacraments) instead of also getting the
students out of the classroom to engage in experiential learning
and teaching on the streets with workers, urban poor, sex
workers and all kinds of people as a structured part of the
curriculum.
This can be achieved by placing students where they can work
and live with people and groups in the community, developing
friendships and integrating with the people of God. This would
change many theological institutions or Houses of formation from
being isolated enclaves and white elephants to being alive and
fully engaged in their communities.The priestly life,
authentically lived, can make innovative contributions to
tackling the challenges of today’s world. If the priestly life
maintains its prophetic role, it becomes a Gospel leaven within
a culture, purifying and perfecting it. A well designed
formational training/curriculum equips the Church servants with
the skills they need to effectively serve the people of
God.
The Church’s Failure to Recognize Uniqueness of each
Individual Person
As humans we are not the work of chance or the products of
some evolutionary processes. God has created each of us for a
specific purpose to fulfill in this world. For this reason, He
has given each of us some unique gifts or talents to uniquely
use them to enrich the communities in which we live.
Unfortunately, the Church has more often than not suppressed the
operation of these diverse talents by trying to have every one
of its priests do/study not what they are good at but what it
wants them to be good at. Because this is often done contrary to
their natural God–given talents, many priests in the Church
end up becoming mediocrities whose professional expertise fails
to match those of the people they pastor to.
Life in community is not always easy. God sends a variety of
individuals with different backgrounds and personalities which
often rub up against each other in trying to live together and
form community. Each person, however, who God sends, despite
their wants and weaknesses, is a gift to the Community. Each of
them is meant to grow into what God would have them be, that
unique person made in His image, but they do not do this alone
but in the company of those with whom they live. It is the
responsibility of the community in which they live not to stifle
or suppress the unique talents they possess but to help them
develop them to their full potential for advancement of the
Kingdom of God. As they live in Community, they find their
common unity in Christ whose love is their common bond.
Lack of Concern for the Marginalized
In the world, and even in the Church, you find division
between the rich and the poor, the haves and have nots, between
men and women, heterosexual and homosexual persons, between
clergy and laity, between races, and between the developed and
the developing world. So often, the religious leaders have
a weakness of identifying themselves with one group at the
expense of the other thus living as contradictory figures to
Jesus who always identified with the poor, the oppressed, the
marginalized and the weak of the society.
As servants of God you, are called to break those
barriers of fear that paralyze people, to live as free men and
women in Christ, to conquer by the power of the Holy Spirit the
evils and temptations that promote any form of undesirable life
for God’s people. In other words, in a world disrupted by war,
terrorism, corruption and oppression, the call and challenge
comes to you to become instruments of peace, to partake in the
ministry of reconciliation by prayer and service, both in the
Church and throughout the world. This means your active
involvement, way beyond inspiring sermons, which may be
important too, but are not enough.
To merely talk peace without getting your hands dirty in the
cause of peace, is empty, hollow and lacking in
credibility. Your vowed life of poverty/simplicity,
chastity/celibacy, and obedience should free you from the love
of money and wealth, status, and power that has created so much
inhumanity for the world of today. Through your vowed life in
Community you should reach out to the poor, the sick, the
hungry, and those in prison, whether materially or spiritually
speaking, all people who are in need . Such life should enable
you to stand in the breach between races, nations, and faiths,
by prayer and/or action. The Second Vatican Council teaches
that the priest has the task of "bringing about agreement
among divergent outlooks in such a way that nobody may feel a
stranger in the Christian community" (Priests, #9). Through
prayer, worship, and the nourishment you receive through the
sacraments, you are strengthened "to go forth to every part
of the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole
creation" (Mark 16:15).
Our Priests’ Failure to live Conscious of their Position in
Society
Priests are men of faith and prayer who have responded to
God's call to bring the people to God and God to the people.
Their lives are rooted in the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the Christian
Faith. They live a life of service, celibacy, and obedience to
their bishop/ superior. Priests are called to proclaim and
celebrate the Good News among God's people. They are an active
and loving presence of Christ among the people, sharing their
faith and participating in the struggles of the people they are
serving.
A failure of many of our young priests to live conscious of
the above outlined way of life, has turned many into mere ritual
performers with no positive influence on those they lead. This
whole scenario often results in their loss of respect, dignity
and people’s confidence in them as church leaders. Those who
feel disillusioned by the emptiness of the life of such priests
end up leaving the Catholic Church for other Churches. The
Catholic Church has, in many parts of the world, become a
reservoir from which many of the newly formed Christian Churches
draw their membership. To be a good shepherd who does not lose
the flock entrusted to his care to others, you must be a
blessing to those you serve and not a burden or disgrace by the
way you conduct your life in relation to your vacation.It is
good to interact with the world around us if the goal is to
discover how it works in order to be able to transform it for
better. Your interaction should, however, have limits. You
should not interact with to such an extent that you end up
losing your identity as alter Christus. A pastor is the servant
of God to lead the flock to green pastures (God), not their
accomplice in their sinful ways.
Conclusion
As already said at the beginning of this paper, today’s
world is different from the world of yesterday in which a priest
was seen more as someone set apart from the rest, wearing
special clothing (clerical black); living in a special house (a
rectory); having a special lifestyle and having nothing to do
with day to day issues of ordinary people’s life.
Today most Catholics are not especially concerned about these
things. They want their priest to be one of them, someone living
in the midst of their world—not someone set apart. Being one
with them should, however not be understood as to imply doing
everything they do, sinning when they sin, but it means being
there when they go astray in order to offer them guidance,
knowing their joys and their sorrows, their trials and their
pain.They expect their priest to know how difficult it is to
raise children, what it is to fear losing a job or face an
addiction and to know how hard they work to earn their living.
They expect you to preach about these things so as to bring the
Gospel to their everyday experience and to not speculate about
impossible things which have nothing to do with the real life as
experienced in the real world of the living. They want a priest
who can help them understand that "the joys and the hopes,
the grieves and the anxieties of the people of our time,
especially those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and
hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as
well" (Church in the Modern World, #1). Vatican II, in its
decree on the life of priests, says that "priests have been
placed in the midst of the laity so that they may lead them all
to the unity of charity..." (Decree on the Ministry and
Life of Priests, #9).
To be able to live up to this kind of expectations, young
priests need to be humble (acknowledging that they cannot know
everything, and so be able to listen to others and learn from
them), informed (well read and educated so as to be able to
act/speak out of knowledge, not ignorance when they pastor their
flock), sensitive (being considerate and paying attention to
what is likely to hurt other people in what they say or do), and
responsible (knowing exactly what to say/do at the right time in
a right way to a right thing/person). To achieve all these, the
Houses of formation too will have to be staffed with people of
impeccable character with qualities that can be emulated by the
trainees, and stop appearing to be a hideout for pastoral
misfits whose bitterness of being losers in pastoral work from
elsewhere often turn such houses into places of harassment and
abuse of the trainees. Many Houses of formation are today
without vocations and churches have become white elephants
mainly because those in charge never pay enough attention to the
kind of personnel they put at such places to be formators. To
whom nothing is given, of him can nothing be acquired!
Work for Group Discussions
What do you think can be done to reclaim the tarnished image
of the Catholic
