A Church on the mend

THE Church has always been in the mind - it has to be constantly on the mend. Ecclesia semper reformanda. But it has to be so, especially now that Pope Francis has led the Church in the realization that we have not listened enough, that we have not traveled together in mission, that we have not supported each other as we should have in the faith.

The cases of abuse that have rocked the Church terribly are only symptomatic, according to the preliminary documents on synodality, of a deeper malaise: "clericalism." This is the mindset that structures the Church into a two-story building: the upper floor occupied by members of the clergy and the lower, by the laity. It is the belief that the Church depends primarily on the clergy. It is the privilege of the clerical class. And in the same way that politicians are loath to pass laws that diminish their power and clout or subtract from their interests, members of the clergy have, in fact, done little to change this perspective because it has been beneficial to them. In contrition and shame, we members of the clergy must admit that.