THE CHALLENGE OF LIBERATING LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY FROM CLERICALISM
Keywords:
Clericalism, Ecclesial Authority, Ecclesiology of Vatican II, People of God, Pope FrancisAbstract
Having made the essential distinctions between an authentic clerical culture and clericalism on the one hand, and between authentic ecclesial leadership (authority) and clericalism on the other hand, this article endeavours to point out how clericalism—which has diffused itself into all spheres of contemporary ecclesial life—has even distorted the indispensable ecclesial element of authority. Under five sub-titles, the article highlights five major contemporary contributing factors that invariably provide breeding grounds for clericalism in the Church. Thus, it concludes that ecclesial authority needs to be liberated from the clutches of ever-increasing trends of clericalism in the Church by returning to the ecclesiology of Vatican II.
References
Bernard Haering, Priesthood Imperilled: A Critical Examination of Ministry in the Catholic Church, Liguori, Missouri: Triumph Books, 1996, 92.
Bill Cosgrave, “Structures of Authority: The Issue behind the Issues Today,” in Sean Mac Réamoinn, ed., Authority in the Church, Dublin: The Columba Press, 1995, 26-47.
Discourse of Pope Francis to the Chilean Bishops at the Sacristy of the Cathedral of Santiago, 16 January 2018, http://www.vatican.va/content/
francesco/en/speeches/2018/january/documents/papa-francesco_20180116_cile-santiago-vescovi.html (last accessed on 23 April 2021).
Donald B. Cozzens, The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest’s Crisis of Soul, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2000, 131.
Gaudium et spes (1965), 43.
George B. Wilson, Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood, Collegeville (MN): Liturgical Press, 2018, 3.
H. De Lubac, Méditation sur l’Église, Paris, 1968, 321.
H. Heimerl, “Clericalismo” in Karl Rahner, et al., ed., Dizionario di Pastorale, Brescia: Editrice Qureniana, 1979, 131.
Hannah Brockhaus, “Christ’s Throne is the Cross, Pope Francis Says,” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39691/christs-throne-is-the-cross-pope-francis-says (last accesses on 7 May 2021).
Hannah Brockhaus, “Pope Francis: The Antidote to Worldliness is Christ,” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44550/pope-francis-the-antidote-to-worldliness-is-christ (last accessed on 22 April 2021).
It should be noted that all the Christian denominations, in spite of their divisions and diverse ways of interpreting the Christian faith, accept the concept of authority in the Church as a given. Tamara Grdzelidze, ed., Sources of Authority, Contemporary Churches, Vol. II, Faith and Order Paper No. 218, Geneva: WCC Publications, 2017.
Joe Mannath, “Priestly Formation Today: The Rhetoric and the Reality,” a talk given at the Association of Major Seminaries of India, Kengeri, Bangalore, India on 20 September 2002, 2, available at http://donboscoindia.com (accessed on 7 May 2021)
Vimal Tirimanna, “La formaton des prêtres dans le context de l’Asie d’aujourd’hui. Forces, défis et questionnements,” in Marc Pelchat, ed., La Formation Presbytérale Aujourd’Hui, Montréal, Québec: Novalis, 2014, 61-75.
John P. Beal, “Something there Is that Doesn’t Love a Law: Canon Law and Its Discontents,” in The Crisis of Authority in Catholic Modernity, ed. Michael J. Lacey and Francis Oakley, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, 150.
Katherina Schuth, “Assessing the Education of Priests and Lay Ministers,” in Michael J. Lacey and Francis Oakley, ed., The Crisis of Authority in Catholic Modernity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, 336-337.
Kevin Seasoltz, “Clericalism: A Sickness in the Church,” Furrow 61, 3 (March 2010) 135.
Lumen Gentium (1964), 18, 20, 22; Christus Dominus (1964), 2, 4, 6, 8; Presbyterorum Ordinis (1965), 2. Henceforth, these documents will be referred to as LG, CD and PO, respectively.
Peter Daily, “Confronting Causes of Clericalism: Original Sin, Institutional Dynamics,” National Catholic Reporter, 9th September 2019, https://www.ncronline.
org/news/accountability/priestly-diary/confronting-causes-clericalism-original-sin-institutional (last accessed on 23 April 2021).
Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2015), 37.
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (2013), 102. Henceforth, this document will be referred to as EG.
Pope Francis. “Priestly Ordination: ‘a gift of service’”, https://www. vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-ordains-9-priests-rome-mass.html (last accessed on 26 April 2021).
Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992), 18.
R. Thomas Richard, “Clericalism: Betrayal of the Body of Christ,” Homiletics & Pastoral Review, 28 March 2019, available at https://www.hprweb.com/ 2019/03/clericalism/ (last accessed on 19 March 2021).
Richard R. Gaillardetz, “Challenging Clericalism,” https://www.praytellblog. com/index.php/2019/01/02/challenging-clericalism/ (last accessed on 10 April 2021).
Sacrosanctum Concilium (1964), 14. Henceforth, this document will be referred to as SC.
Dean R. Hoge and Jacqueline E. Wenger, Evolving Visions of Priesthood: Changes from Vatican II to the Turn of the New Century, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003, 47-59.
Stephen J. Rossetti, The Joy of Priesthood, Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2005
Stephen J. Rossetti, Why Priests are Happy: A Study of the Psychological and Spiritual Health of Priests, Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2011.
The Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2014, http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/december/ documents/papa-francesco_20141222_curia-romana.html (last accessed on 22 April 2021).
The Report of the Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, popularly known as the “Murphy Report” published on 29 November 2009 is available at http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Dublin_Archdiocese_ Commission_of_Investigation (last accessed on 7 May 2021).
The Tablet, 15 April 2019 at https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11594/resist-temptation-of-spiritual-worldliness-says-pope (last accessed on 22 April 2021).
Vimal Tirimanna, “Towards a Catholic Priestly Culture,” Living Faith 5, 2 (December 2004) 49-60.
Walter Kasper, Leadership in the Church: How Traditional Roles can Serve the Christian Community Today, translated by Brian McNeil, New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2003, 62.
Wilson, Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood.
Bill Cosgrave, “Structures of Authority: The Issue behind the Issues Today,” in Sean Mac Réamoinn, ed., Authority in the Church, Dublin: The Columba Press, 1995, 26-47.
Discourse of Pope Francis to the Chilean Bishops at the Sacristy of the Cathedral of Santiago, 16 January 2018, http://www.vatican.va/content/
francesco/en/speeches/2018/january/documents/papa-francesco_20180116_cile-santiago-vescovi.html (last accessed on 23 April 2021).
Donald B. Cozzens, The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest’s Crisis of Soul, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2000, 131.
Gaudium et spes (1965), 43.
George B. Wilson, Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood, Collegeville (MN): Liturgical Press, 2018, 3.
H. De Lubac, Méditation sur l’Église, Paris, 1968, 321.
H. Heimerl, “Clericalismo” in Karl Rahner, et al., ed., Dizionario di Pastorale, Brescia: Editrice Qureniana, 1979, 131.
Hannah Brockhaus, “Christ’s Throne is the Cross, Pope Francis Says,” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39691/christs-throne-is-the-cross-pope-francis-says (last accesses on 7 May 2021).
Hannah Brockhaus, “Pope Francis: The Antidote to Worldliness is Christ,” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44550/pope-francis-the-antidote-to-worldliness-is-christ (last accessed on 22 April 2021).
It should be noted that all the Christian denominations, in spite of their divisions and diverse ways of interpreting the Christian faith, accept the concept of authority in the Church as a given. Tamara Grdzelidze, ed., Sources of Authority, Contemporary Churches, Vol. II, Faith and Order Paper No. 218, Geneva: WCC Publications, 2017.
Joe Mannath, “Priestly Formation Today: The Rhetoric and the Reality,” a talk given at the Association of Major Seminaries of India, Kengeri, Bangalore, India on 20 September 2002, 2, available at http://donboscoindia.com (accessed on 7 May 2021)
Vimal Tirimanna, “La formaton des prêtres dans le context de l’Asie d’aujourd’hui. Forces, défis et questionnements,” in Marc Pelchat, ed., La Formation Presbytérale Aujourd’Hui, Montréal, Québec: Novalis, 2014, 61-75.
John P. Beal, “Something there Is that Doesn’t Love a Law: Canon Law and Its Discontents,” in The Crisis of Authority in Catholic Modernity, ed. Michael J. Lacey and Francis Oakley, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, 150.
Katherina Schuth, “Assessing the Education of Priests and Lay Ministers,” in Michael J. Lacey and Francis Oakley, ed., The Crisis of Authority in Catholic Modernity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, 336-337.
Kevin Seasoltz, “Clericalism: A Sickness in the Church,” Furrow 61, 3 (March 2010) 135.
Lumen Gentium (1964), 18, 20, 22; Christus Dominus (1964), 2, 4, 6, 8; Presbyterorum Ordinis (1965), 2. Henceforth, these documents will be referred to as LG, CD and PO, respectively.
Peter Daily, “Confronting Causes of Clericalism: Original Sin, Institutional Dynamics,” National Catholic Reporter, 9th September 2019, https://www.ncronline.
org/news/accountability/priestly-diary/confronting-causes-clericalism-original-sin-institutional (last accessed on 23 April 2021).
Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia (2015), 37.
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (2013), 102. Henceforth, this document will be referred to as EG.
Pope Francis. “Priestly Ordination: ‘a gift of service’”, https://www. vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-ordains-9-priests-rome-mass.html (last accessed on 26 April 2021).
Pope John Paul II, Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992), 18.
R. Thomas Richard, “Clericalism: Betrayal of the Body of Christ,” Homiletics & Pastoral Review, 28 March 2019, available at https://www.hprweb.com/ 2019/03/clericalism/ (last accessed on 19 March 2021).
Richard R. Gaillardetz, “Challenging Clericalism,” https://www.praytellblog. com/index.php/2019/01/02/challenging-clericalism/ (last accessed on 10 April 2021).
Sacrosanctum Concilium (1964), 14. Henceforth, this document will be referred to as SC.
Dean R. Hoge and Jacqueline E. Wenger, Evolving Visions of Priesthood: Changes from Vatican II to the Turn of the New Century, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003, 47-59.
Stephen J. Rossetti, The Joy of Priesthood, Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2005
Stephen J. Rossetti, Why Priests are Happy: A Study of the Psychological and Spiritual Health of Priests, Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2011.
The Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2014, http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/december/ documents/papa-francesco_20141222_curia-romana.html (last accessed on 22 April 2021).
The Report of the Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, popularly known as the “Murphy Report” published on 29 November 2009 is available at http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Dublin_Archdiocese_ Commission_of_Investigation (last accessed on 7 May 2021).
The Tablet, 15 April 2019 at https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11594/resist-temptation-of-spiritual-worldliness-says-pope (last accessed on 22 April 2021).
Vimal Tirimanna, “Towards a Catholic Priestly Culture,” Living Faith 5, 2 (December 2004) 49-60.
Walter Kasper, Leadership in the Church: How Traditional Roles can Serve the Christian Community Today, translated by Brian McNeil, New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2003, 62.
Wilson, Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood.
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Published
2021-02-28
How to Cite
Tirimanna, V. . (2021). THE CHALLENGE OF LIBERATING LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY FROM CLERICALISM. Asian Horizons, 15(1), 70–90. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/ah/article/view/3775
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