When I was reflecting on last Sundays gospel (31st Sun in Ord Time) I found myself changing some words in light of the Australian Bishops Ad Limina visit to Rome.

Jesus said, “The Pope and the Bishops occupy the chair of Rome. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach… Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing capa magna’s and gold encrusted vestments, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets in Domus Australia and the front seats in the audience with the Pope…”

I don’t normally think as cynically as this (I hope) but I was thinking like this for two reasons.

Firstly, the Australian Bishops gave a commitment to the Australian Church that they would continue to discuss the process and the decision of Bishop Morris’s removal and that they would continue to discuss this issue during their Ad Limina visit in Rome. The Bishops said that it will be there that they will have the opportunity to share with the Holy Father and members of the Roman Curia the fruits of their discussion and to share their questions and concerns with an eye to the future.

According to their recent statement, this they did and they stated that: “We return to Australia determined to do whatever we can to heal any wounds of division, to extend our fraternal care to Bishop Morris, and to strengthen the bonds of charity in the Church in Australia.”

So I now beg the Australian Bishops to spell out exactly, step by step, what they plan to do to heal the division that exists in our church since the dismissal of Bishop Morris. Because in my view the division is real and it is causing pain and angst among many of our communities.

Secondly, the Holy Father in his ‘ad limina Apostolorum’ referred to the Bishops special duty to care for the celebration of the Liturgy and to help everyone adjust to the new translation.

In this light I wonder if the Australian Bishops have the courage to follow the example of Bishop Colin Campbell, Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand, who, after 12 months of using the new translation, surveyed the people of his diocese and got the following results:

While the minority said it “deepens the meaning” of the Mass and is “more reverent,” most characterized the changes as “unnecessary,” “confusing and meaningless,” and “a backward step and pre-Vatican II in language style.” The negative responses topped the charts by a wide margin. Out of 180 replies to his survey, 17% were positive and 83% were negative. The article listed specific phrases that came in for the most criticism and concern. These included: “and with your spirit,” “under my roof,” “consubstantial,” the wording of the Confiteor, and the use of the word “men” in the Nicene Creed.

The above mirrors, I believe, how the majority of parishioners feel about the changes and is another source of division in the church. Again, I would beg the Bishops to outline step by step what they plan to do to help priests and people adjust to the changes that have been put in place, because I feel that many priests find it difficult to ‘sell’ the new translation to their people when they have difficulty accepting the changes and the reasons behind them themselves.

But maybe I am cynical enough now to believe that having a year of Grace followed by a year of Faith will cover over these issues and heal all.

Paul Gooley
West Kempsey