Whither the Catholic Church?

Nov 14, 2014

By Pauline Lim
Participants and organizers of a workshop entitled Whither the Catholic Church? were pleasantly surprised when newly ordained Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, His Grace, Julian Leow, walked in to register to attend the workshop. His Grace paid the workshop fee, signed his attendance, put on his name tag and without fanfare, quietly took his seat among other participants.

Whither the Catholic Church – A brief History of its Journey since Vatican II was held on 18 October in Petaling Jaya. The workshop detailed how the Spirit of Aggiornamento (or Renewal) unleashed by Vatican II, and the ensuing progressive developments in the Church was not without problems. Participants learned about the breaking away of traditionalists and ultra-conservatives who feared the erosion of Catholic dogmas. They gained insights into the rise of progressive theologians and scriptural scholarship which explored a more demystified and deconstructed Christological version of Jesus, including the radical Hermeneutics of Rupture or Discontinuity. They were also given an appreciation of the concerns of popes like John Paul II and Benedict XVI who, fearing the rise of secularism and loss of Europe’s Christianity, tried to rein in these ‘progressive energies’.

Participants learned to appreciate the directions the different popes took and were re-assured that, despite the seeming gravitation towards a more conservative theological agenda and a return to pre-Vatican II, there were tremendous signs of hope, and that the Church remains open to the idea of Universal Salvation. They felt encouraged by the changes and a return to the original spirit of Vatican II and the “Francis Effect” which is sweeping the Catholic world. More significantly, participants were re-assured why today is a good time to ‘be and remain Catholic’!

Participants’ feedback on the workshop was very positive. Many said that the workshop enlightened them on Vatican II and its objectives, and more specifically, the insights into the directions taken by the popes. Many expressed their surprise at the presence of His Grace, himself an expert on Church History. The fact that he stayed on till the end of the workshop is testimony to the possibility that he was deriving value and benefit from the workshop, as much as to his humility.

Participants wondered whether this was part of his ‘walkabout’ to learn more from lay people. He was seen very much engaged with members of SALT (School of Acting Justly, Loving Tenderly and Walking Humbly with the Lord), a group of young Catholic graduates, now working adults, involved with human rights and social justice in community.

The workshop was facilitated by Gerard Koe, a counsellor based at Catholic Care, Mary of the Cross/Cyrene Centre in Melbourne. Gerard, an alumnus of Loyola University of Chicago also conducted workshops on The Healing Code in Assunta Hospital and Soul Awakening in Petaling Jaya.

The workshops were part of an on-going series of workshops organized by Theological Training of Laity. TTL is a lay group dedicated to organizing training aimed at an interpretive theology that reflects the on-going changes in the world in keeping with the ‘signs of the times’ and based on a ‘faith seeking understanding’ premise.

Refer to http://theotraininglaity.blogspot.com/ to learn more about TTL workshops.