I Hope in Thee for Us: Oblates, Association and the Church

Back

I Hope in Thee for Us: Oblates, Association and the Church

Clericalism. It’s much in the news today, a double-edged sword piercing the Body of Christ. Pope Francis decries it, naming it not only as a contributing factor in the abuse cover-ups that have rocked our church worldwide but also as a systemic problem that prevents the baptized in assuming their rightful roles within the church. Shamefully, it is too prevalent in our church but I believe that Oblates and Oblate Association offer one antidote to this ecclesiastical wound.

At its most simple, clericalism denotes the misuse and over-extension of clergy’s authority as well as the cronyism and cloistered, privileged environment granted to the clergy. Pope Francis has drawn attention to the damage done to the Body of Christ in communities where clericalism reigns: “Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today. [August 20, 2018, Letter to Pennsylvania Grand Jury].

It also, Francis says, keeps in place a system that effectively marginalizes the baptized: “Clericalism leads to a homogenization of the laity; treating it as an ‘emissary’ limits the various initiatives and efforts and, I dare say, the boldness necessary to be able to bring the Good News of the Gospel to all areas of social and above all political activity. Clericalism, far from inspiring various contributions and proposals, gradually extinguishes the prophetic flame of which the entire Church is called to bear witness in the heart of her peoples.” [Address to Participants in the Pontifical Commission for Latin America Plenary Assembly, April 26, 2016].

Clericalism: creating conditions that allow for a misuse of power and binding the baptized. We have seen and lived the reality, yet, gratefully, I can attest to a different reality. My experience with the Oblates through Oblate Association references something else. Oblate Association, lived well, offers an antidote to clericalism.

Oblate Association challenges clericalism in two profound ways. The first is in calling the baptized to co-responsibility in mission and ministry. The second is in the new relationships it invites Oblates and Associates to be part of. The first liberates the entire Church to be the People of God; the second reduces the dangers of priestly privilege and elitism.

The framework and theology where the Congregation lays out their vision of Association and the Oblates’ role in developing it can be found in the Aix Congress Document on Associates [1996] and various Oblate Chapter documents dating back as far as 1986 with Missionaries in Today’s World.  It is however in the lived reality of the Congregation that we see it given skin. I look to the Friends of Saint Eugene in the Anglo-Irish Province, the Mazedonian Family in the US; the Rosies in Australia, the Oblate Associates of OMI Lacombe in Canada and Kenya. and countless other expressions of Oblate/Associate relationships throughout the Congregation.  Each in its unique way gives skin to something that inherently challenges clericalism.

We see it first in terms of mission and ministry. In Association, the baptized are called to co-responsibility in ministry. As far back as 1986 Oblates recognized they needed to call laity to a new role in the Church: “In the light of what has been said, Oblates are called to involve themselves more fully in promoting the mission of the laity, especially in the issues of the meaning of baptism and the royal priesthood of the faithful” (LG, 34-36) MTW 73. In the mid 90’s, Father General Marcello Zago in a series of speeches, pointed out that Association was meant to be a movement from Oblates and laity being ‘cooperators,’ to Oblates and laity being fellow disciples of Christ. In the spirit of Eugene, he said, we were to move from a lay dependency on Oblates to a new sharing in decision-making and the execution of plans.

I live this reality, in my personal life, in my Oblate district, in Lacombe province and in the Congregation. I have been called and I see other Associates being called and empowered to take up ministry along side Oblates, not as ‘helpers’ but as equal members of the Body. Associates minister wherever they go, as chaplains and educators, parish workers and business people, in board rooms and in assisted living centres. Wherever they go, they carry the charism of Saint Eugene.

This Vatican II model of Church works against clericalism. It is non-hierarchical in that it calls all the baptized, religious, cleric, and lay, to cooperate in the life and mission of the church, and where people serve according to their gifts. Oblates and Associates do this with the belief that calling the laity to mission is not a temporary solution to a perceived crisis in priestly vocations but a true unfolding of the role of all the baptized.

Second, the relationships envisioned between Oblates and Associates work against clerical elitism. Words like mutuality, reciprocity, partnership and co-responsibility are key in describing them. According to the Aix Congress Document, Oblates and Associates share a ‘living link of community.’ They, “acknowledge their need for each other. Theirs is a living relationship of reciprocity in openness, trust and respect for every person’s vocation. . . . [They] live and complement one another in mutual growth.”

I see this every month in my District. We, Oblates and Associates, meet in Basic Oblate Communities where we share faith, life, and friendship. We pray together, talk about our lives and ministries, our challenges and joys.  Friendships deepen and barriers are broken down, for the benefit, as one Oblate noted, of both parties. I see it with OMI Lacombe leadership teams: Associates sit in advisory positions and their voices actively sought. I have experienced it in Oblate houses throughout the Congregation. As an Associate, I have been welcomed into Oblate life, sharing meals, ministry and friendship. Simply said, it’s hard to stay on a pedestal when you are sharing life with people!

Witnessing as Apostolic Community rather prophetically, I think, says, in speaking about Association: Where these forms of association already exist, they are a positive influence on the faithfulness of persons and communities to the gospel. They therefore affect the quality of our witness and reveal a new facet of the Church. Together we are in a more credible way prophets of Christ’s Passover” [WAC 42].

A new facet of the Church! Might it be a church without the sin of clericalism? Oblates are noted for ‘being close to the people.’ Perhaps Association takes it one step further to create new relationships within the Church itself. Oblates also speak of ‘going to the edges,’ of ‘crossing borders.’ With Oblate Association, they have the tremendous potential to break down some of the boundaries found in the Church.

We need it now, more than ever. Oblate Association, lived well, stands over and against excessive clericalism, top-down structures, the dominating of use of power, and the barriers that leave laity on the outside, powerless and voiceless. To create faith communities where power between ordained, vowed and baptized is shared, where relationships are equal and mutual, and where all are called to use their gifts in service, is to create a church that is a more credible witness to Christ. It is a tremendous opportunity indeed!

By Sandra Prather, HOMI