Clericalism and a New Model for Priesthood - Marie Bouclin
/Clericalism and a New Model of Priesthood
Marie Bouclin, RCWP Canada Bishop Emeritus, former International Coordinator of Women’s Ordination Worldwide
Marie Bouclin, Special to The Review | December 15, 2019 — Marie, former Canadian Delegate to Women’s Ordination Worldwide, served as International Coordinator of WOW. She is a member of Canada’s Catholic Network for Women’s Equality and the Roman Catholic Womenpriest movement. She was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Womenpriest movement and later consecrated as Canada’s first woman bishop. Today, Marie is RCWP Canada Bishop Emeritus. She is the author of Seeking Wholeness, Women Dealing with Abuse of Power in the Catholic Church. We are blessed to have her with us.
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In his Letter to the People of God1 , Pope Francis denounces clericalism as the cause of the sexual abuse scandal that is, according to Canon Lawyer Thomas Doyle, O.P.2, the worst crisis in the church since the Reformation. I’ve come to connect clericalism and sexual abuse ever since I heard women’s experiences of abuse of clerical power, particularly stories of sexual abuse, harassment and unjustified dismissals of women by priests and bishops. In fact, it was those abuses, and a need for a new model of priestly service that put me on the path to priesthood. I could see an urgent need to find ways of healing the rape of the soul that is clergy sexual abuse. It became very important for me to understand clericalism so that we, in the women priest movement can be ever watchful lest we fall into its trap.
Pope Francis describes clericalism as “an assumption of moral superiority” and “a peculiar way of understanding the Church’s authority” which manifests itself in “sexual abuse and the abuse of power and conscience”. 3 The remedy he prescribes is prayer and fasting. Nowhere is there mention of a systemic problem within the structure of the Church nor is there any real call for change. In fact the constant teaching of the Magisterium is so resistant to change that it has made several decisions that have been harmful to the people of God. Consider that in 1968 with Humanae Vitae, all forms of artificial contraception were banned, even for the poorest families who could not support another child. Paul VI dismissed the advice of his pontifical commission which called for a more modern approach to family planning. Then there was the official banning (though not all bishops agreed) of condoms even though the AIDS epidemic took over 35 million lives, mostly in poor countries. And then of course, there is the prohibition on so much as discussing the ordained ministries of women and excluding women from all decision-making positions. Even though women are “naturally” morally superior if we are to believe John Paul II.4
However, a group of women researchers, mandated by Cardinal Cupich of Chicago proposes a much more detailed definition:5
Clericalism is an attitude of entitlement and superiority. It claims the right to making decisions affecting the lives of Catholics based on the “sacred power” conferred by priestly ordination. In the present scheme of things (according to the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church), the priest is endowed with the power to act in persona Christi, that is to say that he speaks and acts in the person of Christ himself. Clericalism is a form of idolatry most manifest when the priest and many faithful believe that clergy actually speaks and acts “as God”.
This attitude of entitlement and superiority has led to very skewed teachings, particularly with regard to women and sexuality. For instance, old celibate men who, again according to Thomas Doyle, have “never had a healthy and honest love relationship in their lives”, claim to have the wisdom to tell young couples how to live their conjugal love, including how many children they will have. Even until now, they taught that sexual intercourse had always to be open to new life.
Then there are the “cheaters” (and their numbers, according to Doyle quoting Dr. Richard Sipe, would be about 90%) who claim they have made a promise of celibacy, i.e., not to marry, but not a vow of chastity. These same men are telling vowed women religious how to live their vow of chastity and how to love Jesus better.
Some chaplains of religious communities believe they are entitled to impose all kinds of mortifications, particularly on young nuns, which would include frequent fasting, corporal penances, deprivations of all kinds, such as sleep, leisure time, family ties, etc. without however, observing them themselves. And this is besides the sexual abuse documented in a recent film by Marie-Pierre Raimbaut.6
There are “princes of the church” who live in luxury but reserve the right to excommunicate women for having had an abortion or tried to have fewer pregnancies because they live in grinding poverty and cannot provide the necessities of life for another child.
Some parish priests have refused the sacraments to women who left a violent and abusive husband (even if their lives were in danger), saying this is the cross women have to bear.
So, if as a renewed model of priesthood, we are to strive to be more faithful to the Gospel, we must recognize that some teachings of the Magisterium, such as article 1563 of the Catechism, simply need to be set aside. For instance, the notion that something special happens, often called “ontological change”, when one is ordained a priest. The ordained man (always a man in the current scheme of things) becomes another Christ (alter Christus). This is not the same as being incorporated into the Body of Christ through Baptism. The underlying theological argument of the alter Christus theory promulgated to priests and laity alike is this: Christ is the second person of the Trinity, “of the same substance as the Father”, to quote the Nicean Creed, and the priest is “configured to Christ”. So, he basically becomes God. And he not only acts and speaks for God (as all real prophets do, for instance), but as God. There is a huge difference.
This is the crux of the problem of clericalism. The priest can claim to know what God wants, can expect to be treated with special reverence, can impose his will as that of God. That endows him with an enormous power which can easily lead to abuse, be it sexual, physical, psychological or spiritual.
The alter Christus theory is also at the root of the current two-tiered membership in the Church. It prompts Vatican reporter Robert Mickens to describe clergy as having
… a privileged and separate caste mentality that makes clerics believe that they are specially chosen, set apart from the rest of people to rule, teach and admonish.7
Consequently, one must belong to this caste to have any decision-making power.
And clericalism is maintained in place by the oath of obedience made by priests and bishops to the Pope. This oath rests on the belief that the teachings of the Magisterium are infallible and also that access to the Divine is always mediated through the clergy. Never mind that experience has taught us otherwise. Some decisions alluded to earlier have been harmful to the People of God, the Magisterium has lost credibility because it has not paid attention to the sensus fidelium nor the advances of science or even biblical exegesis, or even that God has spoken to humanity through the voices of prophets and mystics who have not all been priests. The alter Christus theory has further ramifications. If only clergy are qualified to rule, teach and admonish, they come to believe they are not only morally, but intellectually and spiritually superior. They are entitled to make all decision regarding not only parish and community administration and welfare but also who is worthy, in their opinion, to receive the Sacraments. And all this is enshrined in Canon Law which for centuries now has taken precedence over the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels.
Our task then, as priests, is to avoid falling into the trap of clericalism and exercise a “new model of priestly ministry”. Here is can be helpful to listen to some of the complaints people have expressed to us about women priests, and questions we can ask ourselves:
Do we listen to the members of our communities? Do we give people a voice via “shared homilies”, for instance, or do we insist on imposing our “superior theological/intellectual knowledge” on people who are often well-informed in the faith and want to raise legitimate theological questions?
Do we insist on titles and insignia as recognition of our “superior status” in the church?
Do we make decisions collegially within our small faith communities, especially with regard to liturgy, or do we accept suggestions gratefully?
Do we resist the temptation to impose our “moral or intellectual superiority” by referring too frequently to our own experiences or to a body of esoteric knowledge that has no bearing on the situation at hand?
What more can we do?8
We may find interesting the suggestions made by Marie-Andrée Roy to the members of L’autre Parole, a collective of Christian Feminists based in Quebec. Their aim is to raise awareness and prevent further sexual abuses by clergy, but can serve our purposes in renewing our vision of church. No single action is going to stem this tide of destruction washing over a Church that cannot be “fixed”, but collective actions may help us in our mission to renew it (or build a new one).
We can begin by being radically inclusive, at all levels of our ecclesial communities. We need both women and men in all ministries, as well as people who fit into an imprecise human gender. The first criterion for leadership is that people be reliable witnesses to the Gospel.
The current theology of the priesthood, which claims that the priest is another Christ (alter Christus) must be deconstructed and a new theology of ministry must be built on the example of Jesus and those who are dedicated to service to the community.
We must set aside an understanding of Church as made up of two hierarchical castes, clergy and lay, where clergy hold the key to salvation and the laity is a flock which simply follows. We need equality.
Dispense with titles, be it Reverend Father (or Mother or Sister or Brother). Not to mention Excellence, Eminence, Monsignor (= My lord), Your Holiness. We have parents who are our fathers and mothers. All members of our church community are our sisters and brothers with whom we maintain brotherly and sisterly relationships.
Abolish all hierarchies, including those of material means, social standing and education. Every person has value and everyone has a voice.
There is no need to dispense with the vow of celibacy per se, but we do not impose it. Celibacy is not a condition to be admitted to ministry. Chastity, on the other hand, which is the holy and healthy exercise of human sexuality, is a precious Christian virtue required of everyone.
Insist, however, that Church leaders refrain from pontificating and trying to regulate the sexuality of persons, especially as they relate to contraception, abortion, homosexuality, premarital sex, etc. Rather, speak out on the important issues of respect for the dignity of all persons, openness to the poor and most needy, and loving others as ourselves.
Develop a new understanding of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience (vowed Religious, for example), so that obedience of all Catholics does not become blindly servile and self-destructive.
Demand that the current atmosphere of secrecy, silence and submission be replaced by the acquisition and continuously developed processes of discernment, self-esteem and self-confidence – in other words, learn to love ourselves to love others better .
One of our priests has called her ordination the “grace of all graces”. God has indeed graced us with a call to be channels of grace for God’s people by our attentiveness to spiritual and also material needs. Our ordination also calls us to very high ethical standards of behavior. That means respecting the dignity of all human beings we encounter and treating them exactly as we imagine Christ would. Then we would indeed be another Christ.
[Marie Bouclin, Sudbury, ON, RCWP Canada Bishop Emerita]
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1 Pope Francis, Letter to the People of God, August 20, 2018
2 Thomas Doyle, O.P., Lecture to Futurechurch, March, 2019
3 Letter to People of God, op.cit. #4
4 See John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 1988 especially #27 and #31
5 From correspondence with Bishop Andrea Johnson, RCWP
6 L’autre scandal dans l’Église, l’abus sexuel de religieuses, Société Radio Canada, 24 avril 2019
7 Robert Mickens, How serious is Pope Francis about eradicating clericalism?,La Croix International, Sept 21, 2018
8 Marie-Andrée Roy, Unpublished notes, Colloque de L’autre Parole 2019
This article was originally published in The Review, RCWP Canada’s Online Magazine|December 15, 2019 . RCWP is a member group of Women’s Ordination Worldwide.
