15 ailments of church administration

  Church bureaucracy is a universal problem. From a small parish to the Vatican bureaucracy, church administration has been a nightmare to clergy and laity alike. A major reason of Christians leaving the church is the attitude and approach of the Church administration. Pope Francis launched a scathing attack on the Vatican bureaucracy last week, outlining a "catalog of illnesses" plaguing the church's central administration, including "spiritual Alzheimer's".

  This is not unique to Vatican alone, one can sense déjà vu in many places. The words used by the Pope about the church bureaucracy were harsh and came as bolt from blue for the cardinals, bishops and priests who run the Holy See. It was less an exchange of warm wishes but the Pope wants to cure the "ailments of the Curia". Pope’s critique left many of the assembled clerics clearly uncomfortable.

 “The Curia is always required to better itself and to grow in communion, sanctity and wisdom to fully accomplish its mission. However, like anybody, it is exposed to sickness, malfunction and infirmity… I would like to mention some of these illnesses that we encounter most frequently in our life in the Curia. They are illnesses and temptations that weaken our service to the Lord,” said the Pontiff, who after inviting all those present to an examination of conscience to prepare themselves for Christmas, listed 15 most common Curial ailments.

1. Considering oneself 'immortal', 'immune' or 'indispensable':

 Quoting the Pope, Vatican Radio said the first is “the sickness of considering oneself 'immortal', 'immune' or 'indispensable', neglecting the necessary and habitual controls. A Curia that is not self-critical, that does not stay up-to-date, that does not seek to better itself, is an ailing body. It is the sickness of the rich fool who thinks he will live for all eternity, and of those who transform themselves into masters and believe themselves superior to others, rather than at their service”.

2. Martha-ism or sickness of people immerse in work, but neglect 'the better part' of sitting at Jesus' feet.

  The second is “'Martha-ism', or excessive industriousness; the sickness of those who immerse themselves in work, inevitably neglecting 'the better part' of sitting at Jesus' feet. Therefore, Jesus required his disciples to rest a little, as neglecting the necessary rest leads to stress and agitation. Rest, once one who has brought his or her mission to a close, is a necessary duty and must be taken seriously: in spending a little time with relatives and respecting the holidays as a time for spiritual and physical replenishment, it is necessary to learn the teaching of Ecclesiastes, that 'there is a time for everything'”.\

3. Sickness of mental and spiritual hardening

 Then there is “the sickness of mental and spiritual hardening: that of those who, along the way, lose their inner serenity, vivacity and boldness and conceal themselves behind paper, becoming working machines rather than men of God. “It is dangerous to lose the human sensibility necessary to be able to weep with those who weep and to rejoice with those who rejoice! It is the sickness of those who lose those sentiments that were present in Jesus Christ,” he said.

4. Ailment of excessive planning and functionalism:

 “The ailment of excessive planning and functionalism: this is when the apostle plans everything in detail and believes that, by perfect planning things effectively progress, thus becoming a sort of accountant. One falls prey to this sickness because it is easier and more convenient to settle into static and unchanging positions. Indeed, the Church shows herself to be faithful to the Holy Spirit to the extent that she does not seek to regulate or domesticate it. The Spirit is freshness, imagination and innovation”.

5. Sickness of poor coordination:

 The “sickness of poor coordination develops when the communion between members is lost, and the body loses its harmonious functionality and its temperance, becoming an orchestra of cacophony because the members do not collaborate and do not work with a spirit of communion or as a team”.

6. Spiritual Alzheimer's disease, or forgetfulness of the history of Salvation:

 “Spiritual Alzheimer's disease, or rather forgetfulness of the history of Salvation, of the personal history with the Lord, of the 'first love': this is a progressive decline of spiritual faculties, that over a period of time causes serious handicaps, making one incapable of carrying out certain activities autonomously, living in a state of absolute dependence on one's own often imaginary views. We see this in those who have lost their recollection of their encounter with the Lord… in those who build walls around themselves and who increasingly transform into slaves to the idols they have sculpted with their own hands,” Pope said. This spiritual Alzheimer’s is a big problem in churches and parishes.

7. Ailment of rivalry and vainglory:

 “The ailment of rivalry and vainglory: when appearances, the colour of one's robes, insignia and honours become the most important aim in life. It is the disorder that leads us to become false men and women, living a false 'mysticism' and a false 'quietism'”.

8. Existential schizophrenia:

 Then there is “existential schizophrenia: the sickness of those who live a double life, fruit of the hypocrisy typical of the mediocre and the progressive spiritual emptiness that cannot be filled by degrees or academic honours. This ailment particularly afflicts those who, abandoning pastoral service, limit themselves to bureaucratic matters, thus losing contact with reality and with real people. They create a parallel world of their own, where they set aside everything they teach with severity to others and live a hidden, often dissolute life”.

9. Sickness of “chatter, grumbling and gossip:

 The sickness of “chatter, grumbling and gossip: this is a serious illness that begins simply, often just in the form of having a chat, and takes people over, turning them into sowers of discord, like Satan, and in many cases cold-blooded murderers of the reputations of their colleagues and brethren. It is the sickness of the cowardly who, not having the courage to speak directly to the people involved, instead speak behind their backs”.

10. Sickness of deifying leaders:

 “The sickness of deifying leaders is typical of those who court their superiors, with the hope of receiving their benevolence. They are victims of careerism and opportunism, honouring people rather than God. They are people who experience service thinking only of what they might obtain and not of what they should give. They are mean, unhappy and inspired only by their fatal selfishness”.

11. Disease of indifference towards others:

 The disease of indifference towards others arises when each person thinks only of himself, and loses the sincerity and warmth of personal relationships. “When the most expert does not put his knowledge to the service of less expert colleagues; when out of jealousy … one experiences joy in seeing another person instead of lifting him up or encouraging him,” Pope said.

12. Illness of the funeral face:

 “The illness of the funereal face: or rather, that of the gruff and the grim, those who believe that in order to be serious it is necessary to paint their faces with melancholy and severity, and to treat others – especially those they consider inferior – with rigidity, hardness and arrogance. In reality, theatrical severity and sterile pessimism are often symptoms of fear and insecurity”.\

13. Disease of accumulation:

 “The disease of accumulation: when the apostle seeks to fill an existential emptiness of the heart by accumulating material goods, not out of necessity but simply to feel secure. … Accumulation only burdens and inexorably slows down our progress,” he said.

14. Ailment of closed circles:

 “The ailment of closed circles: when belonging to a group becomes stronger than belonging to the Body and, in some situations, to Christ Himself. This sickness too may start from good intentions but, as time passes, enslaves members and becomes a 'cancer' that threatens the harmony of the Body and causes a great deal of harm – scandals – especially to our littlest brothers”.

15. Disease of worldly profit and exhibitionism:

 Then, there is the “disease of worldly profit and exhibitionism: when the apostle transforms his service into power, and his power into goods to obtain worldly profits or more power. This is the disease of those who seek insatiably to multiply their power and are therefore capable of slandering, defaming and discrediting others, even in newspapers and magazines, naturally in order to brag and to show they are more capable than others”.

 After listing these ailments, Pope Francis said, “We are therefore required, at this Christmas time and in all the time of our service and our existence – to live 'speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love'.”
  Pope has earlier listed clericalism as a major problem troubling the church. According to Unam Sanctam Catholicam, clericalism is defined as a state of affairs in which there is an unnecessary or overly exaggerated importance attributed to clergy, in such a way that the laity relate to them as subjects to be ruled rather than a people to be lovingly pastored.
 “Basically, a clericalist ideology is one that places too much emphasis on the clergy or attributes undue importance to their actions. It is a defect of the virtue of temperance by excess as applied to the government of the Church,” it says. It has often led to sacramental blackmails in the church which are suppressed within its four walls.

You preached, prophesied, performed miracles, but Jesus will tell you, ‘I don’t know you, evildoers go away from me’

  There’s a particular paragraph in the Bible that can really send shivers down the spines of people -- even pastoral workers, priests and preachers. Rev Fr Bobby Jose OFM (Cap), a well-known preacher and writer, says these verses exerted considerable pressure and influence on him, and prompted him to think deeply about it again and again.

  Mathew 7:21-24 says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

 

Rev Fr Bobby Jose

Yes, these are very strong words from our Lord Jesus.

  “Does Jesus whom I claim to know almost daily really know me? Or will He tell me at the end of the journey that ‘I never knew you’. When I think of these verses I get shaken up. If Jesus doesn’t know you, won’t our fate will be tough?” he says. When I heard Rev Fr Bobby’s message on this topic, I also got jitters.

  If this is the case, what we are doing and acting is meaningless. We pray on a daily basis, go out and preach the Good News and bring up children. However, if the Lord says “I don’t know you”, what will we do? “Where did it go wrong? I was thinking about it these days,” Ref Fr Bobby says.

  He says there are five things to understand or digest these verses.

  Firstly, there’s a mistaken belief that spirituality is equivalent to activity. When somebody asks you what’s spirituality, you will say… going to the church, family prayer, social service, tithing, observing lent and preaching. But sitting and doing nothing is also spirituality. Jesus once told Martha, “Martha you should learn how to sit quietly doing nothing.” Jesus then described this selection as a good activity. ‘Sometimes I feel that people who don’t do anything have made a good selection or activity than those who did many things,” Rev Fr Bobby says. 

  Secondly, when we do many things spiritually for a long time, we do lose love, or act without love. When people list the table of things done or not done, that’s when we lose love. We start listing our activities – that I did this for the family, I suffered this much for the family etc. – when love is lost. In fact, the absence of love is something that we can easily detect. Yes, in Bible we see Jesus lovingly showing us our loveless approach.

  The third aspect is “I, me and myself’, the most obscene words in this world which denote selfishness. “The first word that a person should get rid is ‘I’,” Rev Fr Bobby says. You can read in Mathew 16:24: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me’.” It’s not easy to get out of this “I, me myself” attitude. “The main reason for all the crises in our lives is this selfish attitude,” he says.

 Fourth, the belief that whatever ‘I’ do is for others. “Many people say that ‘I live for others’. Then what are other people living for? Father says he lived for his children. Teacher says he lived for students. Priest says he lived for parishioners. If you can’t live for yourself, it’s of no use. If you’re a singer, your life should also turn musical,” Rev Fr Bobby says.

  Read what St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:16: “Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News.” Rev Fr Bobby says his sermons have been helping him over the last many years. “I have to think deeply about the subject. I have to remain in silence for some time. These sermons helped me to sharpen my mind and life… and stay focused,” he says.

  Fifthly, Jesus says “evildoers, go away from me.” Yes, you have to be a righteous person. Bible keeps on telling about the need to remain righteous till the end of the life. All of us must be righteous. This righteous way of life will banish cruelty, corruption, moral degradation and greed from the world. You should be just and right. Give everyone his due. For example, your ageing father or mother deserves good treatment. Are you able to give it to them or left them to fend for themselves? There are also people who spend their evenings in a bar drinking liquor till late in the night while his children and wife are waiting for him patiently at home.

 So think, what will happen to us after 30,000 days? “These 30,000 days are one’s life span. I don’t want to be melancholic. Yes, we will see the face of God. When the devil comes to you to befriend you, ask him to show the stigmata… the five wounds of Jesus Christ. He will flee,” Rev Fr Bobby says.

  “Are we speaking His language? His language is Bible. But the language that our children and youth use today is audacious. As St Paul said in Philippians 2:5, “you must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If you have the attitude that Jesus had, then you will see His face after 30,000 days.      

        

    

When a church doesn't go out to seek people who are far off, it ends up as a museum

 What's the joy of the church? Pope Francis says it's going out to seek the brothers and sisters who are far off.
 "When the Church does not do this, then the Church stops herself, is closed in on herself, even if she is well organized, has a perfect organizational chart, everything's fine, everything's tidy. But she lacks joy, she lacks peace, and so she becomes a disheartened Church, anxious, sad, a Church that seems more like a spinster than a mother, and this Church doesn't work, it is a Church in a museum," he said in a homily last week, according to Vatican Radio. 
 Who are these far off people? Christians who don't get a spiritual feed; those who haven't heard of Jesus; those who live a sinful life; poor people etc.  
   Then the tomb psychology -- coined by Vatican -- engulfs Christians. Both Pope Francis and Benedict 16 had warned of the gray pragmatism of the daily life of the Church, in which all appears to proceed normally, while in reality faith is wearing down and degenerating into small-mindedness”. This so-called tomb psychology slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum.
 Many Christians have already become mummies and Churches have turned into museums. The result is there to see: lack of spirituality, moral turpitude, increasing divorces and inter-cast marriages. This has already happened in many European countries. A whole generation is growing up without knowing Jesus, and away from the real God. In Mumbai, we see boys and girls choosing their spouses from other religions without any qualms. Don’t they understand marriage is a sacrament.    
  All of us -- including laity and clergy, no one excluded -- are caught up in ourselves, in a careerism which thirsts for recognition, applause, rewards and status.
 On the other hand, whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. "God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God's will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ," Pope Francis had warned in 'The Joy of Gospel'. 
   It all boils down to several fundamental issues. First of all, most of us have lost the sense of sin. We fail to understand that God doesn’t want us to do, act or talk in a way that make the devil happy. But we are caught up in our interests and concerns.

  Secondly, Bible tells us clearly that sanctification is the will of God. It’s not an option for a Christian but an obligation.

  Thirdly, the Church has lost contact with people, poorest of the poor to be precise. Our shepherds don’t go out searching for the lost one or two sheep. The result is that the number of lost sheep is rising. Shepherds must come out from their ivory towers and bring spirituality into the lives of people instead of pushing them into cultural programmes and dinner/ luncheon meetings. Yes, pastoral acedia and clericalism are big issues in Churches across the world. Pastoral workers find it hard to tolerate disagreement, criticism and even failures.     
  Fourthly, as Pope says, we need to open the doors to the consolation of the Lord. We usually flee from consolation. We have no confidence; we are more comfortable in our stuff, we are more comfortable even in our failures, in our sins, he says. But that’s not the way. We must allow the Holy Spirit to act in our lives. When we seek forgiveness, God’s mercy comes upon us. That’s a big consolation. When the Holy Spirit comes into our life, we come out of the tomb psychology. We are then no longer mummies in a museum.

 To sum up, as the Holy Father says, the joy of the Church is to give birth; the joy of the Church is to go out of herself to give life; the joy of the Church is to go out to seek the sheep that are lost; the joy of the Church is precisely the tenderness of the shepherd, the tenderness of the mother.
 "Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs." This is the joy of the Church -- to go out of herself and to become fruitful. 

With cultural programmes, dinners and meetings, the Church as an institution grows, but "the mark of Christ, incarnate, crucified and risen, is not present"

  When a Mumbai church recently organised its annual parish day, I was shocked to see women and youth members gyrating to raunchy and sub-standard film songs. That too in the holy precincts of the church compound. Are we compromising on Gospel teaching? Is this what Pope Francis spoke about evangelisation and the Church going to the poorest of the poor.
 If our Lord Jesus Christ has seen this -- I'm sure he did see -- He would have fallen off the chair. My God. Why's the church adulterating its catechism and evangelism?
 It's common to see adulterated forms of Christianity in our Church these days. In many places, Churches are run like clubs with a fascination for cultural and social programmes -- largely aimed at social and political gains. In other words, Church becomes the property of a select few who convert the Church into an institution with no place for Gospel and Jesus. Do we need a worldly Church with superficial spiritual and pastoral trappings? 

   These "select few" convert the churches into cultural palaces with dances, songs and entertainment sessions. Where is evangelisation? Instead of getting a spiritual feed, there's a concern to be seen, into a social life full of appearances, meetings, dinners and receptions. What a lay person gets is cultural feed or entertainment programmes. Church, in this manner, accomplishes the task of keeping its flock in tact. A big worry of the Catholic Church is keeping its flock together. With some Protestant churches working overtime to woo away Catholics, the Church doesn't want its numbers to dwindle. 

  What’s wrong in having cultural programmes? Yes, they are needed, and part of our social life. But one can always go to a club for such activities. Should we use the church to conduct vulgar display of such activities? No.  Bible stories are rarely depicted through such programmes.

 No doubt, with cultural programmes, dinners and meetings, the Church as an institution grows, but "the mark of Christ, incarnate, crucified and risen, is not present".

  As Pope Francis said in his apostolic exhortation, "closed and elite groups are formed, and no effort is made to go forth and seek out those who are distant or the immense multitudes who thirst for Christ." Some of our churches are good examples of “closed and elite groups” which control the church management. They have deep pockets and get things done by throwing money.
 A heavy dose of cultural programmes, especially raunchy dances and songs, leads to an empty pleasure of complacency and self-indulgence which, in turn, replaces the evangelical fervour. We lose our track. Will we be able to say confidently what St Paul said: “I have finished my race and I have kept my faith.”

  Doubtful. We digress and divert our attention. "We indulge in endless fantasies and we lose contact with the real lives and difficulties of our people," Pope says.
 "Those who have fallen into this worldliness look on from above and afar, they reject the prophecy of their brothers and sisters, they discredit those who raise questions, they constantly point out the mistakes of others and they are obsessed by appearances. Their hearts are open only to the limited horizon of their own immanence and interests, and as a consequence they neither learn from their sins nor are they genuinely open to forgiveness," Pope says.

  There’s another group of people who work for the prestige of the Church. Pope Francis very clearly put it, "in some people we see an ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy, for doctrine and for the Church's prestige, but without any concern that the Gospel have a real impact on God's faithful people and the concrete needs of the present time."
 “In this way, the life of the Church turns into a museum piece or something which is the property of a select few," he says.
  This is a tremendous corruption disguised as a good. We need to avoid it by making the Church constantly go out from herself, keeping her mission focused on Jesus Christ, and her commitment to the poor. "God save us from a worldly Church with superficial spiritual and pastoral trappings," he says.
This stifling worldliness can only be healed by breathing in the pure air of the Holy Spirit who frees us from self-centredness cloaked in an outward religiosity bereft of God.

 Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the Gospel.