A democratic Catholic Church?
Bob McClory told his CTA audience, and declares in his latest book on The Coming Democratization of the Catholic Church, that he brings good news: there is light at the end of a very long tunnel.
McClory said that everyone knows that the Church is not a democracy. But a different understanding of the Church is emerging. There is a process going on that is coming to a climax.
Early on the Church was a democratic community, but that got lost along the way. Ever since, there have been impulses from below to recover that collegial status. We are now moving into a period that is reclaiming that legacy.
The Early Church was trying to be different from other kingdoms in the world, but was soon replaced by a two-tier system and eventually a monarchy. As a result, the church became arthritic. It forgot to be collaborative. All of the problems of the church are related to this loss: e.g., clericalism, corruption of the church, schisms, child abuse scandal.
There has been an ongoing struggle between the bishops and the laity, though even the bishops often recognized the necessity of the assent of the people. As far back as the 12th century people were talking about the need for a constitution to find a way to put checks and balances on the popes and bishops. The churches in the United States have a rich history of those democratic impulses.
The current structure of the Church can no longer be justified. Vatican II resulted in a system with structures in place for consultation: e.g., synods, national conferences of bishops, local diocesan councils. The problem is that these don’t work because they are strictly advisory.
Certain canons need to be changed to give these structures deliberative powers. So many people today are pushing from below for something new. Many people are doing liturgy without a priest. We are going through the last hurrah of a dying system. Various scenarios will inevitably lead the Church to change. They all require the work of the people from below.
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