We know that fewer people are attending church these days, especially the young. This was happening even before the pandemic. We do not know how the pandemic will affect church attendance in the future. When I speak about church, I refer not only to the Roman Catholic church but all churches.
The church is going through a time of transition. We may not want to admit this. We may want the church to maintain the solid foundation that has supported us, particularly older adults, for many years. But all things do change. What is needed for us is our trust that Christ’s Holy Spirit is still with us and with his church, guiding it in new directions.
In the past centuries, it was the hierarchical church that directed people what to believe and how to worship. This may have been appropriate in times of social stability. But in our day, this approach seems not to work for many Christians.
After the pandemic, we will see how many people return to the regular practice of attending Mass on Sunday and their frequenting other Sacraments, such as Reconciliation. We also know that during this time of the pandemic, churches face heavy financial stresses because so many are not regularly supporting the church as in the past. How will all this change the face of the church, the face of the parish, once the pandemic is behind us?
The ritual celebrations of the church, such as Mass and other Sacraments, have not spoken to many younger people who no longer attend weekly services. This does not mean that they are not concerned about their spiritual life and relationship to the Sacred Mystery. Yet they do not find the ancient rituals addressing their spiritual hunger. We could say that if we explained better what the church is doing in its religious rituals, they might find meaning again. But this is not certain.
In the meantime, the church itself must adapt and change. It must more completely respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, it will not survive as church except as a relic of times gone by.
Pope Francis is not ignorant of the challenges that face the church today. In many ways, he is trying to reform the church. He has made valiant efforts to eradicate clergy misconduct. He has worked to reform the organizational and financial structure of the Vatican. In his encyclical Laudato si’ he has encouraged the church and the world to seriously address climate change and the environment. In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, he has reminded people that all people are our brothers and sisters, and we need to relate to each other in our common humanity.
Two words that may focus our attention on the agenda of Pope Francis’ pontificate. They are discernment and synod. Pope Francis is a strong believer in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Risen Christ, among humanity. The Spirit is guiding the church and humanity into the future – if we but listen and respond. The pope passionately believes that the church, which includes all its members, clergy and laity, must become a church of discernment. Discernment, of course, needs to be in harmony with the Gospel. He states in Evangelii Gaudium, 20: “Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out.”
We all need to grow in our ability to recognize and respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit. We must first believe the Spirit desires to guide us. The tradition of the church offers guidance in discernment, such as through the practice of daily examine where we reflect on the day to see where we may have sensed the presence of God. Times of spiritual retreat are another means.
In the early church, we see examples of the apostles and others relying on the guidance of the Spirit. For example, during the Council of Jerusalem, the early church needed to decide whether they were still part of Judaism or were to follow a separate path. They questioned whether new members needed to be circumcised, as was Jewish practice, or not. After much discussion, they decided, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that new members did not need to be circumcised.
Today, Pope Francis emphasizes the process known as the synod. The word synod means “journeying together.” In October 2015, on the 50th anniversary of St. Pope Paul VI’s establishment of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis said: “From the beginning of my ministry as Bishop of Rome, I sought to enhance the status of the Synod, which is one of the most precious legacies of the Second Vatican Council. It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the church in the third millennium.” In 2018, the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, with the approval of Pope Francis, issued a document entitled “Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church.”
During the pope’s pontificate, there have been several synods. He held major synods on the topics of the family (2014), on the youth (2018), and on the church in the Pan-Amazon region (2019). The next world Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in 2022 will have the theme: “For a synodal church: communion, participation, and mission.”
The Holy Spirit is at work not only in the church, but throughout the world, and in the lives of young people who no longer find the church meaningful. As the collective church and individual members become increasingly a church of synodality, a church of listening and discernment, it will hear the voices of the young and the disenfranchised. It will shape the church in accord with what the Spirit suggests through those people and in accord with the Gospel. In doing so, those who no longer feel they belong will now find the church is a true home.