Archbishop Fisher’s Christmas message disheartening
John Buggy, on behalf of the Australian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (ACCCR), wrote an open letter to respond to Archbishop Fisher’s Christmas homily and his comments on religious freedom. ACCCR comprises twelve separate member organisations representing thousands of Catholics who seek reform in our Church. Members include clergy, religious and lay people across Australia.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]
Dear Archbishop Fisher,
We write to you in response to your Christmas message which has received publicity beyond your Sydney Archdiocese. As we begin the year of 2019, Catholics in Australia look forward with both hope and scepticism to a Plenary Council of the whole Australian Catholic Church. There is hope that the scandals revealed by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will finally elicit long needed changes to areas of Church teaching and practice. There is hope that the many submissions to the Council’s preparation made by ordinary Catholics will amplify this need for change. But there is also considerable scepticism arising from the fear that a hierarchy, so traditionally unresponsive to feedback, will evade the issues seen as critical to most of the faithful. We write this letter to you representing thousands of practising Catholics from twelve organizations across Australia who fear that most of the hierarchy of our Church is anxious to keep to ‘business as usual’.
In this context it is very disheartening to read your Christmas message concerning threats to the Church using misleading exaggerations of the kind that discredits many politicians. Contrary to your claims, there are no ‘moves to make the celebration of the sacrament of confession illegal, to defund church schools, to charge an Archbishop with discrimination for teaching about marriage, and to deny faith based institutions the right to choose what kind of community they will be’.
Those attempting to protect children from sexual abuse are introducing mandatory criminal reporting applying to all in society to ensure that known paedophiles do not remain at large, with very limited impact on the seal of confession. You appear to forget that while Jesus spoke in such uncharacteristically strong language against those who scandalise children, we can only imagine what more he would have said about those who sexually abuse them and bring about such a tragic impact on their lives. We very much doubt that he would have called it ‘bad behaviour’, as you described it to the Royal Commission.
No political party is looking to ‘defund Catholic schools’. Your statement implies the removal of all funding when it is the redistribution of funds that is the ongoing debate that may lead to a reduction in the amount for some Catholic schools.
You might also consider the values reflected in and the outcomes desired from the Catholic school system. The youth of today illustrate so often that they are influenced by democratic processes, gender equality, equal opportunity, and science and learning as opposed to unquestioned traditions. ‘Secularism’ is not an anti-religious ideology and it appears the above influences arise from the secularism that you often rail against without further explanation. We are not surprised if the youth coming through our schools do not see these values present in Church structures, teaching, and modelling by Church leaders as so many leave aside the practice of religion upon leaving school. The ever-dwindling numbers of Catholics who attend Mass regularly are unlikely to be bolstered while this continues.
Any legitimate institution can defend its right to employ people who support its values in the roles and activities that are associated with a particular position. That right does not extend to discriminating on the basis of gender, religion, or personal belief. If you think otherwise then you should say so instead of claiming that legal rights that you now have will be taken away. Faith-based institutions, or any institution for that matter, do not have an unfettered ‘right to choose what kind of community they will be’ if they contravene the anti-discriminatory laws of our society. You should honestly state what you fear rather than make unsubstantiated assertions.
We respectfully request that you refrain from sweeping generalisations that appear to be an inappropriate attempt to elicit indignation and protect the power of the institution. The Church used to be the beacon that reflected morality to the world but in recent times in Australia it has been the State taking the initiative in enacting laws and practices that indicate what a just and equitable society requires.
The opportunity is now before us, as the Plenary Council 2020/21 approaches, to take a close look at the type of Church that we want it to be if it is to thrive and continue to have Christ-like influence into the future. We expect that you, as the leader of a major diocese, will take a significant role in listening and dialogue with the faithful particularly in this year of preparation for the Plenary Council.
We need to keep our community informed and request a response from you please regarding the basis on which you relied in making these statements that we have identified as misleading. [/s2If]
