9/2/10

Fr. Joseph Tobin: Secretary for Consecrated LIfe


Photo: Wix.com

It's a very hot day here in Concord but this post from Rocco, with a quote from from Fr. Joseph Tobin, is a refreshing cool breeze. (Fr. Tobin was recently named Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.)

Perhaps you'll enjoy and appreciate the promise it holds.
“[M]y hope is that the Vatican’s relationship with the local churches can be a sort of creative tension. I think life without tension would be very boring and useless. We can’t walk, we can’t talk, we can’t sing without tension. You need to have tension in your vocal chords and your back, let alone a guitar. However, tension can be destructive. The challenge is to recognise the diversity of gifts and the plurality of churches and the one spirit that unites us. And I think that is the adventure of a lifetime....

On the one hand, [the Roman Curia] is the oldest bureaucracy in the world. People love to say that. On the other hand, that bureaucracy, as one of our historians pointed out to me when I was ranting about the Curia: ‘Don’t forget, it guided the Church through a couple of world wars and great depressions and times when the Pope had died or was kidnapped by Napoleon.’ In that sense it has provided a service, but I think it has to be humble and make sure it is service and not simply bureaucracy.”
...

As he will be running the day-to-day business of religious orders and apostolic institutes, does he think that religious and consecrated life will play a more crucial role in the changing Church?

“I think that religious life does have a place to play,” he says. “And interestingly enough, if you look at the official statements of the Church there has been a change or at least a development from the Vatican Council which saw religious life as essential for the holiness of the Church. I think it was Vita Consecrata, John Paul’s statement on religious life. He said it’s essential for the Church, so it wasn’t simply a qualified ‘for the holiness of the Church’.

“Having said that, I really believe, if you want a caricature, that the future of the Church is lay: in terms of sheer numbers, appreciation of the gift of baptism and the common priesthood of the faithful. These make that a real possibility.

“However, I think that the Church would be poorer without this form of life as an alternative way to follow Christ."


(Read the complete story in the Catholic Herald)


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2 comments:

  1. Oh I don't know. He sounds kind of "tense" to me.
    ;-)

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  2. I am so thankful for the wonderful influence priests had in my life. I think "the oldest bureaucracy", must evolve and listen to the parishioners views. It must be flexible, and think of the box. Wow! That seems pretty hard. But it will have to change or people like me that grew up loving the church, will continue to leave. We need to be open to priests being married (yes, like the Anglicans), nuns having a greater role, and accept gays since they also are Gods children. He will have many challenges in his role.

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