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The Agenda
of the Church

The dominant culture is ideological, that is, it has an explanation for everything in terms of subjective interpretations. The point of departure for the Church’s mission cannot be a discourse, but a presence. In Christianity, content and method coincide

By Lorenzo Albacete

The election of Pope Benedict XVI has provoked all kinds of discussion and analysis about the “state of the Church” and the “agenda” for the new Pope. The general opinion seems to be that the Church is fighting for her existence under the attack of a dominant culture hostile to her claims to be the custodian and teacher of “truth.” (It is interesting that in the United States the first complaint from within the Church about her claim to teach the truth came from politically conservative circles associated with The National Review magazine. I remember the article “Mater Si; Magistra No,” following Pope John XXIII’s encyclical Mater et Magistra in 1961. After Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae [1968] it would be “liberals” who would pick up the cry.)

This discussion assumes that the “agenda” of the Church (and therefore of the Pope) is to figure out ways to meet this challenge from the dominant culture of relativism, either by resisting it fiercely (the “conservative” position) or adjusting her teachings to it (the “liberal” position). Either one would be a useless path for the Church. The dominant culture is ideological, that is, it has an explanation for everything in terms of subjective interpretations. Whatever is said or done will be interpreted in ways that fit the dominant ideology of relativism. The point of departure for the Church’s mission cannot be a discourse, but a presence. In Christianity, content and method coincide. The content of the Christian faith is the presence of Christ crucified and risen in the world. The method the Church is called to follow is the same: to be this presence in all the circumstances of life.

When asked about whether the abandonment of the Church by modern man brought anguish to Father Giussani’s heart, he replied, “Certainly there is a great pain. But the certainty that Christ is the answer to all human life and problems brings tranquility. Christ, who lives in the present, makes possible the establishment of relationships with people that, without judging anyone, involves you with men and women in ways that involve them with the proposal that gives you life. Men and women are bound to each other. Thus a new climate is born in the social environment. Pastoral concerns about recovery and similar things end up by treating the Church as an organization, agency, office, and even a party. But the Church is mystery. Therefore, why waste time in programs and pastoral strategies (that are, in reality, political)? We should be concerned only in announcing Christ, in gathering men and women in the name of Christ and with them confront history. The great stories of relationships born from this, and their human success or failure, are all in the hands of the Father. God will manage. It is not for us to judge whether someone responds or does not to the call of Christ. We must extol the Church” (cf., Un Caffè in Compagnia [A Coffee in Company], by Renato Farina, Rizzoli, 2004, p.113).

We cannot and we do not have to save this world. This has already happened. Christ has embraced with His victory all periods of human history, including this one and all to come. We are not facing a “crisis” for our faith and for the Church. What we are facing is a lot of work that must be done to extol the Church by living her life in all the circumstances we confront.