THE
P RTAL
November 2017
Page 9
Divine Renovation
Fr Julian Green has been reading an interesting book
T here has
been a steady stream of books, over the past few years, mostly from
across the other side of the Atlantic, which we might term ‘self help for failing
parishes’. Mostly using quirky terminology unknown previously in the Catholic Church, they give formulas
for making what Pope Francis has called ‘missionary disciples’.
I’ve read most of these, and I was
always left with mixed feelings. While
I admire the missionary zeal, too often
they seem to reflect a rather formulaic
approach: do these things and put these
things in place and the people will
come flocking. But will they? It is all so
automatic. One danger which I sense
is the divisive nature of some of these
projects.
to where we are today appealed to my
mind, where I had already worked out
some of these relationships through
conversations with other priests
and those interested in the New
Evangelisation previously.
Last week, together with 300 other
delegates, I was able to meet Fr Mallon
and his team at the Divine Renovation
conference Maintenance to Mission
at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.
While very good on paper, add a little
broken human nature and it can be
self-conscious disciples looking down
It was marvellous to see people I
on the hoi polloi of the parish, creating
have known through movements such
two tiers of membership. Furthermore,
as Youth 2000, and other contexts,
sometimes it feels as if we’d be able
come together for this conference. It
to benefit from the wisdom of such self-help only really felt like the New Evangelisation coming of age.
when we have ‘staff ’, but with small and diminishing It was exciting to see so many people from around the
parishes that seems like a distant prospect.
country so interested in and committed to bringing
about a change in our pastoral scene.
Having consumed a few of these books, I was urged,
just over a year ago, to read another. The front cover
At the heart of the Divine Renovation initiative is not
proclaimed a similar message: taking your parish from any specific programme or strategy, however much the
maintenance to mission. But once inside, I read it with Catholic use of the Alpha course is associated with it.
great interest, for this book was written by a Parish Fundamentally, it is about changing the culture of our
Priest whose experience seemed to have so much in parishes. That is, changing the mentality from one
common with my own.
where the keeping of the Catholic Faith gives way to
one of making disciples for Christ. It is a bold project.
Fr James Mallon begins his book Divine Renovation But it is a necessary transformation which needs to
with a flavour of his battle with uniformed organisations occur in every Catholic community that wishes to
and social groups to regain control of his parish have a future rather than just a history.
facilities so as to be able to turn them to the service of
I hope I speak for all those who participated in last
the primary function of the Church: the proclamation
of the Gospel. This rang true as the experience of a real month’s conference when I say that I feel particularly
Parish Priest in a real parish that sounds like any one energised by not only the work of Fr Mallon, but
even by the seemingly insuperable challenges which
of our parishes.
statistics about our parishes and communities tell
Often, when I read of renewed parishes I think they us is happening. I wholeheartedly recommend to
sound so unreal, so unlike my own situation. But Fr everyone who takes seriously the call to evangelise
Mallon seemed to know what it was like to come into and the position of the Catholic Church as the
a small or medium sized parish and to transform it. instrument of God to bring the fullness of truth and
Alongside this, a really well considered theological the means of salvation to people today, to come to
appreciation of the combination of Pelagianism, know the work of Fr James Mallon. Reading a book
Clericalism and Jansenism which has helped to get us will only be the start!