Just Leadership is my own fashion of how I consider the best way to
follow when I am already in the ministry. This resulted when I integrated the lessons
I learned from the subject Introduction to Pastoral Theology from, the
varieties of handouts given by my professor. Every author of the book presented
good points regarding the issue we are facing right now. In my own model I
added word at the beginning of the term which we tackled from different author
like; real formation of one’s self, the true ministry, true service, true teaching
plus discernment equals just leadership.
First of all, before proceeding to my own framework, I ask myself, “Now
that I understood how our Church managed her flock, what must I do to respond
the challenge of the Pope?” There are many ways that we can solve the problems
of the Church but that can be possible when one is faithful enough to his
ministry. We see the great impact of postmodernism in our world today.
Postmodernism in one point is good. For they are “keenly conscious of the
importance of community, of social dimension of existence.”[1]
And the conception of wholeness also extends to the religious aspect of life.
If this consciousness is taken into serious the Church never be always imposing
doctrines. The Church have been deafened to the needs of her people for some
leaders are too rigid to their laws. What the Code of Canon law presented must
be abided. That is why the Church does not know how to listen to their people.
If we try to trace back from the time of Jesus, when he was doing His
ministry, He never tired of listening to His people. He never tired of serving
the needy. He serves people without minding the cost. Because it is in service
that He found happiness. But how are we? Are not Christians, the followers of
Christ? We claim Christians, but why our ministry is different from Christ?
In His time, the Church had been defective already. That is why when the
Pharisees and the Scribes ask Jesus about the abolitions of the law, Jesus said
in reply, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I
have come not to abolish but to fulfill it” (Mt. 5:17). It is clearly perceived
that the ministry was defective. That is why Jesus fulfilled it by serving the
needy. This is how we consider the true ministry and the Church must follow the
ministry of Jesus because we claim that we are His followers. I conceive that
some leaders of the church are too idealistic. They perceived that our church
is becoming exclusively for the elite, but they have no actions. Some even
presented ideas on how to reach others, but there is no change. Some priests,
especially in the seminary would always teach their seminarians to serve the
least of the community, but they themselves always stay at their luxurious
rooms and sometimes out of town because they have their beach outing. How could
they teach their seminarians were, in fact, they themselves are not doing it? I
always believe that the problem of our Church should start in the seminaries.
How could true ministry in service becomes real? Nowhere, that is why Margaret
J. Wheatley would say, “let us go back to ourselves.” It is an individual’s
formation first. If we are able to form ourselves, our ego, and then that’s the
time that we can start working, by doing true service. “No one can lead well
without knowing and confronting his or her inner demons.”[2]
Taming the individual’s ego needs real formation of the self. That is why we go
back to the formation of the seminarians in the seminaries. It should be in the
seminaries that personal issues be tamed. So that when the time comes progress
in our church are apparently conceivable.
Pope Francis I, saw that our world is divided. The Gap is driven by
money. The gap between the rich and the poor. And this brought him into
reflection of how the church can enter into the world of division. The people
of today worship God no more. We are going back to the time when the Jewish our
ancestors worship the golden calf while Moses was on the mountain. This is now
the world of exclusion as Pope said. But the Pope demanded, “We don’t want
this, we don’t buy this”. The Pope cannot bear to let the world being excluded
and included.
In his Evangelii Gaudium, he lamented that the Church should now make an
action to stop this problem. And the Church should also be the subject to
change, because our church is apparently doing exclusivity. We must be the
Church of the poor. Let our Church be transparent to the outcast and the
excluded. Let us hear their cry, their anguish, their being dehumanized. This
is not the real Church. The real and the loveable Church must smell like her
people, muddy and tattered, like Jesus Christ the bridegroom. Let the joy of
the Church be experienced to her people, to all her children. But how can the
joy be scattered when we ourselves have personal goals to conquer? How can the
joy be shared when we ourselves do not tame our ego. Pope Francis himself poisoned his ego. As we
have understood in the book “Pope Francis, Why He Leads The Way He Leads” by
Chris Lowney, he undertook his egoistic self by taming it when he was still in
the seminary. He didn’t wish to have fame rather he serves as oath to be like
Christ. And that is the true service. If we are true to our self, if we learn
to serve without cost, if we think others first before us we can do and act
like Jesus did. Lastly, if we have the love to serve the least of our brothers
and sisters we can make change.
The teachings of Pope Francis are authentic because he is a man of
action. What he preaches, he is also doing it. How a teaching could become
authentic when one is not doing it? How the teachings of a seminary rector can become
authentic when he is not doing it? How the teachings of the Church become real
when no one is doing it? Priests should teach and act because no one believes
if no one is acting. Pope Francis is the best example. Not because he is oath
to do but he loves to do so. Why? Because he was able to tame his self. Service
for the people first before himself. If we have much worry of ourselves we
cannot serve others faithfully. A true servant would not always think of what
is in return.
Another which is very important and it should not be taken for granted
is one’s discernment. It is very
important for us, especially pastors of the church to have personal
discernment, for it is in discernment that we can make our plan better. Wheatly
say this as “going back to one’s self”. Many parish priests would feel their
ministry boring. Why? Because they don’t spend time for reflection. Even having
their homilies. Others rely on the capacity of their mind, because they are
thinking that they are witty enough. Some may be irritating because they don’t
prepare. Their homilies are repeating, floating and irrelevant conclusion. If a
pastor would not spend time for reflection, he won’t be able to sustain and
make his ministry fruitful. The much danger here, if he encounters problems, he
may turn into irrelevant conclusion or plan. His parish will be endangered. Pope Francis even is spending time for
reflection. We have to pull back,
retreat in order to make good plans. It is too risky when one keeps moving
forward. We are not superhuman. Jesus Himself spent time for reflection. After
so much activity He had, He took Himself away from the crowd for discernment.
The good thing here, if we learn to pull back, we can see the bigger picture. One
good point that the Pope had said, “Immerse yourself in the world, but withdraw
from the world daily.” We cannot see the beauty of our ministry if we keep
focusing on one setting. For instance, we cannot, if not, see the beauty of
Cebu City if we just merely look at the buildings, but if you try to ride on an
airplane and look downward you will be
amazed by what you see. That’s the beauty of discernment. It gives you a good detailed
plan.
Finally, these things can only
be possible if we interplay each other. Just leadership can be made true when
one undergone the said formation. We salute to our Pope Francis I, for being a
just and true leader in our Church. Chris Lowney made mention of how Pope
Francis had undergone. That is why, many leaders in our world today, regardless
with what sect they belong, would try to imitate him, his kind of leadership.
Being trained with Jesuit congregation is not the only reason why he became a
good leader, but he trained himself as Christ Jesus demanded. It is not a
matter of what congregation we belong nor its popularity, but it depends upon
the person itself. If a person would submit his life wholly to the ministry,
there’s no need of having trained with well-known congregations. Whether you
are a diocesan or religious it doesn’t matter for as long as you serve like
Jesus did, like Pope Francis is doing. We should always remember that by so
doing, it demands total submission of the self. So our ministry would become
better, at least better by being formed with the following; real formation of
one’s self, the true ministry, true service, true teaching plus discernment
equals just leadership.
I hope it will become possible when my time comes.
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