Book: The Quiet Revolution of Pope Francis

The Quiet Revolution of Pope Francis by Fr Gerry O'Hanlon SJ. Publisher: Messenger Publications.

Reading Fr Gerry's penetrating book triggered a very distant event in my subconscious. It is an apt memory for now. I was at the time ministering in a vibrant parish in Glasgow. I was on loan from Ireland and on my way to Africa. I received a telephone call from 'Michael' asking if he could talk to me. Michael was a retired widower and a lovely man of deep faith. He apologised for taking my valuable time as he welcomed me to his flat. He pointed to the round low lying table on which a copy of the Scottish Daily Mirror lay. I might add that Michael was a staunch Labourite and trade union member.

''Look at that Father..It's not true and I won't believe it..unless you and the Catholic Church says it is true." On that front page was the iconic picture of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon and the iconic words ' One Small Step '. I spent the next hour and a few cups of tea assuring Michael that it did indeed happen and that the Vatican had given it's blessing. The reason I say this is to recall the great trust and confidence people had in the Catholic Church in those days. All gone.

Fr. O'Hanlon calls it deep mistrust but I would say a lost trust. Referendum after referendum in Ireland shows a rejection of Catholic teaching on vital issues. The young especially are indifferent and cynical. Fr O'Hanlon's effort is to be welcomed and listened to. He has assembled a constellation of fine and passionate minds -male and female- clerical and lay to back his, to my mind, an ambitious project.

The hope of a 'Synodal Church' in the near future is remote but we must press onwards and upwards. The word synodal won't mean much to most but it is well put by 'Lumen Gentium' when it describes the Church as a people sharing the same faith and the same Baptism and journeying through history and time. It means a people praying together, talking together, listening together and acting together. Not a people in the tight grip of a clerical celibate male group.

Pope Francis is dedicated to a Synodal church as Fr O'Hanlon affirms. That is a people taking on the world. A people not condemning humanity but healing it. As Pope Francis constantly reminds us Catholics, we ' the People of God....a Synodal Church ' have The Crucified and Risen Christ and His Blessed Mother as our Loving Power Centre. We all share that. As Pope Francis urges us to be aware of our vocation....that we are at the beck and call of all humanity. No matter how sinful, how sick, how broken that humanity is, we are part of it as Christ is. That is what 'Synodal' means. Read Fr O'Hanlon's book and you will see more.

If we will allow ourselves to be led and guided by the vision of Pope Francis then we shall move closer to a 'Synodal Church' and regain that great trust that Michael had on the day Man walked on the Moon..