Where Do We Go From Here?
Six Lessons from the History of Church Reform

Christopher M. Bellitto

For the first time since the years right after the Council of Trent in the 1560s and Vatican II in 1960s, never have so many been talking so much about reform so passionately. But church reform goes far beyond Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517) and Vatican II (1962-1965), and involves more than structural changes. In fact, one theme endures throughout church history: as often as we fail, God offers both the individual believer and the entire institutional church the chance to reform our ways and renew our commitments. As we debate change today, what lessons can we draw from the history of church reform to light our way ahead?

LESSON FOUR: The Holy Spirit blows in the sensus fidelium

It's long been clear that the current church situation is more about troubles with power, clericalism, and authority than sex. Celibacy and sexual orientation don't seem to be at the heart of the matter, but now is as good a time as any to talk about these issues. Why? The answer is simple: because the people of God want to talk about them. Change will not come soon on these and other issues that the people of God are discussing, especially the call for a more deliberative voice for the laity. But Erasmus (1467-1536) and a slew of lesser-known late medieval reformers before him risked much to agitate for change for years before the Council of Trent. More recently, liturgical reform had to bubble for a century before Vatican II gave us Sacrosanctum concilium.

If the Spirit blows on the fringes, the center takes time to hear the message. It's still too early to say what the consensus of the church's center will be, but when we figure that out, the institution should make decisions about reform by listening to the Spirit in the people's words. Leaders at all levels must also be open to the positive nature of change and reforms that are grounded in the church's traditions. Such reforms will not only improve the Catholic Church, but her relationships with other Christians as well as non-Christians.

Reform comes when we talk, but we must also listen; it occurs when we speak and hear in a spirit of unity, not divisiveness or even schism. Now is not the time for the closing of the American Catholic mind.

Christopher M. Bellitto, Ph.D., Academic Editor of Paulist Press, is also a church historian and teacher. His most recent books are the companion volumes Renewing Christianity: A History of Church Reform from Day One to Vatican II (Paulist Press, 2001) and The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II (Paulist Press, 2002). He is also the author of Lost and Found Catholics: Voices of Vatican II (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1999).

This article is reprinted, in a slightly different form and with permission, from its initial publication in Catholic Library World, a publication of the Catholic Library Association, www.cathla.org., to which the author expresses his thanks.

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