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 SIX: Evolutionary change is better than revolutionary change

History demonstrates that the pace of change is crucial. Martin Luther was not always a patient man. In 1520, he counseled his followers to offend boldly those who clung to Catholic ways: "In the presence of such men, it is good to eat meat, break the fasts, and for the sake of the liberty of faith do other things which they regard as the greatest of sins." Luther quickly realized, however, that too much change coming too rapidly and without explanation would force some people who were open to his ideas to instead resist them mightily. So, just 18 months later, he advised a more cautious approach to those who wanted to retain the Catholic mass: "[I]t should be preached and taught with tongue and pen that to hold mass in such a manner is sinful, and yet no one should be dragged away from it by the hair.. Now if I should rush in and abolish it by force, there are many who would be compelled to consent to it and yet not know where they stand, whether it is right or wrong, and they would say: I do not know if it is right or wrong, I do not know where I stand."

Catholics did not learn this lesson about the pace and explanation of change after Vatican II. Conventional wisdom says the council's reforms were great ideas that were not always described and implemented well-if explained at all. We cannot afford now to make the same mistake again as we discuss the next steps in the bishops' plan to deal with the sexual abuse scandals. Many Catholics see today's situation as an opportunity to address hard, underlying reforms: the cult of the priesthood, episcopacy, and papacy; proper respect for the lay vocation; shared responsibility and accountability between clergy and laity; the relationship of authority among the bishops, and then between the bishops' conference and Rome; and overseeing and educating priests. They fear that an intense but narrow focus upon the sexual abuse will leave little time and energy for the systemic questions. The history of reform shows that dealing with immediate symptoms while ignoring a problem's long-term causes only postpones and increases trouble. We must take the time to look carefully at the big picture, to act thoughtfully, and to explain change clearly.

The Dominican theologian Yves Congar (1904-1995) said that reformers must cultivate the virtue of active patience. That virtue seems to be at a great premium today. Reform comes slowly. It's messy and noisy. It takes time for reform's words to be converted into action and for us to find balance. But reform is a necessary part of the life of the pilgrim church, though some Catholics still want, even now, a church that is fixed in time, that never grows, that's never wrong, that doesn't develop and change. No such church exists-nor ever did.

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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