“This is a wonderfully written, highly informative, thought-provoking, and readable book that should be included in every library. A major contribution to the study of American Catholicism in the twentieth century.”
“Diarmuid O’Murchu, a social psychologist and member of the Sacred Heart Missionary Order, continues his radical reimagining of the Christian path that he has presented in Quantum Theology, Reclaiming Spirituality, Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience, Religion in Exile, and Evolutionary Faith. O’Murchu wants to set Jesus free from the captivity of ideological reductionism that includes academic rationality, absolute dogmas, white imperialism, male exclusiveness, the cult of redemptive violence, ecclesiastical domestication, middle-class respectability, distorted personalism, and insipid religiosity. He sets the story of Jesus within the context of the grand sweep of time and claims that he is ‘not the beginning of some unique divine enterprise but rather its fulfillment.’ A salient point in this presentation is that the disciples repeatedly tried to put Jesus on a pedestal and diverted most of their energy Into figuring out his messianic glory and exalted nature. Thus, they missed the central challenge Jesus offered them—to become sons and daughters of God, individuals transformed into loving, compassionate, justice-seeking neighbors of all.
O’Murchu presents his own imaginative conversations and poetry that reflect the mystery and the many meanings inspired by Jesus. Here is one who does not abide patriarchy, violence, or divisions among human beings. The author emphasizes ‘the relational matrix’ of his life and ministry and proclaims that we all keep our eye on three things: contemplation, right relations, and justice-making. The Kingdom of God he reveals is one of peace, joy, and delight in the earth and all its creatures. O’Murchu’s Jesus says ‘This Spirit is the living energy, the creative vitality that stirs the waves and whispers in the wind, that warms the sun and eroticizes the moon, that vibrates in the sounds of nature, begetting novelty in every realm of creation. It scares me the way you humans try to confine my Spirit to yourselves, grossly dishonoring the pervasiveness of the Spirit in the breadth and depth of creation.’ Openness to possibility characterizes the Reign of God that Jesus demonstrated in his words and deeds: a new story to set all people free.”
“Francis keeps things simple,” Fr. Sweetser said during a presentation about his newly-released book, “Can Francis Change the Church? How American Catholics Are Responding to His Leadership,” Oct. 7 at the Little Chute Public Library. His visit was part of the annual Fox Cities Book Festival.
Pope Francis talks about going out to the streets and encountering people, said Fr. Sweetser. “The most important icon in our churches is the exit sign. It tells us to go out there,” he said, adding that faith is for others and “we need to let them in on it. The best part is we don’t have to do it alone.”
The priest-author is a member of the USA Midwest Province of Jesuits, which he entered in 1957. He currently lives in Milwaukee and founded the Parish Evaluation Project in 1973, where he continues to work as a facilitator and consultant to parishes across the country. His work with the project helps pastors, staff and lay leaders welcome people into inclusive communities, create meaningful worship experiences, foster occasions for spiritual growth, and provide opportunities for outreach and service ministries.
His book about Pope Francis did not start out as a book about this pope or his impact on the church and ministry. Rather, he set out to discover more about unhappy Catholics. Working with parishes for 46 years, he said, he saw how people who were once very active in their church had drifted away, and he wondered why.
“Some were still in the church, but not active; some only went to Mass occasionally. Others went to other denominations,” he said. In 2010, he decided to survey Catholics who either left the church or had reduced their participation.
He surveyed 55 people who were either baptized Catholic as infants or entered the church at some point during their lives. Of these, 31 were still Catholic but not active, and the others had left the church. He conducted his interviews in 2011 and 2012.
“The book was ready to go in 2013, and then things started happening,” he said.
After the College of Cardinals elected Pope Francis, a Jesuit with a heart for the poor, Fr. Sweetser said he knew he had to rework his manuscript. He conducted another round of interviews in 2017 to see how those he surveyed earlier felt Pope Francis had impacted them.
“With Pope Benedict XVI,” he said, “people were in the throes of anger. There was a lot of questioning and turmoil. That is why many of them left. People felt alienated from the institution (of the church) and felt the lines around what is Catholic were finely drawn. They talked about a lack of direct action, sexism and white privilege.”
When asked why they stayed in the Catholic Church despite their dissatisfaction, people said the liturgy outweighs the hierarchy and God is bigger than the hierarchy.
“Then something happened,” he said, adding that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis ushered in a new era. “They saw someone more interested in inclusivity, someone seeking solidarity with the poor of the world,” he said about the interviewees.
“One person said, ‘It is easier to say yes, I am Catholic’ and be proud of it.” Another called Francis “a breath of fresh air” who “goes back to the way Jesus did things,” he said.
“It was a new direction in the church – one with a focus on the poor and needy, caring for Mother Earth, seeking a new transparency and being more ecumenical,” Fr. Sweetser said. “And, he recognized the messiness of life, such as divorce, and was able to bring people back to the sacraments.”
The pope’s strength is influencing people’s personal lives, according to Fr. Sweetser, and all of this is done with a sense of humor.
Responding to the title of his book, “Can Francis Change the Church?” Fr. Sweetser said, “If we are the church, then his example is changing people’s lives and shifting priorities. He is renewing the church – and that is us. People may not be coming back yet, but they are listening. They feel he has impacted them.
“Francis has an impressive care for and attention to the individual rather than to church rulers,” added Fr. Sweetser. “He says, ‘Go out to the street, smell like sheep.’ Finally, he says we need to treat everyone like they are a child of God. … He is begging us to join him and we are blessed to have him as our pope. He is calling us to holiness.”
“For over forty years, Tom Sweetser, SJ has been in the trenches of Catholic parish life. Here, from a host of witnesses and with hard-won wisdom, he honestly portrays the choking weeds and hopeful seeds for our Catholic faith, with the jury still out on whether Francis can ‘save the Church.’ This is a confrontational and rich resource for the nones, the dones, and those of us still hopeful.”