From C. Plaza on clerical power.

I lived in Quebec for a year in the 1950's. Generations of being the powerful elite in Quebec society had obvious negative effects upon the clergy there. The Quebec clergy showed an exaggerated preoccupation with their dignity and status; which led to above-and-apart attitudes, a distant relationship with the laity, and the usual expectations of the first place of honour in any public gathering.

When they were finally displaced as the ruling class, the Church collapsed in less than half a lifetime, while it left in its wake a society more pagan than Christian. This was powerful evidence as to how shallow-rooted the faith had been under their system.

The Church in English Canada has either learned nothing from this experience, or is choosing to ignore it, as it is following in the steps of the Quebec Church but at a slower pace.

Our pastors often suffer an occupational hazard in our parishes. They can see spiritual leadership as a function of power and control. Whenever this kind of ruling mentality prevails, it is inevitably at the expense of a weakened role and distrust of the laity with all the inherent risk of a weakened Church.

The make-up of the parish seems motivated by political rather than spiritual reasons. Communication seems to flow in one direction from the top down. The congregation is reduced to silence as lines of communication to the pastor are non-existent.

The best minds and creative talents find no welcome in the parish as the laity always seems to be restricted to junior roles such as fund-raising, paying bills, or minor administration tasks.

It is no coincidence that the organizations of choice in the parish such as the Knights of Columbus or the Catholic Women's League have no intellectual tradition but can be relied upon to occupy the energies of the parishioners with bingo games, card games, bake sales or golf tournaments, with profits duly reported in the church bulletin.

The same enthusiasm is not directed to knowledge-based organizations with a strong orientation towards adult education and spiritual development.

Without the incentive of genuine responsibility, the laity has little motivation to study the faith and develop spiritual understanding. As a result, we can boast of millions of Catholics in Canada who seem to have little or no influence on the morals or values of the country.

In the recent same-sex "marriage" debate, it was too much to expect the laity which has been conditioned for years to the role of being sheep in their parishes to suddenly jump on cue and become opinion-leaders after being urged to do so by the bishops. It takes a different kind of parish experience to the one being offered to them now for this to happen.

It is too easy to blame our problems on a secular society. Rather, we should look into our own backyards and study how clerical power appetites for control can lead to policies that stifle lay enthusiasm, dampen any interest in religious vocations, introduce an element of worldliness into clerical life, and create the kind of conditions that led to the demise of the Church in Quebec.

Ennismore, ON