[ad_1]
ROME – At 48, Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Dowd of Montreal may be only the sixth youngest prelate to participate in this month's Synod of Bishops on youth, but he is probably the only one to have worked for the Swedish high-tech giant Ericsson the Catholic priesthood.
It turns out that, according to Dowd, this experience was essential to stimulate his vocation.
"I do not think I would be a priest if I did not work at Ericsson," he explained, explaining that "because I was on the Internet even before most people knew it. that was Internet, "he had access to a treasure trove of original documents from the Church, at about the same time, the Catechism of the Catholic Church appeared as an authoritative guide.
"Between my ability to do this research and the guide that the Church gave through a catechetical source that was not only the opinion of my teacher, but which was authoritative, Honestly, these two things together have helped bring about a conversion of the spirit that has led to the priesthood, "he said.
He still retains his passion for engaging people through digital media, but says he's struggling to find the time: "The mind is voluntary, but the schedule is weak," he said. -he declares.
In an interview with October 22 NodeDowd, who is attending his first Synod of Bishops, said the diversity of global perspectives has been striking.
"We had a bishop from Thailand who told us that in his diocese, the number of priests is quite small, it is a diocese of mission. He has a large number of lay catechists who direct the formation of the faith and almost the community, as a parish priest would, "he said. "He wanted to make sure that their vocation to this role was included with the traditional priest, the religious, etc."
"As soon as he talked about it, we all went:" Yeah. "
Fundamentally, Dowd insisted that observers would be mistaken if they understood his goal of bringing more young people into the church.
"What we emphasized in my small group is that it's about bringing young people to Christ," Dowd said. "The new evangelization is not the new ecclesialization."
"If we can bring people into contact with the living Christ and if we believe that He is truly alive and still speaks to us through the Spirit, [that’s what we want]," he said.
"It was listening to many voices, people of faith who are coming together … do we believe that the spirit actually works in their hearts and minds, and will there be a 1 + 1 can equal three coming out of this synod thanks to this presence? "said Dowd.
Here are excerpts from Crux's conversation with Dowd.
Node: One of the things that has struck many observers, especially those of us who have covered the two previous synods of the era of Pope Francis, is the lack of tension and the great clashes of that time. Is this the way you lived it?
Dowd: I do not have the experience of the last two synods with which to compare. Even though I have one thing to do: when they explained to us what it meant for us to be related to our small group, they said that we had to be faithful secretaries of the pros and the cons, yes and no different discussions. At one point, I wondered why they gave us that direction, because there is a lot of convergence and consensus. You almost felt they were expecting controversy and we did not have them …
There was no fight in the fist?
No fights in our group … People had different opinions, brought different things to the table, but a huge respect. The young people in our group, the seniors of our group, it was really a very beautiful experience.
You say that there has been a great convergence. Can you describe a few points around which you have detected convergence?
Well, I would say it's more in the style of the discussion than this or that particular point.
When someone raised a problem, we would discuss and see. This is often a question they raised from their own country, something we did not all know. For example, a bishop from Thailand told us that in his diocese, the number of priests is quite small, it is a diocese of mission. He has a large number of lay catechists who direct the formation of the faith and almost of the community, as would a parish priest. He wanted to make sure that their role in promoting vocations, including vocation to that role, was included in the theme of "vocation" with the traditional priest, the religious, and so on.
It was a point of view that was not in the document, a point that most of us did not think of, so as soon as he mentioned that, we all left, "Yes," what I mean by convergence. It really was the diversity of points of view expressed. Often, someone said something that would spontaneously surprise the head by nodding.
The third part, for example, was supposed to be a phase of selecting action plans, but when we read the third part, we realized that the choice was not very varied, it was not written for that. It's a young person who raised this issue and we said that he was right. I would not say that we dropped the third part, but we just decided to take our own approach. And there has not been much controversy about it. People did their homework, came to the table with what they had to say and we did our job. It was great.
You have a technology background. You did work at Ericsson before your call to the priesthood. One of the things that appeared at the synod is the digital world of 21st century, shadows and lights, the positive and negative points of this experience that young people have today. Can you talk about this discussion?
It's funny, because I do not think I would have been a priest if I had not worked for Ericsson. In my speech, I spoke about the difficulty of catechesis growing in the 70s and 80s, of my Catholic school and the inadequacy of what we had received in many ways. And I was in my twenties, working for this tech company and suddenly having access to this library of Church documents published online.
Working at Ericsson meant that I was on the Internet even before most people knew what Internet was. I had access to documents, even the so-called "controversial documents", such as Humanae Vitae. I told myself that I will read this and see where the pope has been deceived. And I read it and thought: "It's beautiful, what's the problem?" It was very reasonable. I could understand that people might not agree, but it certainly was not what was presented to me.
Working in a technology company meant that I had access to primary sources, which is extremely valuable. What I think the next layer is, is the people who can offer a critical introduction to these primary sources, accompany a person through what it means. It is also about the time of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a compilation of scriptures and traditions that helps us to go through the primary sources, while at the same time referring.
Between my ability to do this research and the guide that the Church gave through a catechetical source that was not only the opinion of my teacher, but who had authority, honestly, these two things together contributed to to provoke a conversion of the spirit that led me to the priesthood.
And I think these models are not gone. I think the Internet, despite the false news and other things, these potentials are still there and what's needed, it's the ability to create trusting relationships. And I think that can also be done via the net.
The synod is coming to an end. What are you going to take home and say: "I'm going to use it, touch the kids, bring the church back to young people and young people in the church. & # 39; What will you do until the publication of the Pope's final document is released?
I would like to correct something you just said. You said that it was to bring the Church to the youth and others to the Church. What we have emphasized in my small group is that it is about bringing young people to Christ. The new evangelization is not the new ecclesialization.
If we can bring people into contact with the living Christ and if we believe that He is truly alive and still speaks to us through the Spirit, [that’s what we want]. The synod for us was to listen to the Spirit. It's about listening to many voices, people of faith coming together … do we believe that the mind actually acts in their hearts and minds, and will there be a 1 + 1 can equal three coming out of this synod through this presence?
For me, it is an essential theological and spiritual perspective, apart from documents. I think it was Bismarck who said, "The cottage industry legislation is like making a sausage. You do not want to see how the sausage is made, but you're happy to have it in the end. To a certain extent, the extra spice of this experience will be the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Now, what are we going to do when we get home? Something that my little group talked about, and that I strongly supported, we noticed that a flame had taken place in the synod. The presence of young people aroused some enthusiasm … When you have Cardinal Joseph Coutts of Pakistan doing a "woo-hoo" at the end of the presentations, just inspired by the young people who are part of our group, what I want to do going home, that is to contribute to the spread of the fire so that when the papal document finally arrives, we are ready to receive it, so that the synod is actually the beginning and not the end of a process. This is one of the main recommendations of our small group.
The synods in Rome are good, but Rome is not the Catholic Church, so it must spread here and really catch fire in every way. And the relationships we've built, the relationships we've built, I think, will help us do that.
Do you think that the presence of younger bishops at this synod also makes a difference?
This is possible. One thing, again from our small working group, is that Jesus, when he ministered, he was a young man. There is a quick consensus, even among those of us, as for me, 15 years older than Jesus at his death, the Church, if it's the body of Christ, it's supposed to be young, at least spiritually. At the same time, Jesus was young but he was not immature. The vigor of youth, the enthusiasm, but also the maturity that comes from deep experience and prayer, from a relationship with the Lord. And that's what we want to see happen.
Are there older bishops at the synod? Yes, but many of them have this youthful spirit and are ready to be renewed. And there are also a lot of young people who are perhaps inexperienced but who have a deep maturity which, I think, delighted them to see him. That they are not bishops as babysitters, but that we would all be able to work together.
This established mutual trust has created a generational bridge that has allowed us to reach some of this consensus. It is not that we have put a generation aside and that we have the right to talk to each other, but we have been able to overcome that difference. And it was a very powerful part of the experience.
Do you think there is a difference between bishops who reached adulthood in the 1970s and those who, like you, reached adulthood in the 1990s, perhaps even in the early 2000s ? Have the bishops become major in this last cohort not invested in what we call in the West the war of cultures?
I'm not so sure. I should think about it. The experience of the synod has certainly not lived up to what you have just described, because we have people from all over the world. Their cultural war is persecution. When you meet a bishop who has four priests in his diocese because the Communists did not let anyone be ordained, you realize that we are in a very different situation.
But this allows us to put some issues related to the "culture war" into context. Once we see the situation as a whole, we can begin to relax about some of our own bugaboos and start moving forward together.
Do you think that the final document will reflect this reality of the world church? As you have said, the persecution, this bishop who has four priests. Cardinal Napier said the synod has so far been very Eurocentric. Do you think that the final document can escape this?
His Eminence was not the only one to think that. Several members of our group thought this and I tend to agree. My experience in Montreal, I was in charge for a while to welcome priests from other countries and my background in business management focused on international management and intercultural management. I am personally very sensitive to this question. Of course, in Canada, we do not call it Eurocentrism, but Western centrism is real and needs to be addressed, but the world is bigger than that.
Certainly, the world center of the Church turns to the South and Asia. We now have priests from countries in which we sent missionaries. This is one of our strengths as Catholics, we can do it. By putting my financial cap on, diversification is always a good strategy if you want to pursue steady growth.
How open are you to engaging people on social media?
Well, I'm quite open, but to paraphrase the scriptures, the mind is willing but the timing is weak. Sometimes, you just have to choose who you agree with and how. This morning, I received a message saying, "My father is dying, how can I bring a priest to administer the sacraments?" I am in Rome … How can I answer? And the message came while I was sleeping, in the middle of the night … There are risks, and I just say no, not in the sense of what is particularly dangerous, but you want to engage people in a way that does not will not leave disappointed.
I answered this person and it turned out that he was able to find a priest by another channel. But it's part of the risk of commitment, it can make you very painful in the lives of others in a way that can be beautiful, but also requires a lot of time. Since becoming a bishop, I have spent a lot of time online trying to understand how to use technology to know if I could handle things better than before.
Does it work?
I am still learning to do it … For example, I have created a web form for people who wish to submit mass intentions. I get requests from all over the world and it's a way to keep track of things, respond to people and stay personal.
[ad_2]
Source link
