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COLLABORATIVE MINISTRY IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CIIURCH: REFLECTING ON ITS ELTTURE FROM CONTEMPORARY THEORY AND PRACTICE IN NORTH AMERKA AND NIGERIA, A THESIS SUBMITED TO THE TORONTO SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO IN PARTIAL FULFlLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER OF THEOLOGY DEGREE AND TO REGIS COrlrlEGE FOR THE LICENTIATE IN SACRED THEOLOGY by Elemeiye Emmanuel Okhakhu Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliogmphic Services seMces bibliographiques 395 WeüingRm Street 395. rue WelIington OtiawaON KIAM OttawaON KIAW Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exc1usive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or selî reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantiai extracts fkom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES Table of Contents Dedication Acknowledgement' 1. Introduction 1.1 Aim and Purpose of this Thesis 1.2 Methodology 1-3 Structure and Content Cwu'TER ONE BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR COLLABORATIVE MINISTRY 1. Biblicd Foundations 1.1 Christ's Ministry 1.2 Specific Ministries With the Pauline Comrnunities 1.3 Paul on the Collaborative Nature of these Charisms 1.4 Some Pastoral Reflections 2. Theolo@cal Foundations for Collaborative Ministry in Vatican Council Ii 2.1 The Church as Communion 2.2 The Church as the People of God and as Christifidelis 2.3 The Priestbood of Al1 Believers CWTER TWO WHAT NORTH AMERICAN THEOLOGIANS ARE SAYING ABOUT COLLABORATTE MWISTRY 1. The Situation in Context 2. Some Channeis for Collaborative Minisûy 2.1 The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) 2.2 The Ordination of Permanent Deacons 2.3 Miscellaneous Ministries 3. Evaluating the Content of Collaboration 4. A New Understanding of Leadership CHAPTER THREE THE NIGERIAN CHüRCH EXPERIENCE OF COLLABORATIVE rnSTRY 1. The Nigerian Application of the Theology of Lay Ministry 5 1 - 54 The Order of Deacons Presence of the Laity Within the Celebration Assembly Specific Ministries in the Euchanstic Celebration Defining Our Concept of Basic Christian Community (B.C.C) Life Withul the B.C.C and in the Central Parish Specific Roles of the Catechist Within the B.C.C An integrated Approach to the Bible Withui the B.C.C Evaluating the B.C.C CHAPTER FOUR BEYOND THE YEAR 2000 1. The Need for New Structures 2. Seeking New Models in Harrnony with Power Eqÿity Conciusions (ii) This thesis is heartily dedicated to the many holy men and women who work hard to implant the kingdom of God on earth by making themselves willing collaborators in the spread of the Gospel. It is also dedicated to the mernories of rny beloved Grandfathers and my very dear mother: Pa. Victor Okhakhu, Pa. Philip lkhianosime and Theresa Okhakhu who were itinerant Christian Missionaries and believers in ecclesial collaborative ministries. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, 1 thank God for the gifi of my life. Many thanks go to my farnily for their undying love, encouragement and financial support. My honest appreciation also go to Frank and Awa Odidi, John and Tina Emale of Arlington, Texas for their strong moral and financial support. In a warm way, my specid thanks are extended to my moderator, Prof M.E Sheehan and my two cdrectors: Profs. Car1 Starkloff of Regis College and David Reed of Wycliffe College. 1am indebted for their patient reading, supe~sionand correction of this thesis. 1 would like to express my unreserved thaaks to the Rector, Staff and the entire community of St. Aume's Seminary, Scarborough, Ont. My thanks also go to my many good finends with whom 1 shared a common life in the serninary and to library staff. PParticularly, I hereby acknowledge the great editorial work done on this thesis by Seminariam Paul Morris, Shawn Hughes and Fr. James Mallon of the Halifax Archdiocese. 1 also acknowledge herein the great friendship and support of Cynthia Roberts, Elizabeth Cmand my very dear 'Celia Ohiowele; constant fiends 1can always count on. Findly, my appreciation is well deserved by Rev. Fathers Donatus Ugema, Peter Adoboh, Emeka David Okenyi, Jude Ogbeme, Tony Ewhendo, Isaac Prest Ebeigbe and Paschal Odemokpa here in Toronto and in the United States who have been finn pillars of support and good fnends to me. 1ask God to bless you dl abundantly, and remember always that "chance makes brothen and sisters but heart make fnends." 1. Introduction Today, more than ever, Chrisfians are besieged by some crises of faith, not knowing what to believe or king confused in their primary faith. There is also, in the Roman Catholic Church, a "crisis" in rninistry, a crisis which Ivan Illich cdls the "vanishing clergyman". He recounts that over fiity thousand priests have left the rninistry since the Second Vatican Council and that the number entering the seminaries has gone dom. ' Also a Fraction of the acnial priests in our parishes, as we sometimes see, face identity crisis and bum out. Simultaneously, there has been an explosion in the development, consciousness, theology and the place of the laity siuce Vatican II, so much so that there is a strong clarnor for some partnership or collaboration in the church that is both for the clergy and the laity. The Afncan experience, especially tbat of the Nigerian church, of collaborative minishy has proven a great success in reanimating parish and diocesan life, making the church more a home in which the individual parishioners are each penons, building up the house of Goci. Collaborative ministry per se is built on the understanding of the church as communion, understood in its wide sense, in which the people of God are called to a life of holiness, and to participate in the tria munera rninistry of Christ through our common baptism. "Collaborative ministry ' AS quoted in Paul Bernier, Ministry in the Church (Mystic, Ct. : 23" Publication, 19921, p.7 can ernpower the church to be more effective in its rnissi~n,"~if its theology and its interpersonal dimensions are well integrated Such an integration dl sensitize the laity to their ecclesid responsibilities and help them have a hedthier, more mature approach to the vocations of the clergy and religious. It will also help hem appreciate their own cailing. 1.1 Aim and Purpose of this Thesis The goal of this thesis therefore is to explore collaborative muiistry and its theological underpinnings as rooted in understanding of the church as communto. ïhis thesis will make inquiry into the practice and problems of collaborative ministry, and also relate some ideas as to its further possibilities for the blossorning of the church. It will evaluate the equal importance of the lay and clerical mes for a healthy, united, Christocentric and spiritually nourishing Church. As a bedrock to this new vision of the church, the church must invite and involve the talents, ideas, wills and collaboration of those whom it serves Iest the church will lose its effectiveness as the "sacrament of salvation" to God's people. 1.2 Methodology To study these problems and possibilities, the methodology for this thesis will be theologico-pastoral, analytical and comparative. It is necessary that we understand Christ's ministry and the early Christian ministries as rel ated to collaboration, and that we investigate the Pauline contribution to interpreting the church as cornmunio. This approach will lay ' Norman Cooper, Collaborative Minishy (New York: Paulist Press, 1993), p. 1. strong theologico-pastoral foundations for our subsequent reasonuig, enhancing our ability to properly appreciate the Vatican II teaching on collaboration. This thesis is to be analytical in so far as we shall reflect on certain terms, concepts and categories that help to express collaborative ministry. For instance, it will be necessary to analyze and explain concepts like communion, people of Goci, Christifdeelis, and the priesthood of al1 believers. Occasionally, it will also be helpful to explain for juridical reasons, some relevant canons from the 1983 New Code of Canon Lmv. It is comparative in so far as this thesis intends to do a brief comparative study of the realities of collaborative ministry in the North American and the African (Mgenan) Catholic churches. This cornparison will enable us find out the particular strengths and experiences of these respective churches, finding out what is practical, imitable and sharable, if need be with some adaptation. 1.3 Structure and Content Consequently, this thesis will make inquiries into four closely connected areas of collaborative ministry. Chapter One will study the Biblical and Theological bases for collaborative minisûy. It will first examine Christ's rninistry and the specialized ministries within the early Christian community. It will study in some depth "the Church as communion," stressing its pastoral implications. It will analyze key terrns in the theology of communion and examine the Pauline theology on the same subject. Chaptcr Two will attempt to localize the theory of Chapter One in the contextual situation of the No& Amencan church by ashgthe question: What are North American theologians saying about collaborative ministry? This will give us some inçights as to where their church is on the matter of collaborative ministry. Our findings will rnake it kperative to delve into the content meaning of collaboration in ministry, and as well proffer new leadership models for the North Amencan church Through these studies, this chapter will pave the way for Chapter Three: the Nigerian chiirch experience, a leaming parad~gmfor the North American church.

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