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We Are Church/USA
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By Maureen Fiedler, SL
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 More than 500 "We Are Church pilgrims from 17 countries wave their scarves in St. Peter's Square as they sing "We Shall Overcome." |
Opening Prayer
Pilgrims from Europe, North America, South America and South Africa began the day with public prayer outside the Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls, the site where Pope John XXIII called Vatican II. Banners in many languages called for a church that is open, democratic, just and egalitarian.
Thomas Plankensteiner from Austria, the founder of the petition drives, welcomed us. We sang Veni Creator Spiritus. Luigi Sandri of Italy explained the significance of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls. Valisiwei, a Zulu woman from South Africa, read the gospel about Jesus healing the woman bent over as the entire gathering moved slowly from crouched positions to standing erect and tall.
The service concluded as the entire assembly moved silently into the cavernous basilica for 5 minutes of silent, centering prayer.
On to St. Peter’s Square!
We boarded buses for the trip to the Vatican. At the entrance to St. Peter’s Plaza, the Italian police tried to stop us. But strong "negotiation" by our Italian colleagues won the day. The presence of TV cameras from Germany and Austria helped, too. We knew that we could not "demonstrate" in St. Peter’s with banners and placards, and so we chose to be identified by what we wore. We all had lovely aqua scarves, made for everyone by our Italian colleagues, with the words We Are Church on them. Some of us also wore purple stoles, the symbol of women’s ordination in Europe.
Slowly, the Incontro moved into St. Peter’s Square. Anthony Padovano, President of CORPUS, began singing "We Shall Overcome." Within seconds, the strains of this international ballad of justice were floating across St. Peter’s Square! Tourists turned around. Some joined us when they discovered what we were about.
We moved solemnly toward the Bronze Doors of St. Peter’s with the three of us on the International Planning Committee leading the way: Elfriede Harth of Germany, Thomas Plankensteiner of Austria and myself. Elfriede carried our letter to the Pope that described our vision of church and called for serious dialogue.
At the Bronze Doors, the Swiss Guards led Elfriede, with the letter, into an interior room. Once she disappeared, they tried to get Thomas Plankensteiner and me to move down the stairs, thus separating us from Elfriede. We refused. "We are a unified, international committee," we told them, "We will wait here." They tried various types of intimidation, including taking our passports and pulling our arms. To no avail. We stood our ground.
As we waited at the top of the stairway at the Bronze Doors, we could hear the singing outside and see our friends wave their aqua-colored scarves in the wind. Our delegation had taken them off spontaneously, creating a magnificent "demonstration" of faith!
Finally, Elfriede returned. She announced that Thomas and I were welcome to join her for the presentation of the letter. We went inside to a reception room. After a few minutes, a Hungarian priest, Rev. Adam Somoryai, from the Vatican Secretariat of State, came down the stairway. Elfriede emphasized our quest for serious dialogue. Rev. Somoryai assured us that he would deliver our letter to the Pope that very afternoon.
With this simple act, the Vatican chose to recognize us and the entire church reform movement worldwide. But most important, our presence there gave heart to those who saw us, in person, on TV or in later reports. This, we decided, was the first Incontro, not the last!
We three returned to the Square to the cheers of the crowd just as a Cardinal from Uganda walked by. He was on his way to lunch with the Pope that very day. One of the women from South Africa knew him. She explained what we were doing and gave him her aqua scarf, and he promptly put it on! We suspect that the Incontro was part of the Papal lunch that day.
Eucharist in Seven Languages
In the afternoon, we travelled to an open-air vegetable market on the outskirts of Rome for our international Eucharist. We celebrated under a roof without walls with the smells of aging fruits and vegetables. It was a place where Jesus would have been at home: open, poor, simple.
We celebrated Eucharist in seven languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and Portuguese. A choir of young people from Naples provided spectacular music.
Our Eucharist represented the church we envision; the liturgy was participatory and as inclusive as possible. The Liturgy of the Word was shared across many tongues and people. Each delegation brought its native bread. (We brought corn bread from the United States.) A Polish priest presided, but we all joined in concelebrating.
Everyone present shared the Canon, the words of consecration and the gestures. We sent forth a collective blessing like that of the Pope: urbi et orbi, to the city and the world. We linked arms, and concluded with – what else? – "We Shall Overcome!"
Planning for the Future
The following day, we gathered for an all-day meeting to plan the future. More than 150 attended. We first debriefed on the wonderful events of the day before, and then reflected on the petition drives attempted in various lands. We approved a Manifesto to serve as the platform for future actions.
We then broke into small groups. One considered ways to move toward an inclusive priesthood. Another discussed the formation of small worshipping communities. Still another focused on the millennium, and a fourth discussed how the movement might respond to the next papal conclave. A technological group explored the opportunities offered by the Internet.
We left with the sense that the Spirit of Pentecost is speaking – indeed, singing – to our church today in many tongues.
Countries Represented at the Incontro
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, United States, Venezuela.