A European Perspective in Baptismal Consciousness
Our next speaker was Swiss theologian Dr. Arnd Bunker who began his talk by suggesting that integral to baptismal consciousness is resistence to being blindly led. Baptism by its very nature is inherently resistent to blind leadership and faith. It calls us to become adults!
Is it possible that people's distance form the church is a reaction to being interferred with? If baptismal consciousness is the liberty for self-direction, then how much power does baptismal consciousness have? Perhaps the decline in active Catholics and numbers of priests should be seen in this context. These are symptoms of, not challenges to, what is going on in the church.
People are not willing to accept a structure which does not take them seriously. Ecclesial leadership needs to give space for freedom. If leadership is the process of both influencing and receiving the support of others, missionary disicpleship must then be leadership for the inclusion of others. Leadership cannot be focused on power but on giving witness to the kingdom.
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My Reflection
This talk deeply touched me. How often do we hear the call to be adults in our faith? Those who challenge a blind following of the status quo are, perhaps, living out their baptiimal call in a very real way,. Are we not to be doing what we have been challenged to do in the Vatican II document on religious liberty: forming our consciousnesses as adults? As several speakers mentioned, our baptism is not a one time only shot. We are in the process of "being baptized" every day of our lives, entering more deeply into our call to be a kingdom people.
