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A year after getting a new archbishop, Catholics in Lyon (France) are still trying to restore a sense of communion and fraternity that was damaged by previous episcopal mismanagement
By Eve Guyot | France
"Do you want to opt for unity?" Archbishop Olivier de Germay asked Catholics in Lyon during a recent Mass when the papal nuncio invested him with the Pallium that the pope gives all metropolitan-archbishops.
"For (unity) is a gift from God, but also – and above all – a decision to be made," said the 61-year-old French archbishop at the September 26 liturgy in Lyon's cathedral.
De Germay, who on October 22 marked his first anniversary of his appointment as archbishop of this ancient diocese, has spent the first year in office crisscrossing this large and diverse local Church.
Beyond the different styles, sensitivities and commitments that have always been present, there are also "wounds, scars" and divisions left by the sex abuse scandals of recent years.
Lyon's former archbishop, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, was forced out of office after mishandling cases linked to one of France's most notorious pedophile priests.
And the wounds inevitably resurfaced after the October 5 publication of the Sauvé Report on Church sexual abuse in France.
Though the Pallium ceremony is more symbolic than programmatic, Catholics of Lyon said it was actually "an opportunity to bring people together in a way that few others do".
There will now be others since the long period of lockdown and social distancing imposed by the Covid pandemic have gradually been lifted.
The diocese is anxiously awaiting December 8th when it can again host traditional public festivities for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. They had to be cancelled last year.
And then there are plans for the beatification of Pauline Jaricot in May 2022 and perhaps a ceremony for the official proclamation of St. Irenaeus, Lyon's second bishop, as a Doctor of the Church.
These occasions will be quite intense and joyful, but observers say they alone will not be enough to restore unity among Catholics in the archdiocese.
At the heart of the Parish of Saint Pothin, named for Lyon's first bishop, people are banking on the formation of small groups or fraternities to help bring about greater understanding and communion.
They have just launched one especially for young professionals aged 25-35.
"This is what helps us restore and nourish the bond on a daily basis," said Bénédicte Prévost, the parish coordinator.
Archbishop de Germay pointed to the growing need for new places "for meetings, dialogue and peaceful debates" to which the laity will know how to give shape.
"It is first of all a change of attitude and mentality," he insisted.
Helping to adjust one's outlook
It is here, perhaps more than anywhere else, that the new generation will be able to fully play a role.
Clémence Pasquier, who is responsible for projects that are "pro" youth ministry, said this is thanks to "a flexibility of mind that allows them to distinguish between things and to navigate between places and ideas".
Faced with the important place of various communities and households, whose visions sometimes seem irreconcilable, she intends to put in place common actions and activities "to prove that the other can help to adjust one's perspective".
"We try to share responsibilities with the different groups, rather than 'doing things for them'," confirmed events coordinator Baptiste Vanacker.
For the past three years, the pastoral team has also taken over the Church of Saint André in the heart of Lyon's working-class district of Guillotière.
Church leaders are trying to transform the church a little more each day into a place of "gathering for all".
A need for "horizontality"
Father Patrice Guerre, the new secretary of the presbyteral council, is also counting on the youth to cultivate "open-mindedness" within the presbyterate.
Archbishop de Germay has asked him to "watch over the communion" of this body, which has been divided the past several years.
Guerre is keen to reaffirm the "good disposition" of the priests and believes that this cohesion will be achieved through "common training" and "informal meetings".
His parish in central Lyon has decided to regularly invite the deacons over for meals.
The archbishop's main hope is that this collaboration between the different states of life is also an opportunity to reflect on a new way of being present for the priest that would systematically include the laity, "since each one is only fulfilled through the other".
This need for "horizontality" on several levels is shared by the two youth ministry leaders in their thoughts and work, in order to build an "ever more harmonious" community.
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