Deacons who were meant to revivify the post-Conciliar church

In July, the Diocese of Besançon reported on a national meeting of permanent deacons who work among the working-class held at Merville in the Nord region - the photograph alone shows the state of play of this pastoral ministry, which has usually been combined with rather progressive commitments, even contradictory to the teachings of the Church, as a number of working-class priests, generally very old today, are in the CGT or even the Communist Party. On the other hand, they passed on little or nothing, and in fact accompanied the decline of the working-class and peasant world in France and the evolution of its sociology towards other religions... or more generally, their absence.

But the diocesan report doesn't dwell on these difficulties - although it does point out, half-heartedly, how difficult it is for the Church today to have an impact on social issues, or even to address them - inflation, downgrading, the rising retirement age, the dismantling of social and medical benefits despite increased fiscal and normative pressure... with a few exceptions, the Church is effectively silent on these vexing subjects... because it is no longer really concerned, either by the recruitment of its priests, or by that of the prelates and lay employees in the dioceses?

"More than sixty deacons and wives from the working and working-class world met in Merville (59) over the three days of the May 1st weekend for their national meeting. The theme, "What hope in today's world and for tomorrow?" provided an opportunity for participants to re-examine their diaconal, family and militant commitments in workshops and workshops on various themes.

Father Eugène Doussal, through his targeted interventions - "What is hope? Is it hope? Can we hope for a better world for ourselves and for all? Mgr Olivier Leborgne, Bishop of Arras, and Jesuit Father Philippe Demeestère, in their contributions on the subject of human dignity and migrants, were able to enrich this interactive assembly with their experiences and reflections, both human and spiritual. Over the three days, participants prayed and shared their concerns and hopes in a context of worsening social realities, as witnessed by the pension reform. Social difficulties and complexities that the Church sometimes seems to find hard to grasp".

Source

See also shortage of stealth priestesses