 | Allan Panozza (Australia) is currently the President of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services[ICCRS]. He has been involved with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal[CCR] since 1978. He has elected to the ICCRS in 1990 and took over as President in 2000. In this two part series, he speaks to Dr.Edward Edezhath about the importance of having a 'Deeper Relationship with Jesus' and the need for the Worldwide Charismatic Movement to remain aware of the position of 'people who have less'. |
LEADING WITH COURAGE Q. What in your opinion are the important aspects or elements of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal?
A: The first is a desire to foster a deeper relationship with Jesus through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The wonderful gift of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not just for the Renewal; it is for the whole Church. Secondly, the role of leaders in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal should always be to encourage people, to foster the charism of hope. Sometimes people may find it difficult to persevere in walking in the light of the Holy Spirit, and often they will feel disappointed in the limited support they receive from the clergy. Nevertheless, this is the work of the Holy Spirit and God does not mean for it to fail. Therefore take courage! It is an important factor in leadership within the Renewal to manifest courage so that people may know that they are not alone. Thirdly, I think it is important that we have a love for our Catholic faith. I have no time for people in the Charismatic Renewal and especially leaders who continuously criticize the Church. My mother died twelve months ago. She was aged 95. I loved my mother very much, and for the last 14 years of her life she had Alzheimer’s and she did not know me. I would go to visit her in the hospital and I would simply sit with her and hold her hand. She couldn’t speak to me, but I know that she felt my love flowing to her and I could sense her love for me. I think that people in Catholic Charismatic Renewal should relate to the Church in the same way. The Church in one sense is my spiritual mother, and as it would be unthinkable to hurt my earthly mother in any way, so also it is equally important not to treat my spiritual mother in any way that would hurt her. The Church is the Body of Christ, and as Catholic Charismatics we need to see ourselves as members of that Body.
Frequent reception of the Sacraments should be an important factor for life in the Renewal. We should make it a point to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion as often as possible – even daily, and to make frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Without the grace of the Sacraments there is a danger that the difficulties we face may sometimes become too overwhelming. We should always focus on Jesus, especially if we have some responsibility or are in a position of authority. We should be aware that there is always the danger of treading a path using only our own power and resources. If you consider what has happened to some of the people who became leaders at the beginning in Renewal, sad to say, some of them have lost their way even with the Church. I do not wish to judge others but I think that one of the biggest dangers can be that instead of following in Jesus’
footsteps we try to walk in front of Him. This is especially important for leaders in the Charismatic Renewal. I remember a wise priest once telling me that the devil has three main targets - priests, nuns and leaders in Charismatic Renewal. I believe that the
Renewal has a tremendous power through the Holy Spirit to change the hearts and lives of people. The Renewal is literally at the heart of the Church, and in my opinion it has the capacity to change the spiritual lives of people. Therefore leaders in the Renewal can certainly expect opposition from the evil one. Q. What are your views about the role of various prayer groups and communities under the Charismatic Renewal?
A: In Australia where I come from, the prayer group situation is quite strong. There are relatively fewer Covenant Communities in comparison to U.S.A. and other places in the world. I think the existence of the Communities operating under the umbrella of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is very important for those people who are called in that direction. However, in my personalopinion, to become a committed member of a covenant community is to receive a strong vocation from God, and a person or a family becomes a member of the community only when they unreservedly respond to that call from God. Many of us across the world are involved in prayer groups, and I see growth in the work of prayer groups developing more and more within the parishes. We see people who are able to witness from the prayer group level, and they have a power to change the parish.
Certainly one of the big difficulties that we are facing worldwide is that in general there is a lack of support from the clergy. Even though the Renewal is a lay movement, it is still very much affected by the acceptance of bishops and priests. Many people complain that they do not get active support from their priests, so part of what I do is to help uplift prayer groups as much as possible, especially in more isolated areas. Jesus tells us in the Gospel that the best way to judge a tree is by its fruits, and this is certainly the best way to gain support for the work of Charismatic Renewal. If you look at a majority of parishes, at least where I come from, those who are most active in the life of the Church are from the Charismatic Renewal. This is a big witness and a fruit which should be obvious to priests and bishops. In my early years in the Renewal there were some priests and bishops who were outwardly antagonistic towards the Renewal, but these days I rarely find that happening. Most of them accept Renewal as part of the Church, even though many priests would simply say that their spirituality is not charismatic. But there has been a growing acceptance of the Charismatic Renewal within the Church worldwide over the past 25 years as the good fruits become evident in the lives of Catholics.
Q. Would you like to share something on the Charismatic Renewal inspiring many new movements in different parts of the world?
A: I think it is probably true to say that many movements and the leadership of those movements have come out of the Charismatic Renewal. For instance, I think one experience here in Australia would be the ‘Couples for Christ’ movement. Many of their leaders came out of the Renewal, especially from the Philippines. Many who have begun in CCR are continuing their ministries in other movements, and they still exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That is how it should be, because the gifts were not given to the Charismatic Renewal, but they were given to the Church (1 Cor 12: 4-11). I think your own movement – ‘Jesus Youth’ – is another example of this. This is a wonderful thing. What I am not so comfortable about is when a few people
coming out of the Charismatic Renewal, move on to other movements where the leadership develops their own aims and objectives. They lose the facility of exercising the charisms and I think this is dangerous and not what the Holy Spirit is leading the movements to do. Since the second Vatican Council, it has been a great blessing that many movements have begun in the Church. The movements shouldbe aware of the importance of the charisms and seek to foster them and use them wherever possible. For the past six years here in Melbourne, different movements have gathered together annually to share their own giftedness, their own charisms, and to celebrate their Catholic roots. This year I think there were 31 movements who came
together and when you see the different groups, each with their own charisms working together in unity, it is a great witness to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
Q. As Chairman of the ICCRS, how do you co-ordinate the different teams at different levels in the Renewal?
A: The Renewal is not exactly like any other organization we see around. It is a move of the Holy Spirit rather than an organization. I think the Holy Spirit is moving in the Charismatic Renewal in a way where it works from the bottom to top - through the little people up to the leadership and not from the leadership down. But having said that, we cannot underestimate the need of support from the Church. For instance, the support Holy Father Pope John Paul II gave to ICCRS in 1993 when he gave it the mandate to be“….at the world level the principal coordinating organization of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR)…”. The Catholic covenant communities come together under the title of the Catholic Fraternity, but they also come under the umbrella of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. So the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) office in Rome relates to about 260 countries throughout the world.
The structure is leadership role on the national level (NSC), then to leadership at state or regional level, then breaking down toleadership at the diocesan level. I think that it is important for the world wide Renewal to recognize the role of ICCRS, which is vital as it is the umbrella body of the Renewal which is in constant touch with the Vatican, especially with the Pontifical Council for the Laity. I think this is vital for the world wide Renewal, because ICCRS is literally at the heart of the Church (geographically) as is the Charismatic Renewal (spiritually). In different countries there are expressions of the Renewal following different types of communities and local culture.
Q. What are your thoughts on the role of youth in the Church and the Charismatic Renewal?
A: In my country, the young people are not so involved in the Charismatic Renewal as much as they are in other countries like Brazil. Some years ago we had many young people coming to youth groups, but the problem these days is that after completing their schooling they go on to other things. Therefore there has not been an increase in numbers over recent years. The average attendance of young people for Sunday Mass is only a small percentage of the entire young Catholic population. In such a
situation, getting young people into the Charismatic Renewal becomes very challenging. That’s why I’m very happy to be with the Jesus Youth in Australia, because they use the charisms and also because I strongly believe in youth evangelizing youth. A higher number of young people attend Mass in Latin America and countries such as Philippines, which makes it easier to get them into Renewal. I think it is important and vital not only for the Charismatic Renewal but for the whole Church that young people come to experience the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. One of the other things that I find happening in my own country
is that Covenant Communities are able to attract young people mainly because of the Christian music, which is a big attraction for youth.
Q. And finally, what is your message to the Jesus Youth across the world?
A: I have been very impressed through my association with Jesus Youth . I have met them here in Australia, and I know of their
work in other parts of the world. They have a good set of aims and they are very committed. Above all, I see their strong focus on the presence of Jesus in their movement. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to lead and guide Jesus Youth in their important ministry, and especially anoint all of the young people from across the globe who will be in Australia for the World Youth Day to be held in Sydney in July 2008. May this be a mighty outpouring of God’s power and presence to enflame the
hearts of young people, that they will come to know Jesus in a new and deeper way. May the Holy Spirit continue to bless the work of Jesus Youth throughout the world.
A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP Q. Could you tell me something about yourself? A: My wife Carmel and I were both baptized in the Holy Spirit at the beginning of 1978. We began attending prayer meetings regularly, and in 1981 I became one of the Melbourne co-ordinators. In 1983 I was elected the Chairman of the co-ordinators. In 1985 I became the Director of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Archdiocese and from then on I have been working full time for the Renewal. In 1989 I was elected as the Chairman of the National Service
Committee in Australia, and I still hold that position. In 1990 I was elected to the International Catholic Charismatic Services (ICCRS) in Rome representing Oceania, and in 2000 I was elected as President of ICCRS, and this year will complete my second term of 3 years. In 2002, I was appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Council for the Laity. I have been a member of the PCL for the past five years, which has been a powerful experience for me. Carmel and I have 5 children, all grown up and married. We have 18 grand children. Q. Could you speak of your first experience of the Charismatic Renewal, your experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and how it changed you? A: I had been 27 years in business, in the frozen food industry. I was trained in management skills, and so when I came to the Renewal in 1978 I was skilled in directing and telling people to do this and to do that. Because of my position as General Manager of Operations for a big multinational company in Australia, I was expecting to get things done my way. Then I was baptized in the Holy Spirit! I should say that I have always been a strong Catholic, and for most of my life I have been a daily communicant, and have a great love for my Catholic faith. So when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, I found a whole new dimension beginning in my life. I now came into a closer relationship with Jesus. Previously I knew a lot about the Church, about the rules of the Church and God’s commandments. But I never really knew Jesus in an individual encounter. After I was baptized in the Holy Spirit I had a dream one night, and I heard these words from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 12, where he writes ‘when I am weak then I am strong’. It made me think about my own life and how I was used to having people do what I told them. So now I began to discover in my life that real power was not the power I exercised through my position or anything else, but only in knowing Jesus and allowing Him to work through me. Therefore I found that I needed to change my ways in order to accommodate this new dimension of my faith. I think that all of those years I had spent in management were really just a preparation for what God has called me to do during these last 25 years in the Renewal. Now when I look back, I see I have changed in so many ways. My whole thrust in the Renewal through the various roles which I have had is now to bring people into a deeper and more personal relationship with Jesus, which comes through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. No matter how many gifts we might have, even if we have the power to raise people from the dead, unless we have a deep relationship with Jesus I don’t think that they count for anything. I had an experience just after I started working fulltime for the Renewal. I used to go into a little Chapel close to my home and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. I regularly prayed for two gifts - for the gift of wisdom, so that what I said was not from me but through the Holy Spirit speaking through me, and for the gift of humility, for I believe that unless we have a humble heart like Jesus on the Cross, we cannot expect to touch the lives of other people. One evening I was alone in the Chapel and as I was praying to the Lord for these gifts, I really had an experience of the Lord speaking to me. He said “Allan, do not ask me for those gifts, ask me rather that I would draw you daily into a deeper relationship with me, and then I will give you the gifts that you need.” This changed my life. From then on my constant prayer has been for a deeper relationship with Jesus.
Q. What is it that helped you to deepen your faith and to grow in your walk with Jesus in the Holy Spirit?
A: Well I think that all of us are called to walk what I like to call the journey of faith. As I’ve continued in the Renewal God has opened many doors for me, and I have found that He calls on me as He does on all of us, to continuously ask for the gift of faith. Even though we don’t know the outcome we will know that God’s hand is always there. For instance, in the 90’s, the doctors discovered that I had a diseased aortic valve in my heart and they said that sooner or later they would have to operate. As I was actively involved in the ICCRS Council, I had to do a lot of travelling both in Australia and abroad. The condition of my heart made it difficult for me to travel, and by the end of 1996, the doctors said that they must operate immediately. On 17th February 1997 they operated on me and removed the aortic valve and replaced it with a mechanical valve. This meant that I have to be on the anti-coagulant drug Warfarin for the rest of my life. I thought that this would probably be the point at which I would have to give up most of my work, and they told me that it would be 6 months before I would be fully fit again. But within 6 weeks I was totally recovered, and it was not long after that when God opened the door for me to become the President of the International Renewal, and so here I am travelling all over
the world. I tell people if you want to see a living miracle of God’s power, that’s me! Very often we find things difficult, nevertheless my favourite passage of scripture says, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Throughout my journey of faith, I’ve found that the deepening of faith is the greatest blessing of the Holy Spirit. It is a great gift to
be able to say to people, “I understand how you feel, I understand what you are going through, but I can tell you from my own experience about the power of God.” Q. Could you talk about modern day challenges and how a renewed person faces them?
A: Challenges of the day I suppose vary from place to place. During my visit to Romania, I was witness to the tremendous faith of the people in spite of their history of suffering as a country. I was also in South America and many parts of the continent still remain poor. But the faith of the people was exceptional and the Renewal was very strong in Latin America.
I am sure that it’s the same with India although I have never visited your country. Last week I was in Jakarta, a country ravaged by the recent floods. We were there to establish the Asia Oceania sub-committee for the ICCRS, and I was a mute witness to the sufferings of over 400 thousand people displaced because of the floods. In comparison, countries like Australia and to some extent the westernised countries have a situation of affluence. Many people own two cars and nobody goes hungry. Affluence can make us forget God. People often have the attitude,” I am a Catholic, I know God is there but I don’t need to go to Mass right now because I have this to do and that to do”. I think that somehow our reliance on God can be overcome by our reliance on the things of the world. For the Charismatic Renewal, a real danger is that it doesn’t become too comfortable. Only a positive attitude can help us to focus on God’s providence. We in the Renewal need to be aware that God gives us gifts not just for ourselves but for the whole world. Charismatic Renewal as a world wide movement needs to remain aware of the position of other people who have less. Also that leaders of the Renewal should never be judgemental of people who have lost their way. Therefore one of the greatest challenges of Charismatic Renewal is to remain in constant reliance on God’s providence. The second challenge of the Charismatic Renewal is that we must always find time for our own personal spirituality through prayer. We should remain faithful to our commitment, for we in the Renewal should be constantly seeking God’s will in everything that we do. In a real way we are calling people to a life of faith, and in the process we should take care not to lose our own focus. Thirdly the Renewal exists - as the Church does - to evangelize. We sometimes become very comfortable within our own prayer groups and we often do not reach out. But we should realize that the strength of the Renewal is in our ability to constantly touch people and share our experience of Jesus with them. The Charismatic Renewal must never lose its prophetic edge, and we exercise that best by sharing from our knowledge of the Scriptures, and by our own relationship with Jesus. True evangelism is being able to share with others our witness of ‘what Jesus has done in my life’. They may not like it or even believe it, but it remains my testimony, and through the power of the Holy Spirit it can have a positive effect in another person’s life. (To be continued.)
|
