Church must develop aboriginal leaders – Chatlain

Lay leadership essential in northern Church, says bishop

- Photo by Virginia Battiste Bishop Murray Chatlain was ordained a bishop one year ago in Yellowknife

By VIRGINIA BATTISTE
Special to the WCR
Yellowknife

The Catholic Church needs to do more to develop aboriginal leadership in the Church of the North, says the young bishop of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese.

"The leadership of Catholic communities in the North has not become aboriginal enough," Bishop Murray Chatlain, 45, said in a recent interview.

Chatlain, who was ordained a bishop Sept. 14, 2007 in Yellowknife and then became head of the world's largest diocese in May, said one of his primary goals is to encourage and bolster aboriginal leaders in the various communities.

That especially includes those who have vocations as leaders among lay people. He sees lay people as the hope of the future of the Church.

"These leaders do generous work. It is never easy to be ministering in one's own community. I try to get together with them a couple of times a year and maintain contact in a variety of ways to encourage them in their leadership."

Chatlain said this is a significant time in relation to the aboriginal component of the Church. While the Church and aboriginal people have drifted apart in recent years, he believes the potential is there for a deeper, more authentic relationship.

That drift has partly been because of the residential schools issue, but also because the Church in the North didn't speak out, and didn't participate as much as it should have in the process in the negotiations with government over land claims, he said.

"The ambivalent relationship between the aboriginal peoples and the Church is clearly one of the major challenges for us. Many of them love the Church, and are active within it, but there are also hurts from the past," he said.

"I think here there is a chance to have Church that is really 'Church' because in relating to aboriginal spirituality there is a greater chance to live Gospel values."

On the other hand, the vastness of the territory covered by the diocese is daunting. Even though transportation has improved considerably over the past 50 years, travel to keep in touch with all the remote communities is still challenging.

- WCR file photo Bishop Murray Chatlain receives his bishop's ring from the papal nuncio, Archbishop Luigi Ventura during his ordination last year in Yellowknife.

The six different aboriginal groups form six natural regional divisions within the diocese. Chatlain sees dealing with the relationship with the aboriginal community as one of the major issues he faces.

The new bishop said he finds himself moving in many different worlds within Yellowknife - from the native peoples of the North, to those who frequent the Racquet Club, or the ones who might attend the local flea market.

Distinct cultures

Each of the six different aboriginal groups have their own distinct dialect, history, culture and geographical location. Added to the mix, are "southerners" from other parts of Canada. More recently, immigration has brought peoples from around the globe - Filipinos, African, Chinese and Japanese among them.

Where there were previously only "two worlds" to deal with, he observes, there are now more, which adds to the complexity facing the Church in the North. But there is an upside, as well as a downside.

"Embracing the complexity of the Church is definitely different here. I don't have any illusion I can control things, or put on programs in the same way as in other dioceses.

"But, at the same time, there is more 'relaxedness' - a small family type of feel, a sense of being a heart kind of people more.

Chatlain is conscious of being new to the region, which has a lot of history and a lot of stories, that he has not had any part in. The word he hears from the older people in dealing with everything he is facing is patience.

"The difficulty with being in a new role, or a new job, is people keep asking, 'What are you going to do?' There is a pressure to accomplish something, to change things quickly, and I have to resist that a lot.

"Real power or wisdom is not going to come from Murray. God is in charge. I can be part of it, connected to it. If I am stubborn and insist on doing my own thing, it isn't going to work."

Despite the challenges of being a bishop, the former Saskatchewan priest retains his casual, informal style.

Asked about the biggest change he has faced in the transition from priest to bishop, he cites the change in his personal prayer life.

"There are many more demands placed on me. The problems that are brought to me are not easily solvable - or they would have been solved. There aren't easy solutions and I don't have the answers, so my personal prayer life has become more important than ever."

Cosmopolitan centre

While living in Yellowknife has challenges, it is not the trial some might imagine, nor is it as isolated as the location would suggest.

"Yellowknife is very cosmopolitan. It is the hub of travel on your way to anywhere in the Northwest Territories or Nunavut.

"It's also the destination for shopping throughout the North. Prices are not absurd, though things might be a little more expensive. Still, they are not as high as in the really 'isolated' communities where I lived in northern Saskatchewan."

He finds his prayer life is more important in determining the things that need to be dealt with, and finding the place of surrender. He also sees his role as being a bridge between cultures and peoples.

"Some of us are called to be bridges, which is a very lonely place to be. We are not in our own world, and not completely in the others world. It is an important vocation, and I see it as a big part of my vocation - to be a bridge. And, there is a lot of bridge work to be done."

As he considers his future leadership in the North, the choice for him is to get out, to be in the middle, in the places where he can encounter the other, but to always be rooted in prayer.

"As bishop, I don't have answers. I want to be part of the discussions and prayer looking for ways to change. That's why my prayer life has become more important than ever. I want to be part of the dialogue that will help us discern what God is asking of us and see where we are going together."

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