ABSTRACT

This study draws upon the transformative power of the foot of the Cross and the creative dynamism of partnership, to offer hope and a framework for growth, for couples who are struggling to support each other through their experience of chronic illness within marriage.

This research-based inquiry explores some of the challenges that chronic illness presents and highlights a number of crucial areas where people are not feeling adequately supported by the medical establishment or by the Church. These are examined within the context of the dominator and partnership model of society. The study offers an introduction to partnership theory, which is expanded and deepened through a Christian perspective.

Finally, the study outlines a possible holistic pathway through chronic illness within marriage. This is achieved through partnership, within a framework of faith , hope and charity.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge the help, practical assistance, prayer and encouragement provided by the following people , without whom this study would not have been possible :

· Linda Crowhurst
· Fr. Philip Law
· Rev. Tim Hartford
· Vera and Ernie Crowhurst
· Val and Joy Horsfall
· Peter and Maria Glen
· Petroc Willey and The Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, UK
· The Catholic Central Library, London
· Marie O'Neal
· Kathleen Little
· Simon Lawrence and The 25% M.E. Group
· Marriage Encounter

Above all, the author would like to acknowledge those who gave of their time so generously in order to participate in the research study. Their names have been withheld for confidentiality reasons.

Thank you all, so very much.

Contents

Abstract.
Abbreviations.
Introduction and Methodology
Chronic Illness : a challenge to be faced.
A Call to Partnership
Partnership and Patriarchy.
Christian Partnership.
Partnership as Pathway.
Bibliography.

Abbreviations

Biblical quotations :

Old Testament (abbreviation in bracket)

Genesis (Gen)
Hosea (Hos)
Isaiah (Is)

New Testament

Matthew (Mt)
Mark (Mk)
Luke (Lk)
John (Jn)

Colossians (Col)
1 Corinthians (1 Cor)
Ephesians (Eph)
Galatians (Gal)
Hebrews (Heb)
James (Jas)
1 John (1 Jn)
1 Peter (1 Pt)
Philippians (Phil)
Revelation (Rev)
Romans (Rom)
2 Thessalonians (2 Th)

Conciliar and other Magisterial Documents :

Ad normam decreti (AND)

Christifideles Laici (CL)

Dei verbum (DV)

Evangelii nuntiandi (EN)

Familiaris consortio. (FC)

Fides et Ratio (FR)

Gaudium et Spes (GS)

Hominum dolores (HD)

Lumen Gentium (LG)

Sacrosanctum Concillium (SC)

Salvifici Doloris (SD)

Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (SRS)

Tertio Millennio Adveniente (TMA)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Chapter One
Introduction and Methodology (go to contents)

Introduction

'For we have become partners of Christ ' (Heb 3 :14)

This study, written within the midst of caring for a partner with chronic illness, sets out to answer the question : How does a couple find a way through the experience of chronic illness in marriage, using the spirituality of the foot of the Cross, as a focus ?

The author's own experience is that the impact of chronic illness is multi-faceted and profoundly challenging. It can very quickly bring one face-to-face with one's physical and spiritual limitations, which can be described as a 'foot of the cross experience'. The challenge, if one is to maintain an alive relationship with one's partner, is to grow in awareness and achieve new levels of personal and spiritual growth. This study is concerned with establishing the impact that chronic illness has upon people's relationship, in marriage, with themselves, their partner and with Christ .

The study will explore the experience of suffering, showing how it can lead to a deepening spirituality, alongside efforts to understand a changing sense of self and make sense of one's role in the world. It will also highlight the struggle, often, to gain acceptance and recognition of one's condition from the medical profession. The physical , spiritual and emotional isolation that couples are suffering, especially from the Church, will be examined. The study will suggest that more active ways of supporting and learning from couples who are experiencing this situation, within the Church, need to be discovered. The ability of the Church, as an institution, to respond in a creative and meaningful way will be critically considered, in relation to the issue of authority.

Partnership as a theory of cultural transformation will be introduced and explored as a potential framework within which to meet the challenge of chronic illness in marriage, in a creative, empowering, multidimensional way .

The study intends to show how partnership achieves its deepest meaning and fulfilment in the Paschal Mystery.

Methodology

While there is an extensive literature on coping with chronic illness, [see for example Jacobs P.D. (1998) on practical coping tips; Franchine G (1994) on adjustment strategies] the author was unable to trace any works which approach chronic illness and marriage from a combined partnership and foot of the Cross perspective.

Given the breadth of the enquiry under consideration, which brings together: chronic illness; marriage; partnership as a theory of cultural transformation and the spirituality of the foot of the Cross, the author judged that a qualitative research program was the most appropriate research method to adopt for this study. Qualitative research is recommended where 'the subject of the enquiry is inherently complex and understanding of this complexity is part of the research brief.' (Walker 1985 p. 3).

The starting point of any research is the 'researcher's wanting to know, wanting to understand' Shelef (1994) . The author embarked upon this project both from a need to make sense of his own situation and out of love. In that sense he can identify with Moustakas' (1990 p.43) description of the 'heuristic researcher ' who :

is not only intimately and autobiographically related to the question but learns to love the question. It becomes a kind of song into which the researcher breathes life not only because the question leads to an answer, but also because the question itself is infused in the researcher's being. It creates a thirst to discover, to clarify and to understand crucial dimensions of knowledge and experience

The 'question' in this 'researcher's being' has its roots in the author's professional background as a nurse and as an educator, striving to promote practical, values-based ways of providing care within Health, Social Services and the Voluntary Sector. It was a growing source of frustration to the author, that the spiritual component to care was rarely acknowledged or easily spoken about. One advocated a posture of 'solidarity', while knowing only too well the limits of human frailty. Those limits became more than clear to the author, when he gave up work to care for his wife full time. At the same time, the spiritual became so much more real as a source of strength, comfort, insight, awareness, growth and light.

Chenail (1995) advocates a spirit of openness between the researcher, research participant and the reader, by 'making it a priority that you produce as much of the back stage information of your research as possible.' By this Chenail means a sharing of the creative process and research progress , including any changes, along the way. Openness of presentation should make it easier for other researchers to come along and 'step into your shoes.' Chenail (1995)

The creative process began by the formulation of the following research objectives :

1. To work out for myself what is meant by a spirituality of the foot of the
cross : To look at what it means to me.

2. To research other people's views and experiences of the spirituality of the
foot of the cross.

3. To apply the findings to my own and other's experience of chronic illness
within marriage.

4. To identify what I mean by Partnership as a dynamic model of Christian
marriage.

5. To identify the Partnership aspects of the cross and apply this to my own
and other 's situation, showing how the foot of the cross is a powerful and
potentially liberating place to be.

Objectives One, Four and Five were achieved by :

A literature search

The author conducted a literature search through the Maryvale Institute. He used the Internet extensively and made use of the resources of the Catholic Central Library in London and various other public libraries.

Partnership theory draws upon an eclectic range of subjects, which engaged the author in wide and sometimes esoteric reading, for example in : archeology; anthropology; goddess worship; political theory; feminism; systems theory.

Objectives Two and Three were achieved by :

The Questionnaire

The development of the questionnaire, reflecting the wide scope of the study, was a complex affair. It was difficult to identify a clear starting point. The author decided to begin by looking at one component of the study, the impact of chronic illness upon marriage and upon one's Faith. He used the Descending Ladder of Abstraction ( Staunton p. 15) to distinguish the main research themes (Winters 1997) which were : Chronic illness; Marriage and Christ.

At this stage he found it extremely useful to draw upon his own experience as a carer , which in one sense involved him as a participant observer (Staunton p. 19), in order to try to identify the 'partnership issues' : Power; Boundaries; Responsibility; Trust; Gender ; Equality; Facilitation; Support; Sensitivity and Grief and Loss . This enabled him to arrive at a combined list of 'key concepts', which subsequently corresponded, more than the author realised at the time, closely to the main body of the study, which follows.

By now the author was able to draft the Questionnaire, which was divided into three major themes : The experience of the person with chronic illness; the carer's experience and the impact of chronic illness upon marriage.

The author's concern was how to gather the most relevant information from the questionnaire , in the least demanding way, given the considerable pressure that the research subjects are under. The author would have preferred, because he felt that it is easier to be sensitive to people's needs , to have completed the questionnaire, in the form of face-to-face interview, but this was not practical in every case, so a postal questionnaire was used.

The questionnaire is a demanding affair. Inevitably a range of emotions were brought up, some of them very strong indeed. More than one interviewee cried in the author's presence. Sometimes the forms returned by post were accompanied by correspondence , sharing some very difficult emotions indeed.

The author made a point of stressing, in the accompanying letter and on the questionnaire itself, that people need only complete what they were able to manage.

One innovation was the decision to include questions 10 , 19 and 20 , in a easy-to-complete check-list format. It was also thought that this information could be used quantitatively, to compare and contrast the attitudes of those suffering from chronic illness and their carers. However this was not developed, given the low number of participants. It was also designed to be used qualitatively, with space included for participant's comments.

The author advertised for research participants in : his local parish newsletter; in Spirit, the national magazine of the marriage encounter movement and in The Quarterly , a national M.E. magazine. He asked for 'Christian couples' , so rather than specifying any one particular denomination, participant's comments refer in broad terms to the Christian Church.

Response to the advertisements was low, but this is probably not surprising given how severe the effects of chronic illness can be. In the end the author conducted seven face-to-face interviews, which took an average of two hours each. One of these was with a Roman Catholic Priest and the other with a Church of England Minister, a separate questionnaire was designed for these interviews.

Five questionnaires were posted, one of which went to a professional Care Manager, again this was a specially designed questionnaire. Only one questionnaire was not returned, because the person's health deteriorated. The author and his wife also completed the questionnaire , which took them over two months, working through it in short sessions. The data was gathered in confidence and is used here with only (changed) initials used.

Sub - themes (Cole 1994) that began to emerge from the questionnaire and that were subsequently used in the text, were : anger at the medical profession; communication between partners; coping strategies; spirituality. The research only looked at the primary relationship of husband and wife. Interviews were followed up, as soon as possible by an Interview Log , which helped the author to reflect upon his learning and to identify emerging themes. One of those,was a boundary issue, between the author and the interviewee, arising out of the author's own need for support, as a carer. He was concerned that this not interfere in the research process. As he recorded under 'Any thoughts about safeguards ?' :

One springs directly to mind ... and that is my own vulnerability, as a carer myself. The temptation exists to hijack the interview for my own ends and agenda. I need to learn from this and ensure I maintain a tight focus upon the interviewees - the use of a structured form is highly appropriate I think, given these circumstances.

Cole (1994) points out how sometimes unexpected themes can emerge from research. A theme that emerged strongly and that took the author by some surprise, was the degree of anger, shown by participants towards the institutional church. We explore this in the text.

The author's original intention was to adopt a carer's focus to the study, however it was striking how difficult it was to elicit information from carers, who generally seemed reluctant to complete the questionnaire. This seems to confirm a recent survey (Warner & Wexler 1998 p.15) which concluded that 'Carers generally focus more on the needs of the person they are caring for than on their own needs.' The Report warns that :

There is a danger that carers will only ask for help for themselves when it becomes impossible to continue

Given that partnership advocates a holistic perspective the author also intended originally to develop a research matrix based around : Mind; Body; Emotion and Spirit. He used this informally, as in chapter six, to build a bridge between people's experience in the questionnaire and partnership as expressed in the Cross. This is an area, with a great deal of potential, that the author is very keen to research.

Chapter Two
Chronic Illness : a challenge to be faced.(go to contents)

Chronic illness, says Jennings (1965 p.50) , is what we 'fear most.' As Tenner (1996 p. 61) points out 'chronic illness runs counter to most of the strengths of technological medicine.' Potentially devastating in its impact, chronic illness, for example : diabetes; heart disease; kidney disease; arthritis; myalgic encephalitis (ME); multiple sclerosis; fibromyalgia is characteristically long-term and its prognosis often uncertain. Often these conditions are 'invisible' (Johns 1999). Chronic illness is costly, both socially and economically. It can involve a puzzling multitude of symptoms and complications. There are no easy answers and often no obvious treatments.

Mrs G. who took part in the research conducted for this study, describes how because of her chronic illness she has had to let go of :

virtually everything that was a normal part of my life, for example : my independence, not being able to go out and about by myself; I've lost the normal sensations in my body - tender touch hurts me. Most foods I can't eat. I can't socialise because of noise sensitivity and exhaustion... None of my old friends visit. Had to give up going to the cinema, pubs, family outings. Had to let go of all the props like having a career.

Supporting people, long-term, through Chronic Illness poses significant medical and pastoral challenges. Drawing upon the research conducted for this project, we will consider some of those challenges below :

A Challenge to the Medical Profession

It can be demoralising trying to help someone in this condition , when they do not get 'better', when their illness goes on perhaps for years, without remit, when there is never any relief from pain, when the condition continually baffles and frustrates any attempt at a cure. This is, to say the least, hard to understand. Carers and professionals can and do, become frustrated. Teasell (1997) reports how ;

There is current disconcerting trend towards dealing with chronic pain and its subsequent disability by denying its reality...we seem to have crossed a threshold where it is increasingly acceptable to demonstrate a lack of empathy or compassion for anybody who is injured, and in particular those who have chronic pain.

The research, conducted for this project, confirms Teasell's findings and also highlights some of the difficulties people have in being acknowledged and understood by the medical profession. Furnham (1999) , for example, suggests that many instances of chronic illness are simply an excuse for the 'underachiever' to drop out of life and recline 'on a sofa while watching Richard and Judy.' ( a day time television show).

As medicine succeeds in the treatment of acute conditions and in combating infection, the incidence of chronic illness seems to be more apparent, as an emerging unresolved issue, Omran (1971) proposes a three-stage model of medical development : an Age of Pestilence and Famine; an Age of Receding Pandemics and an Age of Degenerative and man-Made Diseases. Omran sees the rise of chronic illness ' as a positive sign of the banishment of pestilence, famine and pandemic.'

Tenner (1996) suggests that chronic illness presents a whole new set of challenges for the medical profession , who are unfortunately still operating mainly within a 'medical model' of care, which Ferguson (1980) defines as 'the allopathic approach of treating the disease and symptoms of disease.'

Siegel (1989 p.38), for example, comments that :

I can't help noticing that our power to heal people and their lives seems to have diminished as dramatically as our power to cure diseases has increased. This is because the knowledge of human nature that used to be the doctor's principal resource has been abandoned as irrelevant in an age of science. Science has become God and separated itself from the patient.

Chronic illness, therefore, does not fit easily into the medical model. Unfortunately, it can be tempting for medical staff, to blame or deny the patients reality rather than face up to the limits of one's professional practice.

For example, Mrs Q. a research participant, struggling to find food she can eat, without adverse reaction, describes how :

Medical doctors ask : 'how can you be intolerant to so many foods ?' It's just beyond my capacity to explain and anyone's capacity to understand.

Mrs I. slowly recovering from a 15 - year period of chronic illness, reported on how the medical profession 'didn't have a clue' how to treat her. She said she never felt rejected by God, 'just by the medical profession.'

Mrs M. describes how the medical profession :

Disbelieve my symptoms (severity). Hospital particularly bad. Felt nurses thought I was not trying hard enough etc.

Mrs G. outlined the lack of of medical support for her condition :

I've actively not had the right medical support most of the time. I've found the medical attitude a most destructive experience and I've had to change surgeries, not just GP's, three times.

She went on to say how the attitude of medical professionals, towards her illness has been :

Denial. Disbelief, rejection. Complete lack of understanding/comprehension. Being seen as mentally rather than physically ill...Three consultants have denied my experience and two GP's, the first GP resented coming out to see me...

While medicine has been concerned with diagnosis and cure, healing arguably occurs within a much wider context. There is a danger of medicine relying on or giving ultimate power to technology alone. A higher, overarching perspective is called for. John Paul 11 (1999) , for example, calling for a 'study of the organisation of health-care services', points out, that those who suffer long 'above all for the gift of sympathetic understanding, supportive love and generous dedication to the point of heroism.' ( Message for the World Day of the Sick, 11 February 1999 # 4).

A Challenge to the Church

Sadly, the research undertaken for this project indicates that, almost without exception, the chronically sick and disabled and their carers are left feeling isolated and not catered for adequately by the institutional Church . This confirms Thomas and Alkire's (1992 p. 15) experience, who suggest that the problem :

doesn't lie with the sick, but with the Body of Christ. People's needs for healing are going unmet because pastoral care to the sick is woefully inadequate in the church today.

Jesus, points out John Paul 11 (1984) :

went about doing good and his actions concerned primarily those who were suffering and seeking help. He healed the sick, consoled the afflicted, fed the hungry, freed people from deafness, from blindness, from leprosy, from the devil and from various physical disabilities, three times he restored the dead to life. He was sensitive to every human suffering, whether of the body or of the soul. (SD 16)

Jesus urges us, in the strongest terms, to do likewise (Mt 24 : 43-46 ).

John Paul 11 (1984) writes that 'the Church has to try to meet man in a special way on the path of his suffering.' (SD 3).

However Mrs T. says :

Haven't had many visits from the congregation. There are lots of practical ways in which they could help. I don't get the help I'd like because my husband is here - eg. they could give me a lift to church. I put an advertisement in the newsletter appealing for someone, perhaps a young person to come and help me sort out the things that I planned to sort out for my retirement, like putting photo's in albums, clerical work - I was willing to pay them, but there was not one response. (Here she burst into tears.)

Mrs M. severely ill and housebound , states that her Church is :

Not very supportive - don't understand illness. Also I can't manage to go to church. Bothered at first, but no longer feel need for religion as such. Priest comes occasionally (he is very old !) difficult for him too.

McGreal (1994) discusses how people can start to drift away from a Church that they feel does not see or acknowledge them :

'Drift' is the best description of what happens, a gradual feeling of alienation, of non-acceptance, a sense that nobody will address the issues with compassion. Such a reality flies in the face of the Gospel where Christ seeks out the ones who are wounded and broken. His table ministry, his sitting down with publicans and sinners, made him the one who was accessible.

Mrs K. caring for her husband , commented that in relation to her stressful
and difficult situation :

The Church doesn't want to know ! Prayer Group (charismatic) was a support but Charismatic Renewal was squashed in our Diocese. I was a
leader...Priests are not interested (in visiting). Have hardly ever seen one
here !

.....Completely disgusted with no help from the Church.

Mrs I. observes :

People can't stand long-term illness. People don't have the tenacity to stay with you after a while they start to blame you.

McGee et al. (1991) discuss how, in the face of illness or disability people, rather than adopting a posture of 'Solidarity', often seek to distance themselves : adopting a Cold, Distant, or even an Authoritarian posture. This is illustrated in Horsfall's poem (1995) written in reference to the Author :

The other day
I threw an egg at my husband
with a plate of baked beans.
something inside
just snapped....

I threw an egg
at my husband
I'm not ashamed
It brought a sense of great relief
And made him see
See what ?
See me...
He hadn't understood before.

The author found himself blaming his wife for being ill, for somehow not 'pulling herself together' and making it better. As Vanier (1997) suggests : 'We human beings are afraid of this cry (of the poor); it undermines our comfort, our security and our well-being.. '

This fear runs deep and has led to the most extreme measures being taken against people who are sick and disabled, leading to a 'death-making subculture.' (Human Rights Committee Report 1996) Davis (1995) describes how : 'The desire to get rid of mentally and physically different people runs like a thread through human history.'

Utley (1999) , for example, draws attention to how the 1990 U.K. Abortion Act , allows the abortion of fetuses likely to be born with a serious handicap, right up to the time of birth. He points out how, in the UK, it is therefore 'permissible to kill a fully developed human being for no other reason than he or she (is) likely to be disabled.'

Clearly, as we are all influenced by the culture we grow up in, with all of its prejudices, there is a need to reflect carefully upon one's values, upon one's ability to be open to the other person in love, especially within marriage. Willey (1996) points out : 'The challenge which making marriage vows enables us to take up, is to become integrated, 'pure in heart' - that is, single hearted.' He goes on to describe how : 'In fallen Adam we have lost our natural integration and each of us is scattered.'

Severe chronic illness, however, places extraordinary pressures upon a marriage. Mr A. for example, caring for his wife explains that the aim of what he does is to :

look after my wife, to help her through the day and help get her better. To try and work out what caused the illness and suggest remedies.

The difficulty is doing this while trying to run a business.

The options facing Mr A. appear to be fairly bleak. The author's wife suffers from Fibromyalgia - and severe ME. The author gave up his own business and is one of the:

nearly one million people who are caring for 50 hours a week or more for a partner, relative or friend, spending more than eight hours a day in their caring role..in return they are eligible..for the basic carer's allowance of £38.70 a week. Even if they worked a 'standard' working week (35 hours) this would work out at little more than £1 an hour. (Warner & Wexler 1998 p.2)

It is not only the heavy financial cost - one loses many of the 'props': status; a valued role; a sense of purpose and achievement that come with employment, to enter into the infinitely more isolated and less well defined role of a 'carer'. Meister Eckhart's (1988 p. 155) vision of the God who :

often lets his friends fall sick and lets every prop on which they lean be knocked out from under them

surely applies also to the carer. Possibly giving up a career and income to care full time, or else trying to balance the two commitments, changing one's lifestyle radically, coping with loss , are some of the major stress factors involved.

Another issue arising from the research is the difficulty partners seem to have in communicating effectively about the impact of the illness upon their marriage.

Mrs M. said :

I know I am benefiting from my illness in a positive way. Sometimes I wonder if my partner is seeing less of a benefit for him. He never discusses how he feels.

Mrs B. agrees that 'partnership' is essential. However, she observed very sadly, that 'it didn't happen in ...my marriage.'

Mrs K. asked :

Is it fair that ONE person keeps all the hard things going and the other has the leisure, while one has none at all ?

Men, in particular, do not appear to be acknowledging their feelings, to themselves or their partners. Mrs Q. , who is virtually house and bed bound commented that her husband ( who in contrast to his wife, barely answered any of the 'Carer' questions addressed to him) :

doesn't evaluate his ups and downs in the way you've laid on (or at all?)

Mrs F. caring for her husband commented that recently :

The most honest thing that he's said in a lifetime is "I don't know."..
He always needs to be right.

To the extent that feelings are not dealt with, there is more likelihood of a block in the relationship. The couples who seem to be coping best, even if not communicating effectively, are the ones who have a spiritual basis for dealing with the illness / disability or say that they love each other. Mrs Q. commented :

We have chosen to be with each other for life, and God has chosen our partner. So, God will support and guide us in all things. Both of us have had parents who have been through many serious illnesses and stayed together for life and we saw them love and comfort each other always. We want that.

All these pressures are experienced at a time when marriage itself is under strain. The Observer (Jan 31 1999 p. 26), for example, suggests that 'marriage is in some kind of crisis or, at least, in a period of reinvention.'

With its emphasis upon the family as the prime 'partnership of love' (GS 47), Vatican 11, says Bishop Malone (1995) , placed ' the life, dignity and the rights of the human person at the centre of the Church's social mission.' How effectively, though, is the Church supporting couples, particularly those struggling with chronic illness, to live their marriage ?

The research, undertaken for this project, has revealed a marked degree of anger towards the institutional Church. For example Mrs E. who cared for her husband while he was dying commented :

I would have liked to have talked this over one to one...Never had that from the Church. The Church is too busy making money/looking for money ! The Church doesn't go to people and find out the depths.

Deep hurt, a poignant, lingering sense of regret and sadness was revealed in one respondent's description of the impact on her relationship of the Church's policy on sexuality. Mrs F. after having had five children in seven years and who then 'waited for Humane Vitae' concluded , after advice from a priest to make up her own mind, that 'abstinence was the thing '. Her Husband quietly accepted her decision and from that day on they 'didn't communicate about sex.' The result being that while they lived their lives, 'it tore us apart.'

Mrs F. comments : 'Because I ruled out sexuality..I ruled out the whole person.' This is a decision that she now bitterly regrets. It eventually led to her placing herself, and her family, because of feelings of 'hypocrisy' outside 'the church and the sacraments for fourteen years.' She now directly blames that decision for her husband's present ill condition. Her children, to her 'amazement and horror' , still do not go to church.
Baute (1993) suggests 'that churches do not teach an adequate theology of marriage , and that Catholic teaching on sexual love wrecks many marriages.' He also comments upon how difficult he thinks it is to protest :

when those who try to speak up are regarded as disloyal and silenced, and when the system itself is closed to discussion, particularly on this issue.

This is similar to Haring's (1993) comments upon how strict adherence to the Church's teaching is enforced within its disciplinary structures.

Koszarycz (1999), observes that 'The general Roman Catholic teachings about sex and love have come down to us through a celibate and patriarchal Church.' Yves Congar is quoted by Baute (1995) as having once said that 'if the hierarchy could ever trust the laity we would witness a second Spring of the Church that could pale the first Pentecost.'

What insights, it must be asked, can a 'celibate clergy have... of the real meaning of human sexuality in married life ?' (Birth Control and the Catholic Church). McGrath (1992 pp. 3-5) argues that there are two ways of looking at 'the problems of life' one is the perspective of the 'spectator' and the other the perspective of the 'participant'. The spectator on their 'balcony' is able to look ahead to see where the road below is going, while the participant is struggling along the 'road,' one foot after another. Both perspective are needed : a call to partnership.

What support, for example, does one give to Mrs M. , who is experiencing a 'change of sex life' because of the constant pain and exhaustion she suffers? The author can testify to the difficulties encountered when one's partner is never out of pain, cannot bear, often to be touched - anywhere, and when this is a chronic condition that has lasted for years. The author wrote (Crowhurst 1998 pg. 12) :

No trip to Paris - or Brighton for us this year. No starry candle lit cosy restaurant - ever - this year. Not last year either. Nor the year before that...No partying. Not even a walk somewhere, hand in hand. Not for us.

How challenging it is to maintain an alive relationship and to express one's sexuality in these circumstances.

As Kung (1968 p. 69) states :

Rather than only speaking about love and marriage with great depth and beauty, we (the Church) should free ourselves from time-worn answers and give an accurate, honest and reasonable solution to the difficult problems of marriage morality.

The point is : the Church does speak beautifully about the sacredness of sex, the holiness of love, the truth and dignity of the person, the sanctity of life. These are words that the world, especially today, needs to hear. But are they being communicated effectively ?

To what extent is the Church able to enter into dialogue with 'ordinary' people ?

Vatican 11 points out how :

sick people have this role in the Church: to put others in mind of the essential, the higher things, reminding them that through the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection our mortal life is given back to us. (HD 3)

Maybe so, but who is listening ? This research has shown how the sick and their carers are left feeling isolated from the institutional church. The research and the author's own experience, show that nonetheless, a rich variety of spiritual expression is emerging, as people support themselves outside 'the Church' and pray for each other, forming 'prayer circles' for example that communicate by post. Truly the Holy Spirit is alive and active. As John Paul 11 (1984), a man who has suffered much physical pain in his own life, observes : 'The world of suffering possesses as it were its own solidarity.' (SD 8)

To the extent that the Church is not in touch with the sick and their carers, to that extent the Church is being deprived of the most precious spiritual gifts, prophecy and insights. As John Paul 11 (1984) says :

Those who share in the sufferings of Christ preserve in their own sufferings a very special particle of the infinite treasure of the world's Redemption and can share this treasure with others. (SD 27)

As Rogers (1982 p. 42) points out 'Sharing, participation, mutuality, communion' is :
not an optional extra for those (who have) the time or interest...these words point to an ontological relationship integral to human existence - not to what may happen one day but to what each of us IS. We are community, mutuality, love and if per impossible, that communion and love were to cease, we would no longer be.

The issue is : how can we realise this communion with each other, so that we can hear and see and learn from each other ? As the Catechism observes : "the Holy Spirit can use the humblest to enlighten the learned and those in the highest positions." (CCC 2038)

It is here that Partnership theory has much to offer.

Chapter Three
A call to Partnershipgo to contents

The Christian is called is to 'participate in the life of the Risen Lord.'(CCC 1694). Jesus said : ' Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. ' (Jn 15 : 4). 'United in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit' (GS 1) the Christian, who 'feels a deep solidarity with the human race and its history' (GS 1) carries 'on the work of Christ' (GS 3). Paul V1 (1975) refers to the 'total spiritual renewal' of a person 'which the gospel calls metanoia, that is a conversion of the whole man by virtue of which there is a radical change of mind and heart.' (EN 10).

The Christian Religion "is the religion of 'dwelling in the heart of God', of sharing in God's very life." (TMA 8). The Christian, then stands in partnership with Christ and in solidarity with the world. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1990) says that a partner is 'a person who shares or takes part with another.' The same dictionary defines 'Partnership' as : 'the state of being a partner or partners.' However , recently another view of partnership, as a theory of 'cultural transformation' (Eisler 1987) has begun to emerge. This theory seems to have much to offer, especially to the Christian, who is trying to understand and bring about change in a multifarious world.

Based, first and foremost, upon a belief in the equality of the 'relations between the female and male halves of humanity' (Eisler 1993) partnership is seen as a 'modern progressive movement..challenging different forms of domination backed by force and fear.' (Eisler 1995). Partnership places great emphasis upon fostering and protecting the rights of children and women within the family, as :

Our very first lessons about human relations and thus also about human rights are learned in the private sphere. This is where people learn to respect the rights to freedom from violence, cruelty, oppression and discrimination - or where they learn violence, cruelty, oppression and discrimination.

As Vatican 11 points out : The 'partnership of man and woman constitutes the first form of communion between persons.' (GS 12) Eisler (1993), observes that :

if human rights are to be truly respected, a new kind of global leadership is urgently needed. This is a leadership in which both halves of humanity - women and men - as well as values stereotypically considered feminine, such as nonviolence, empathy and care taking, are fully integrated into all aspects of policy making.

A ' partnership model' stands in contrast to a so-called 'dominator model' of social organisation : one which is based upon social ranking : typically male-dominated, authoritarian and top-down. (Eisler 1995). The dominator model, observe Montuori & Conti (1995 p. 17), has "so thoroughly informed our vision of the world that we (citizens of Western democracies) firmly believe it is an integral part of life, a 'law of nature', and therefore inescapable."

A partnership perspective represents a 'paradigm shift' (Kuhn 1970) - a change in our fundamental assumptions about reality. Rather than 'power over', a partnership perspective is concerned with 'power from within, power to enable ourselves and others to achieve the ends we desire.' (Montouri & Conti p.20)

In its stress upon the value and dignity of each human person, partnership seems to have much in common with Christian Personalism, which emphasises dialogue and the notion of human solidarity (McBrien 1995 p. 988) and there are also strong parallels between partnership's theory of 'cultural transformation' and Freire's (1970 p.28) theory of 'cultural action' which seeks 'authentic transformation of the dehumanising structure.'

Actively promoting creativity, synergy and responsibility, partnership draws heavily upon Systems Theory. (Montuori & Conti p. 13) Developed by a biologist, Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the 1940's, systems theory shows how the rules that govern entities, both living and non-living, can be conceptualised as systems with various interacting components.

Partnership, then, promotes a holistic perspective, which moves beyond a reductionist 'either / or' debate. Systems theory, say Montuori & Conti (1995 p. 13) :

is designed to deal with issues that are complex, unstable and even chaotic and that must be viewed simultaneously as part and as whole in order to be understood.

To that extent partnership can be usefully applied in viewing issues within the context of an increasingly complex, global interdependence.

Cardinal Basil Hume's (1998) cry for us to enter into the next Millennium 'different people', provides an excellent reference point from which to explore the theme of partnership and to demonstrate its relevance to the Church, within a complex world.

How is it possible to become as the Cardinal says, a 'different person' ? One is reminded of Nicodemus's question to Jesus : 'How can a grown man be born ?' (Jn 3:4). In his comment upon this passage Verney (1995 p.40) suggests that the question Nicodemus is asking is :

fundamental to the survival of the human race. How can we change our attitudes ? How can we grow out of our prejudices ? How can we come to a new way of seeing everything, to a new 'mind-set', a new consciousness ? For unless we do this we shall certainly destroy ourselves.

The references to a new 'mind-set' and a 'new consciousness' seem to have much in common with the arguments for a partnership perspective, which stresses the need for transformation and the learning of new ways 'to live together more creatively, systematically ridding ourselves of old prejudices and preconceptions.' (Montuori & Conti 1995, p. 260).

John Paul 11 (1981), for example, states how :

The whole Church is obliged to a deep reflection and commitment, so that the new culture now emerging may be evangelised in depth, true values acknowledged, the rights of men and women defended and justice promoted in the very structures of society. (FC 8).

As we stand today, poised on the brink of a new millennium the evidence of humanity's capacity to destroy itself, as we have seen, if it doesn't face up to the need for transformation, is all too apparent.

The Cardinal, himself draws attention to the scandalous reality of world poverty - 840 million people going hungry every day - a 'crime crying to heaven' and the genocide and wars that continue to characterise our century. We need to 'affirm the gift of life and respect for the gift of love.' he says, calling for us to 'first accept our need as individuals, as a Church and as a society, for forgiveness and healing.' (op cit) .

The Cardinal's call for justice is intended to serve as a preparation for the Holy Year - the year 2000. Pope John Paul 11 (1994) urges the whole Church to prepare for this 'extraordinarily great Jubilee' (TMA 15) by a 'renewed commitment to apply, as faithfully as possible the teachings of Vatican 11 to the life of every individual and of the whole Church.' (TMA 20).

It was at the Second Vatican Council that the Church defined its mission in terms of an 'intense engagement with the world...and provided a theological foundation, rationale and spirituality for such involvement which was not articulated previously.' (Himes 1995 pp. 3-8). Echoes of a partnership perspective can be found in this emphasis which represented, says Himes (ibid), a 'new model of church / world engagement.'

John Paul 11 (1987) acknowledges that the 'social question has assumed a worldwide dimension' depending 'more and more on the influence of factors beyond regional boundaries and national frontiers.'(SRS 9). In his message for the 1998 World Day of Peace, the Pope referred to the 50th anniversary of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and pointed out how this is being blatantly violated today through oppression and corruption. (Cathnews 1997)

The follower of Christ, operates today within a highly complex world . The pace and rate of change is baffling. The scale of the problems facing humankind are truly immense. As Vatican 11 pointed out :

Man is growing conscious that the forces he has unleashed are in his own hands and that it is up to him to control them or be enslaved by them. Here lies the modern dilemma. (GS 9)

Personal transformation and putting the Gospel into practice today requires the ability to think globally , for example John Paul 11 (1987) teaches that Christians have a 'moral obligation' to take into account the 'relationship of universality, this interdependence which exists between their conduct and the poverty and under development of so many millions of people.' (SRS 9).

The issues raised by the Cardinal : life and love as gift; the relationship between individual and institutional healing, intricate in themselves, are raised within a post modern (Starkey 1997 p. 30) society, which suspicious of absolute moral norms, stresses the relativity of all views. Marked by Consumerism (Kavanaugh 1996) , an ' invasive materialism ' , can be found at the heart of our society which is 'imposing its dominion on us in many different forms and with an aggressiveness sparing no one.' (John Paul 11 1996 p. 174)

Fundamentally, the call to follow Jesus, requires personal insight and awareness of one's need for healing, both inner and outer. This means being able to listen, in the depths of one' s heart to that 'voice' which calls one 'to love' (GS 16) : to one's conscience, the place where 'God's voice echoes' .(GS 16).

Mrs M. one of the research subjects, describes how

When I get very, very quiet in meditation, then I see and hear Him close. He is telling me to be very still - I am finding it hard to do but each practice I get better.

However, hearing the voice of one's conscience is one thing, having the courage and developing the ability to follow that voice through, is another matter. As Vatican 11 stated, it is only through attaining freedom that 'man can turn himself to what is good.' (GS17).

Man can and does attempt to turn to what is good. Often this process of 'attaining freedom' will involve a courageous process of healing. We referred earlier, to Partnership's theory of the 'Dominator System.' To some extent we have probably all been damaged by the effects of that system.

Jung (1989) , for example, describes the 'part of the human personality that wishes to develop and become whole' as a 'divine child' He states :

In the adult there lives a child - an eternal child, something that is always becoming, is never completed and that calls for increasing care, attention and education. (Abrams 1990 p. 203)

The 'inner child', however, is often damaged, especially as a result of family upbringing.

Friel and Friel (1988 p. 114) express how, to the damaged inner child, 'I made a mistake' becomes 'I am a mistake' . This leads, they suggest, to a shame-based, often addictive state of 'co-dependency' :

Day by day, year by year, decade by decade, we crawl into a shell of denial, defensiveness, isolation and emptiness that is fuelled by our shame and embarrassment at the thought of anyone ever finding out what is really going on inside of us.

We may try to bury, to hide our hurt, our shame, however it will be reflected in our behaviour. As Friel and Friel (ibid) warn :

..take a look around you ! Open your eyes ! Look at the trail of destruction you continue to leave in your path. Look at the empty desperate relationships. Look at the spouses and children and family who are struggling painfully with the way you treat them.

Cardinal Hume ( op cit) points out how Christ calls us all to 'play our part in knocking down the walls of selfishness, fear and hatred in our society, which so easily divide us.' This discussion has tried to show how the process of 'knocking down walls' needs to begin with ourselves - with coming out from behind our own walls. It is here that partnership theory can make a useful contribution, not as a form of therapy but as a way of raising our awareness, through challenging us to think, act and be in a new way.

Partnership is more about transformation rather than revolution. Montuori and Conti (1993 p. 10) suggest that we need to undergo a 'paradigm shift' in how we go about : 'learning and knowing'; 'relating to one another' and in 'our way of being' : how we 'create our lives, the questions we ask and the answers we give ourselves about the meaning of our existence.' Implicit within this is a recognition of the holistic nature of things, a growing awareness we are Mind, Body, Emotion and Spirit - all aspects of ourselves which need to be acknowledged and not hidden.

From a partnership perspective one tries to go beyond a linear cause and effect analysis, and strives to see the interconnections between the whole picture. The emphasis is not so much say Montuori and Conti (1993 p. 14) on 'why' - although this is important, it can lead to reductionism and to blaming. Partnership, rather adopts a 'more pragmatic ' shift to 'how' : how do we deal with this problem, how do we keep our relationships going, how do we make them better ?

From an holistic perspective one can see the futility of trying to hide or deny problems and hurts , in the mistaken belief that they will either go away, or that they will not have an effect. They will have an effect to the extent that we are operating out of fear, however hidden. Cohen (1991 p. 264), for instance, describes how 'The world is filled with people running away from fear. It is awesome to consider the web of addictions that rule our society.' It is fear, arguably, which blocks love.

On a wider level, a partnership perspective can help us to appreciate how our thoughts, actions, emotions and spirit cannot be separated, from one another. The whole picture needs to be seen. A problem with Western consumerist culture is that great emphasis is placed upon materialism : mind, body and emotions are stimulated, served and exalted, however the lack of spirit is obvious, reflected in a 'spiritual uneasiness' (GS 5), a climate of relativism calling 'accepted values into question.'(GS 7) and 'greater numbers .. falling away from the practice of religion '(GS 7). One response, says Western (1998 p. 4) in the face of this turbulence is :

to retreat to a position of certainty. This, in religious terms, often takes the form of fundamentalism. ..Fundamentalism is seductive as it offers simplicity and concrete answers amidst the confusion and complexity of life.

Radcliffe (1996) suggests that religious fundamentalism is perhaps the 'most militant expression' of Blake's 'single vision ' : Blake prayed 'May God keep us from single vision and Newton's sleep.' (ibid) Partnership, on the other hand, with its emphasis upon systems theory fosters a breadth of vision . Montuori & Conti ( 1993 p. 63) write, for instance that :

Systems thinking shows us we're not alone in our endeavour to create our story; we are part of many larger systems and networks of connections. It further points the way to recognising these connections at all levels of life, from the self to the community to the environment.

The Church, it could be argued, must be able to take on board this type of sweeping viewpoint in order that it may better 'impregnate the culture and the whole way of man' (EN 20) more fully with the Gospel - and in order to be open to hearing the truth itself, in its own desire to be 'continually evangelised.' (EN 15). John Paul 11 (1988) points out how every ' disciple is personally called' (CL 124) to evangelise : 'no disciple can withhold making a response : ' Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel' (1 Cor 9:16). (CL 124). However, as we suggested at the end of the last chapter, there are two pressing issues to take into account. One is the need to go to the people in order to communicate with them. The second is is how to preach the Gospel in lifestyle and in words that people can hear.

Theology, anthropology and 'a normative ethics of principles and precepts', normally the 'chief components of theological reflection' need to be balanced, argues McCarthy (1998), alongside a 'critical, factual analysis of the institutional and cultural settings to which the principles and precepts of ethics applies.' This tends, he says, to be the province of 'secular social science and the common sense practicality of ordinary men and women.' His point reinforces the point just made about a reciprocal model of Church / world engagement and lends further credence to the argument for a partnership perspective.

This study has tried to show how greater perception and a clearer 'vision' might be encouraged through a partnership perspective . Useful as the theory of partnership might be, in helping to promote a paradigm shift in how we think, relate and be, it can be argued, however, that it is only when considering persons as 'feeble and sinful' (GS 10) that partnership takes on its fullest meaning and potential. For it is at this stage that we begin to consider partnership in terms of Jesus, and the Cross.

Chapter Four :
Partnership and Patriarchygo to contents

We stand at the foot of the cross, as 'unspiritual..as a slave to sin.' (Rom 7 :14). We are a paradox - capable of so much goodness, yet we continue to bring about pain and destruction. St. Teresa of Avila prayed :

Oh my Redeemer, my heart cannot conceive this without being sorely distressed ! What has become of Christians now ? Must those who owe Thee most always be those who distress Thee?...Do they not think, Lord of my soul that they have made Thee endure more than sufficient
torments ? (The Way of Perfection : Chapter 1)

We cannot rule out the effect , on us today, of the ' sinful decisions of our ancestors' suggests Redford (1986 p. 54) . Macnamara (1989 p. 172) writes that :

We have to deal not only with our own frailty : we inherit the scars of the long struggle of human kind to cope with itself and with the Furies which drive it

John Paul 11 (1994) calls everyone to undertake a 'journey of authentic conversion.' (TMA 50). We are a pilgrim Church (LG 48), its history, however painful, is our history. Duffy (1999) for example, reports on how the Vatican summoned an historical Symposium in October 1998, to provide the materials by which the Church might confront its own persecuting past in a solemn act of 'purification of memory in penitence'.

St. Edith Stein (1939) described the the world in which we live, where :

the need and misery and an abyss of human malice, again and again dampens jubilation over the victory of light.

Ferder and Heagle (1989 p.11) argue that : 'Something is missing. An essential quality of wisdom and compassion is missing.' We need to return to our history and 'collective human experience' , they propose, in order to :

recover something essential, something to do with a 'relational presence', a sense of our primordial bonds with one another and with the earth, a willingness to share responsibility for life.

Arguably this is emerging in people's eclectic search for a sense of meaning. Bunting (1999 p.2) comments upon a 'globalisation of religion' that she suggests is happening today :

Millions of people..happily mix astrology with devout Catholicism, Feng Shui and yoga with Anglicanism

Tarnas (1991 p.443), remarks that a :

deepening recognition of the value and necessity of partnership, pluralism and the interplay of many perspectives...can be seen in..the Gaia hypothesis..in the increasing appreciation of indigenous and archaic cultural perspectives such as the Native American, African and ancient European, in the new awareness of feminine perspectives of the divine, in the archaeological recovery of the Goddess tradition and the contemporary reemergence of Goddess spirituality

The existence of a 'prepatriarchal golden age' (Smith & Green 1996 p. 390) symbolised by 'the Goddess' , is a central theme in Eisler's (1987 p.2) argument that society does not have to be structured around patriarchal values. Studies of Paleothic art appear to reveal a sacred tradition which associated 'the powers that govern life and death with woman.' (ibid) Eisler (1987 p. 21) claims that the Goddess 'appears to have been worshipped in all ancient agricultural societies.'

Goddess worship, however gradually combined, in pagan religions, with the worship of male Gods. As Judaism, Christianity and Islam developed and the pagan religions were suppressed, the 'Goddess, Queen, Priestess and Mother' was replaced by 'The God, King, Priest and Father' (Goddess Worship).

According to Ricoeur (1970) there was originally a 'profound attunement' between sexuality and religion. This is the era of 'goddess worship and female images of the holy.' As culture evolved :

a significant differentiation began to take place between religion and sexuality..patriarchal patterns began to dominate cultural and family life; rational forms of thought challenged the participative power of myth and sacred rite. (ibid)
This period seems to coincide with the emergence of the world's great religions. Illich (1971 p. 107), for example, describes how Classical Greek civilisation : a 'rational and authoritarian society', was also 'moral and misogynous.' An emerging dualism sometimes manifested itself in extremes, for example Gnosticism and Manicheism.

Cox (1969 p. 167) emphasises how : 'Man's decisions are shaped and influenced by the symbols that define his reality and bestow on him his identity.' Eisler's (1987) suggestion, then, of a vision of long-lost partnership, retained still , deep within our collective memory and psyche, and represented by the ancient Goddess symbol , is arguably a richer and more useful concept than Goddess as virtual caricature figure for an inward-looking 'woman's rights' theology, that seems to be suggested for example by Robinson (1998 p. 156) . As Gomes (1996 p. 134) points out :

It has become a habit on the part of some evangelicals and religious conservatives to dismiss the mountain of female scholarship..with the taint of the most extreme and deconstructive dimensions of that scholarship, suggesting pagans and goddesses under every hermeneutical bed.

Feminism, as a political ideology has become associated, in a rather marginalised way with 'woman's issues.' (Eisler 1987 p. 165). Partnership is a wider and more complex discussion than that, concerned, as we have seen, with the wider consequences of 'the way society structures the most fundamental of all human relations' (ibid p. 104).

O'Neil (1998) for example, outlines how the particular theology of Christian community - the hierarchical, patriarchal and parochial model, that 'has come to dominate the Western church' is 'not the earliest theology.' The early Church at Rome , although thinking of itself as one Church, was in reality, according to Duffy (1998) :

a loose and often divided federation of widely different communities, each with its own pastors and its own distinctive and often conflicting liturgies, calendars and customs.

Wilkins (1998) points out, in reference to today's highly centralised Church, how :

The command structure at the top of the Catholic Church was established by a line of nineteenth - century popes who imposed on it a massive centralisation of authority.

Commenting upon the burden of the Papacy, Paul V1 wrote that the post he had just taken up :

is unique.It brings great solitude. I was solitary before, but now my solitariness becomes complete and awesome. Jesus was alone on the cross...My solitude will grow. I need have no fears; I should not seek outside help to absolve me from my duty. My duty is to plan, decide, assume every responsibility for guiding others, even when it seems illogical and perhaps absurd. And to suffer alone...me and God. The colloquy must be full and endless. (Duffy 1998)

Duffy (ibid) , questions this particularly lonely model of papacy and observes in relation to the above that :

This is a noble vision of the papacy, one conceived as service, not as power, but it is emphatically not one conceived as a partnership with others

Here we seem to have a tension between a partnership perspective : the Church as the 'Mystical Body of Christ.' (CCC 779) and a possible dominator perspective : the Church as 'a hierarchical society' (CCC 779). Hierarchy, as a form of 'rational mechanistic model of management' (Weber 1930) is being increasingly questioned today. The issue is one of authority.

While we cannot yet 'draw up a final balance sheet on John Paul 11's government of the internal life of the Church.'(Zizola 1998) there are strong grounds for concluding that overall, almost paradoxically, given his stalwart commitment to human rights and his central role in the rapid movement to democracy, especially in Eastern Europe, that this has been an authoritarian Pope.

We drew attention, for example, in the last Chapter to how difficult it now appears to be, to voice dissent within the Church. Zizola (1998) points out how : ' Theologians such as Hans Kung, Edward Schillebeeckx, Leonardo Boff and Charles Curran (have been) called to account and others ... marginalised.' Tissa Balasuriya in Sri Lanka has been censured and Anthony de Mello's books were condemned after his death : 'an extraordinary measure.' (ibid). More recently Cardinal Konig (1999) has expressed his concern that Fr Jacques Dupuis's work on Christian Pluralism is being investigated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, without directly consulting Fr Dupuis.

Bishop Malone (1996) accuses the Vatican of 'short-circuiting the principle of subsidiarity.' McGillion (1999), following the recent Synod for Oceania in Rome, proffers the suggestion that the Vatican world view of Church is 'nostalgic and implies a return through dogma and discipline to the fortress Church of the pre-Vatican 11 era.' Baute (1993) is concerned that : 'The Pope has absolutized his authority and himself.'

From a partnership perspective, as we saw in Chapter 2, authoritarianism is identified with the dominator system of social organisation. It is important, however, not to confuse authority with authoritarianism. As Freire (1972 p. 145) points out 'Freedom and authority cannot be isolated, but must be considered in relationship to each other.' The Centre for Partnership Studies (1998) comments that :

In the partnership model leaders inspire and facilitate rather than coerce..instead of hierarchies of domination..there are hierarchies of actualisation in which accountability flows both ways, rather than only from the bottom up.

Hierarchy within the Church, according to Vatican 11, is conceived of as a 'hierarchy of communion.' (LG 21). The corresponding principle of collegially (LG 22), highlights the essential partnership aspect of ministry within the Church :

Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another...Together with their head, the Supreme Pontiff, and never apart from him, they have supreme and full authority over the universal Church (LG 22)

The college of Bishops is empowered by a 'special outpouring of the Holy Spirit' (LG 21), however, the whole Church is 'holy' (CCC 823) and 'One' (CCC 813) with its foundations in the Trinity (CCC 813). It is the Holy Spirit that ' brings about that wonderful communion of the faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ' (CCC 813).

The Bishops , as a body, exercise their authority on behalf of the 'organic structure and harmony' (LG 22) of the Church. It is difficult to envision how Church authority can be exercised in an authoritarian way and still maintain a necessary emphasis upon communion and union. As Thomas and Alkire (1992 p. 29), suggest, in relation to the healing of the sick, an understanding of the church as the Body of Christ implies partnership :

Ministers who see the church as the Body of Christ treat the recipient of ministry as a valued member of that body. He is an equal participant in the process of healing. This attitude counters the temptation to put the supplicant in an inferior position while elevating the minister's importance.

Authoritarian systems tend to be highly centralised, homogeneous , secret and closed (Montuori & Conti 1993 p.164). The more open the system becomes the greater the degree of interdependence it develops, within a shrinking world (ibid) . In that sense the shift could be defined as one away from dualism (an 'us and them' situation), towards pluralism. One needs to tread this path very carefully however. Jesus came to bear witness to the truth (cf. Jn 18:37). The Church is a witness of the Gospel (CCC 2472) and has an obligation, empowered by the Holy Spirit (CCC 2466), to make the truth known (CCC 2472). As Pope Paul V1 warned :

Renewal yes; arbitrary change , no. An ever living and new history of the church, yes; an historicism dissolving the traditional binding forces of dogma, no....A church open to ecumenical love, responsible dialogue and the recognition of Christian values among separated brethren yes; an irenicism which dispenses with the truths of faith, no....Freedom of religion for all in the sphere of civic society, yes; yes, too, to personal freedom to belong to a religion according to the choice of one's own conscience; no, however, to freedom of conscience as a criterion for religious truth without the support of the genuineness of a serious and authorised magisterium. (Kung 1968 p.22)

Marrin (1999 p. 30) points out how :

True belief cannot be indiscriminating. To give equal value to someone else's opposing belief is to devalue one's own and vise versa

Partnership's contribution is to try and identify a 'middle way' between dualism and pluralism, as Keller ( Mountuori & Conti 1993 p. 167) points out :
Dualism isn't the ultimate point of understanding, but neither is pluralism. Our culture is beginning to shift away from dualism toward pluralism. I think that if we really want partnership we also need to understand unity as well, the unity that comes from mutual benefit.

Plunkett (1997 p. 65) points out how the great danger of 'ideological pluralism' is that for the individual 'everything falls into relativism.' Cardinal Ratzinger (1997) cites 'relativism (as) the central problem for the faith... (to the extent that) Jesus is consciously relativised as one religious leader among others.' The result of relativism , suggests Plunkett (ibid p. 64) , is that :

There is no truth, no standard of judgments and beliefs. While all of us need to find beliefs to live our daily lives, these can easily become arbitrary and self-contradictory if there is no worked out foundation for them.

John Paul 11 (1994) states how :

Christ is ... the fulfilment of the yearning of all the world's religions and , as such he is their sole and definite completion.(TMA 6)

Partnership, we have suggested seeks to discover a unity of understanding, between a dualist and a pluralist perspective. This is essential in the real world, with all its complexity. The complex search for truth, leads us to Christ, because as John Paul 11 (1998) points out, we believe that :

unity of truth , natural and revealed is embodied in a living and personal way in Christ, as the Apostle reminds us : 'Truth is in Jesus' (cf. Eph 4:21; Col 1 :15-20) (FR 34)

Eisler (1987 p. 188) proffers a description of an ideal world , structured in line with a new partnership-based consciousness. This is emerging , she suggests, because 'men and women are increasingly questioning the basic assumptions' of a patriarchal society where 'male dominance and the male violence of warfare are inevitable.' (ibid p.188) . Noticeably absent from her discussion, however, is reference to any absolute. It almost seems as if Eisler is suggesting that men and women will be able to bring an ideal state of partnership about on their own. Eisler discusses spirituality alongside the 'new science' (ibid p. 190) in terms of a sense of 'interconnectedness'. She writes, for example, that what :

Jesus, Gandhi and other spiritual leaders have simply called love is today also a theme of science. This developing 'new science' - of which 'chaos' theory and feminist scholarship are integral parts - is for the first time in history focusing more on relationships than on hierarchies. (ibid)

This may be so, however Eisler's discussion is limited . For the Christian, love, as revealed by Jesus, is infinitely more than 'science' or a 'sense of interconnectedness.' For sure St. Thomas Aquinas describes creation (Vann 1959 p. 18) in terms of a 'great wheeling circle..coming forth from God and returning to him, drawn back by desire and love.' However as Vann (ibid) points out, this is a vision of love as 'infinite, unlimited, perfect, the perfect expression of truth.' Butterfield (1949 p. 150) suggests that the most fundamental decision we have to make ourselves is to decide :

whether we will see ourselves as gods or kings of the universe (as absolute ends in ourselves) or whether the things which inside us are most lofty and most luminous are not really.. the broken reflections of a greater light.

John Paul 11 (1998) comments that :

philosophy and the sciences function within the order of natural reason; while faith, enlightened and guided by the Spirit, recognises in the message of salvation the 'fullness of grace and truth' (cf.Jn 1:14) which God has willed to reveal in history and definitively through his Son (cf. Jn 5:9; Jn 5:31-32). (FR 9).

At some stage then, theory and philosophy have to meet theology. The meeting is a necessary one and it is strongly argued, the foundation to all true partnership. The Catechism points out that science and technology by themselves : 'cannot disclose the meaning of existence and of human progress.' (CCC 2293) Maddocks (1981 p. 5) comments upon how Carl Jung was led to the conclusion that there is a 'purposeful centre of reality with which man needs to be in conscious contact for his full health' As Starkey (1997 p.119) observes :

A naive faith in reason and science to give all the answers has resulted in environmental pollution, two World Wars and the threat of global holocaust.

It has also led to the 'heresy of ....individualism.' (Biechler 1998).

Within an all prevailing climate of Consumerism, 'individualism' expressed especially in 'consumer choice' can easily lead, as Starkey (1997 p.30) argues, to a 'religion' where :
the self is at the centre, where all the faiths and myths of history are trawled in the search for happy inner experiences, where nobody and nothing impedes freedom of choice. It is spirituality as lifestyle accessory.

The Church's role, says John Paul 11 (1998) is not simply to stand by but rather to participate as a 'partner in humanity's shared struggle to arrive at truth.' (FR 2)

The Pope places a stress on an holistic understanding and a unification of knowledge, very much in line with partnership thinking, in order to arrive at the truth. For example he writes that there needs to be : a profound and indissoluble unity between the knowledge of reason and the knowledge of faith (FR 16); a dynamic relationship of faithful self-giving with others (FR 32); a consonance between intellect and objective reality (FR 56); a movement from phenomenon to foundation or from experience to metaphysics (FR 83); a unified and organic vision of knowledge (FR 84); a deepening of the understanding of the relationship between conceptual language and truth (FR 96).

Gormally (1997) argues that :

the hall mark of a secularist mind-set is that it either rejects or has lost understanding of any intrinsic connection between human behaviour and a transcendent human destiny.

Without this 'intrinsic connection' , how could one possibly avoid a moral relativism no matter how enlightened or well-intentioned one's motives might be ?

An analysis of society's wrongs, based as it is upon an analysis of the 'Dominator model' would never be replaced, it is argued, by a 'Partnership model', which is defined only as a theory of cultural transformation without the spiritual aspect and transformative power of the Cross. This is because there is a much deeper issue at stake, and that, as we pointed out in the last chapter, is to do with the existence of evil or 'sin.'

To the extent that we acknowledge sin, to that extent we are getting in touch as Gross (1981) argues, with 'basic pain, pain completely uncaused by the evil of patriarchy. '
One 'just knows' that evil exists in the world (Gomes 1996 p. 249). In the last chapter we looked a little at some of the suffering and pain that so characterises our world. As Macnamara (1989 p. 172) remarks :

Little wonder that the symbolism of evil is one of the most pervasive symbols in human history and that so many of the world's great myths try to deal with it.

There is, for example , a dark side to the ancient Goddess symbol : Irish Celtic mythology, for instance, features Nemain, the savage goddess of war and Morrigan 'a sinister shape-changing goddess' (Cahill 1995 p.127) and Badb, the third Celtic Goddess of war. (O'Donohue 1998 p.132). The Hindu goddess Kali is :

fierce and bloodthirsty, she haunts battlefields and cremation grounds, wears a garland of severed heads and a girdle of severed arms, and holds a severed head and bloodied sword. (Smith & Green 1996 p. 619)

Starkey (1997 p. 98) writes that the Ugaritic goddess Ishtar is presented in legend as 'bloodthirsty' while Artemis, 'patron deity of Ephesus, was associated with ritualised death and human sacrifice was sometimes offered by her followers.' (ibid)

Why God 'did not create a world so perfect that no evil could exist in it ?' (CCC 310) is one of the 'greatest moral' (Redford 1997 p. 104) problems. St Augustine said : 'I sought whence evil comes and there is no solution.' (Conf. 7,7, 11:PL 32, 739). The Catechism however points out : 'There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.' (CCC 309)

Aquinas defined evil as the deprivation of the good . (ST, 1, q.14,a.10 in Redford 1997 p. 104 ) St. John wrote : 'If we say we have no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves and refusing to admit the truth.' (1 Jn : 8) Fergle and Heagle (1989 p. 171) make the point about sin that :
We are not just speaking here of individual acts that might violate an ethical law, but of an interior stance of the heart that is distorted, compulsive and sometimes even violent....They are ways of running away from our humanity and our vulnerability to one another. They are posturings in an unreal world, a form of flight from God.

Pope Pius X11 commented, in a 1946 Radio Message that 'the sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.' (Butters 1996 p. 75) As Au (1990 p. 193) points out: 'A view of the human person that does not acknowledge that sinfulness casts a shadow on every person is unrealistic.'

Fundamentally then, as we stressed in the last chapter, the path to partnership has to be a path of healing, defined dynamically by Kroll (1991 p.33) as a 'change from one state of being to another.' As this discussion attempts to show, partnership needs to address the fundamental issue of sin and spiritual transformation. Sin is foremost 'an interior stance of the heart that is distorted, compulsive and even violent.' (Ferder & Heagle 1989 p.176) John Paul 11 (1996 p. 150) comments that 'The causes of evil are not to be sought outside us but above all within our hearts; and the remedy too begins from the heart.' As Jean Vanier (1997 p.50) points out :

Little by little we human beings discover our inability to fulfil our deep thirst for communion. This inability springs from our fear of love, which finds its source in our own wounded and broken hearts and in the wounded and broken hearts of others.

Christianity is rooted in love and compassion, for ourselves and for others, as Meister Eckhart said :

If you love yourself, you love everybody else as you do yourself...if you love all alike, including yourself, you will love them as one person and that person is both God and man. (Blakney 1941 p. 204)

In Jesus, we are able to love because through Him we find liberation from that 'law of sin which lives inside my body.' (Rom 7 :23).

John Paul 11 (1994) states how : 'Overcoming evil : that is the meaning of the Redemption.' (TMA 7) He points out that God, in Jesus Christ

not only speaks to man but also seeks him out...It is a search which begins in the heart of God and culminates in the Incarnation of the Word. (TMA 7).

This is the source of Christian hope, the basis to true love, the foundation of partnership.

Chapter Four
Christian Partnershipgo to contents

This study has attempted to show how useful partnership can be, as a theory of cultural transformation. In this chapter we want to draw together all the themes we have been discussing : Partnership as a challenge to how we think , act and be; the Goddess as a symbol; healing and change, and show how partnership achieves its fulfilment in Christ and his Church. We will achieve this, by drawing upon the example of Mary, who is 'the symbol and the most perfect realisation of the Church.' (CCC 507).

Eisler (1987 p. 7) suggests that Goddess worship continues into historic times with, for example, 'The Shekhina of Hebrew kabalistic tradition and .. the Catholic Virgin Mary'. She contends that Mary's 'merely mortal' state, compared to the male Godhead, reduces Mary 'like her earthly counterparts,' to an 'inferior order.' (ibid p. 24) This is to miss the fullness of the Church's teaching.

Mary is not a distant Goddess figure, or a mere symbol. A 'woman of hope' (TMA 48) , a 'radiant model' (TMA 48) , Mary, the living (LG 59) Mother of God and our Mother (CCC 963) , 'stands out among the poor and humble' (LG 55) . In Mary who is 'without spot or wrinkle' of sin, perfection already exists (CCC 829). Mary, it is suggested, offers the supreme example of partnership. Blessed Dominic Barbari (Hoagland 1998), for example, said in reference to Mary that 'God inspired this great woman to set out for Calvary not to be a spectator, but a partner in the sacrifice of her Son.'

The Incarnation and Redemption were only made possible through Mary , hailed by the angel as 'full of grace' (Lk 1 :28), saying 'Yes' ( cf. Lk 1 : 38) to God. The Catechism points out how 'belief in the Incarnation is the distinctive sign of Christian faith ' (cf. Heb 10:5-7) (CCC 464) As Boss (1997) explains :

The greeting of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary..is held in Christian tradition as one of the most joyful moments in the history of creation, for it inaugurates the first moment of the Incarnation and thus of the world's salvation.

Mary's whole life was lived as a 'pilgrimage of faith' (LG 58) she 'faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross.' (LG 58). Mary was empowered to undertake this most difficult of journeys, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that awakens faith in us (CCC 684) so that we too can share in the divine gift of love (AND 15) Faith means to give ones ' whole being' in ascent to God (CCC 143). As Newman (Dessain 1977 p.128) wrote : 'the essence of true conversion is ...an unreserved, unconditional surrender'. We can only do this through the Holy Spirit (cf.Jn 6:63). It is the Holy Spirit who :

cures people of their spiritual weaknesses and maladies; equips them with hope and courage; enlightens them in their pursuit of the good; gives them the fruits of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, magnanimity, gentleness, fidelity, modesty, continence, chastity (cf. Gal 5:22-23) (AND 60).

As Baker (1996) states :'The Spirit changes the kind of person we are.'

The critical role played by the Holy Spirit is captured by Bishop Ignatios (Suenens 1974 p. 18) who writes :

Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away,
Christ stays in the past,
the Gospel is a dead letter,
the Church is simply an organisation,
authority a matter of domination
mission a matter of propaganda,
the liturgy no more than an evocation,
Christian living a slave morality.

The Holy Spirit, is the pivotal element missing so far from our discussion. On our own, as this study has tried to show, we are fragile, struggling creatures.

As Bible Alive (1997 p. 5) points out :

Throughout the motherhood of Mary, there is a total partnership between the Holy Spirit and Mary. Not an equal partnership , for the Holy Spirit is God and Mary is a creature, albeit the most blessed among all creatures.

We are indeed , as creatures, limited. Newman (Dessain 1977 p. 60) reminds us that Jesus was :

not a mere presence or manifestation of God in man, but he was God himself incarnate. He was still what he had ever been, and will be from first to last, One - one and the same, impassible, immutable , in his identity, so to speak, as being one of the eternal Trinity.

It is even questionable to what extent the individual can determine their own deepest motives and inclinations. As Rahner (1958 p. 93) explains :

God alone knows what is in man. No man knows, with a certainty that requires nothing but Divine confirmation, whether his unselfishness is merely a refined form of egotism, whether his meekness is merely weak cowardice, whether his purity is mere physical impotence, whether his faith is escape into facile security and cheap sentimentality, and whether his general conduct is merely 'decorum'.

However, Man, above all creatures, was created in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:27), in a 'state of holiness (and) destined to be fully divinized by God in glory.' (CCC 398). Man 'recognises in himself a spiritual and immortal soul.' (GS 14). Pinckaers (1995 p.51) suggests that there is a form of knowledge : 'fontal knowledge', which 'is situated at the soul's centre, in the deepest, most hidden part of us.' This seems to be a form of knowledge preceding experience itself. Similarly Rahner (1958 p. 96) suggests that :

there is that peculiar knowledge which may be described as the voice of inexpressible fundamental existence, the mysterious knowledge of the anima,...conscience (exceeding all knowledge and reflection) or the spark of light in the human soul...As a result of this light in the heart of our darkness, we always know who we are, but are unable to express it in words, even when confessing to God what we know of ourselves.

As Vatican 11 states : 'deep within his conscience man discovers a...voice, ever calling him to love' (GS 16). It is here, in the depths of the heart, that partnership has its roots. The Holy Spirit 'enables man to share in the innermost life of God.' (TMA 8).

Freedom 'from the slavery of sin and death' (John Paul 11 1996 p 62) , is found in the Cross. St. Edith Stein (Elevation of the Cross, 1939) described how :

The world is in flames..But high above all flames towers the cross. They cannot consume it. It is the path from earth to heaven. It will lift the one who embraces it in faith, love and hope into the bosom of the Trinity.

Watson (1998 p.12) points out how :

Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, took on himself human sinfulness so that he could ultimately destroy it...When Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many, it was as though the alabaster jar, containing the perfume of the Spirit was shattered. That perfume could now spread throughout the house. It was from Calvary that the Spirit could now be released upon mankind.

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead (cf. Rom 8: 11). This is the power that is given to us, when we are 'reborn' (cf. Jn 3 : 5-8) through Baptism. Imbelli (1998) describes how all seven sacraments of the Church bear the :

Paschal imprint. They place all the dimensions of the human, birth and death, nourishment and intimacy, joy and grief, ecstasy , under the sign of the cross.

The sacraments derive their power 'from the Word taking place in the person of Christ - in his living, suffering, dying and rising again' (Francis 1995 p. 1146) . From the sacraments (SC 10) we are enabled to share and co-operate (CCC 2001) in God's 'Trinitarian relationship of love' (Hickert 1995 p. 577) through the Holy Spirit's gift of Grace, which the Catechism defines as 'a participation in the life of God.' (CCC 1997) .In our baptism we are baptised into Christ, into his death and resurrection (Hocken 1997 p.16) but it is through the Eucharist, 'the source and summit of the Christian life.' (LG 2), above all, that we become one body in Christ (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17). (Redford 1986 p. 66)

As 'one body', if 'one member of Christ's body, the Church, suffers, all members suffer with that member.' (HD 32) The whole Church is the 'sacrament of unity' (SC 26). It is 'common celebration" of the sacraments' (CCC 815) which brings about the 'sacred nature and organic structure of the priestly community' (LG 11). As Thomas & Alkire (1992 p. 18) point out: 'Jesus instituted all the sacraments to be celebrated within the faith community.' Partnership, then, is implicit within the sacraments. This is particularly clear in relation to the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, (Jas 5:14-15) which 'like the other sacraments (has) a communal aspect which should be brought into play as much as possible.' (HD 33). As
Mc Brien (1994 p. 847) points out the rite of anointing :

presupposes earlier visits to the sick person, including Communion calls and some direct dealing with the sick person's sense of isolation and with the concern of family and other intimately affected by the illness.

Ciferni (1995) highlights how the 'Anointing of the Sick has never been envisioned as a sacramental event separated from a broader process of pastoral care.' Pope Paul V1 ( 1972) writes about the ' ministry of comfort.' (HD 34)

This study, however, causes one to question whether that level of contact and concern is actually happening. As we have seen from the research, people with chronic illness seem to be feeling isolated from the Church.

Thomas and Alkire (1992 pp 14-17) express their concern that the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, is still a 'mystery' to many and 'not fully understood', despite the 'dramatic changes' regarding the sacrament, made at Vatican 11, reflecting a 'renewed awareness of the commission that Jesus gave his disciples : to continue the healing ministry he had begun in his day.' (ibid).

For everyone, as we have seen, is called to partnership in this healing ministry. (CCC 1506). As Lambourne (1963) points out, the concepts of healing and salvation, reflecting the Hebrew tradition, are intertwined in the gospels. The Greek word used for curing/healing is sozein, from which is derived the word 'salvation'. Salvation then, means wholeness : health of body, mind and soul. Nilson (1995) describes ' salvation's meaning and mystery' as the 'experience' of the 'omnipotent love of God. '

God's love was expressed, above all through Jesus Christ who achieved salvation through the Cross , transforming that ultimate symbol of evil and suffering, that 'foolishness' (cf. 1 Cor 1: 18) into a triumph (cf Col 2 :15).

The Cross, from which flows the Church ( LG 3), is the symbol of Christian discipleship (cf. Mt 16:24) . The Cross is our hope (cf. Rom 5:3), and the possibility of healing, of peace and reconciliation (cf. Eph 2 :13- 22). This is because the Cross is also the sign of the 'new covenant' (Heb 9 : 15).

The Catechism describes the new covenant as restoring man 'to communion with God' (CCC 613). The nature of this communion is that of Bride and Bridegroom (GS 48). As Von Balthasar (1968 p. 63) explains, the new covenant represents man's 'yes' to God :

From the human spirit, the only possible answer is the vital answer of love, accomplished in man by the grace of God : It is the answer of the 'bride' filled with his grace, who cries come (Rev 22:17).

As we saw in the last chapter we cry out for fellowship and love, yet our fears hold us back. Our search for truth is littered with broken promises, compromises, wasted opportunities and unexamined lives. But the constant call of the Groom is to wholeness, to holiness. Communion with God is achieved by the saints in heaven (LG 50). That is our aim as we travel here, on our 'earthly pilgrimage' (LG 50) .The road to communion is a journey and Jesus is 'the way, and the truth and the life.' (Jn 14 : 6) . This is a journey, we have suggested, rooted in and made in partnership.

Our discussion has highlighted that there are two main ways of structuring relationships - the dominator model, which we explored in chapter one and the partnership model. We can see that Jesus stood for partnership values: He was 'gentle and humble in heart' (Mt 11:29); He used his power lovingly, to bring liberation and freedom ( Jn 13 : 13-17; Mt 20 : 25-28); He taught love, by his own example (1 Jn 3: 16); He reached out in forgiveness (Eph 4 : 32); He had compassion for people (Mt 9:36 ; Mk 6:34); He actively sought out the lost, the lonely, the excluded, the frightened. (Lk 19:10); He brought healing and wholeness (Lk 8:35); He proclaimed the equality of all ( Gal 3 : 26-28).

Because of this : 'the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; '(Mt 11: 4-6). As Archbishop Chaput (1997) writes : We can say with Mary that 'the Mighty One has done great things for me.'(Lk 1:49).

Weil (1977 p.83) gives an account of how, out of love for his creatures, God, through Jesus and the Cross :

himself went to the greatest possible distance, the infinite distance. This infinite distance between God and God, this supreme tearing apart, this agony beyond all others, this marvel of love, is the crucifixion.

As John Paul 11 (1996 p. 90) observes :

The greatest proof of God's love is that he loves us in our human condition, with our weaknesses and needs. Nothing else can explain the mystery of the Cross.

Ferder and Heagle (1989 p.68) outline how , from the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was committed to a 'relational life' , he gathered a community of men and women around him. However, his relationship with his followers was 'unlike any other rabbi in history.' This can be clearly seen in Jn 15:15 :

I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

The description of the 'true vine' (Jn 15 : 1- 8), illustrates the intimacy of the union (CCC 787) with Christ, that faith calls us to share in. The image is one of communion : 'I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.' (Jn 5 :5) This is a call to to 'mystical union' (CCC 2014), which arises through 'partnership', or union with Christ's grace. (CCC 2011). If we dwell in Christ, if we fill our hearts with 'that peace of God' (Phil 4: 7), then we will 'shine in the world like bright stars' (Phil 2 : 15), because we 'are offering it the word of life.' (Phil 2 : 16). This is a relationship that reaches out, in love, to the world. As we have seen, partnership is precisely about relationship.

The Holy Spirit constantly 'renews and leads' (LG 4) the Church, that is the 'kingdom of Christ' (LG3) : 'a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.' (LG 4) towards 'perfect union with her Spouse' : Christ (LG 4). This is journey flowing out from and into love.

The truth of Love gives rise to and is the animating force, behind Justice (CCC 1912). As St Augustine (Kirwan 1983 p.48) wrote : 'Justice is love serving God alone.' This leads to the notion of the Common Good (CCC 1906) which is rooted in a recognition and appreciation of human interdependence. This is the opposite to a culture of individualism. As Farley (1985) points out :

only with a principle of mutuality can human persons truly be affirmed as embodied subjects; as beings whose value lies not only in their freedom but also in their capacity to know and be known, to love and be loved; as beings whose destiny is communion.

Similarly Balthasar (1968 p.79) writes that :

anyone who does not turn away at the sight of hatred, the depravity and despair in which men live, and who does not seal himself off from reality, will hardly be tempted to adopt an individualistic notion of redemption and look for a private way out of the evil of this world, leaving the rest of mankind to despair.

The Catechism's statement that 'Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world' (CCC 1911) adds an urgency to the quest to find ways to enable people to live and work in partnership, not in domination. In other words, how can people live the 'Christian virtue' (CCC 1948) of 'Solidarity' ? (The Common Good 53) .

As we have emphasised, because of sin, because of our own hurts, blocks, and fears , our capacity to bring love to the world, in relationship, is limited. As McGreal (1994 p.71) writes :

From the beginning God has created us to be in a relationship of love and positive living. The creating and redeeming work of God in Christ is at the source of our life and all we do. The question is how far can we believe this, how positive are we in accepting and living out this message ? Hearing the good news needs a willingness to go beyond how we have been accustomed to think and pray."

This call to change, implies creativity, change, paradigm shift, relationship, which are all aspects of partnership, that we have discussed. What is not so often explored, however, is the journey to partnership. If we are to address partnership as a theory of cultural transformation, within its wider spiritual context, then this is a journey that takes one deeply into the Paschal mystery,

Chapter Six
Partnership as Pathwaygo to contents

In Chapter Two, we considered the remark made to Nicodemus about being born again. (cf. Jn 3 :5). We also referred to Cardinal Hume's call for us to enter the millennium as 'different people'. It is in and through the Cross that 'rebirth' is made possible.

The Catechism shows how the Cross opens up the 'possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the Paschal mystery' (CCC 618). Reflecting the Hebrew Passover, the Paschal mystery is the :

unified total event of Christ's Passion, death, Resurrection, Ascension, and sending of the Holy Spirit...In the Paschal Mystery Christ 'passed over' to the father drawing all humankind and history with him."(McBrien 1995 p. 961)

Cassidy (1988 p.6) , for example, grounds the Paschal mystery in the hard reality of caring :

At a religious level perhaps the most important gift is a sort of Paschal overview - the ability to hold in the same focus the harsh reality of suffering and the mind-boggling truth of resurrection, of life after death. One must develop the ability to stand with feet firmly planted on an earth inhabited by wounds and vomit bowls, but with the gaze focused beyond the mess of here and now to a future of hope beyond imaginings.

Here is a lived partnership.

As Griffiths (1989 p. 100) points out, as a result of the Fall :

there is no simple way of return (to paradise). An angel with a flaming sword stands in the way... The way forward lies only through suffering and death.

The way to love involves 'dying' to the 'self' : as Jesus said : 'unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it yields a rich harvest.' (Jn 12 : 24) Bonhoeffer (1980) wrote: 'When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.'

It is the contradiction, says Welwood (1990 p.78) between the 'perfect love' that dwells in our heart and 'the obstacles to its complete realisation in earthly form' that breaks the heart 'wide open.' This is painful. It means facing up to our guilt, to our shame, our hurts, frustrations, disappointments. It means exposing our 'rough edges', these can jar and grate, often on those closest to us. It is not easy to expose ourselves, to be made vulnerable : 'able to hurt'. It is easier to stay entrenched in old ways, old patterns, rather than dare to truly live. This is frightening. It requires us taking a step into the unknown, taking as Kierkegaard (1844) suggested , a ' leap of faith.'

Vann (1958 p.122 ) shows how we must make the journey that Christ made into death in order to be reborn into new life. He writes :

we must do in our way what he did in his : we must share with him his journey into the darkness, his sacrifice..We have to go down into the darkness and meet our own particular dragon of selfishness and conquer it, and so learn in our own hearts the lessons of love. (cf. Phil 2 :5-8).

This takes us deep into the mystery of suffering : 'Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in turn.' (CCC 1506).

Going on a journey, is an apt way to describe the path through chronic illness, says, Hansen (1993 p. 2). He suggests that there are two sides to the journey :

The outer journey of the physical course of the illness and the inner journey of the spirit. Some speak of 'having to clean out the cupboards', others of discovering 'new strengths'. Whatever the language, chronic illness takes us on an inner journey into new territory. This can be a profoundly unsettling experience.

The multi-layered aspect of chronic illness is described by Mrs G. :

There are different levels of coping : I cope to the extent my husband copes
with me. If he can't cope, I can't cope very well. On another level, I cope by aligning myself with Christ's pain, suffering and compassion. Prayer and meditation are the only way I cope for most of each day , for however much my husband is present, when he isn't there I still have to cope. I see myself with Christ and Christ comes to me.

The world of human suffering is, as we saw above, multi-dimensional : 'Suffering is something which is still wider than sickness, more complex and at the same time more deeply rooted in humanity itself.' (SD 5)

One can distinguish (based upon the 'double dimension of the human being' SD 5) between physical suffering - and moral suffering which John Paul 11 (1984) describes as 'pain of the soul.' (SD5). Suffering is linked to 'the sin of the world' and 'cannot be divorced..from the sinful background of the personal actions and social processes in history.' (SD 15).

Mr N, a professional Care Manager, who took part in the research study, commented, for instance, that the main effect on his life, of working in care services, is a despondency at ' governmental responses. Standing by and playing gesture politics with people who suffer greatly already.'

Through his suffering Jesus annihilates the 'evil in the spiritual space of the relationship between God and humanity and fills this space with good.' (SD 17). Jesus, says John Paul 11 (1984) proves 'the truth of love through the truth of suffering.' (SD19) This was accomplished : 'Precisely by means of his Cross' (SD 16). The Cross of Christ has become a source from which flow rivers of living water. (Jn 7:37-38) (SD 18).

These are waters of life that touch our heart. Fr. M. a Roman Catholic Priest, who took part in the research study says how :

As a follower of Christ I always see the Cross. If we are followers of Christ, it is always there. It's part of life and mystery. We're allowed to ask why - but we have to enter into it to begin to grope for an answer

Christ is a supreme example to all who suffer, it is he who :

causes us to enter into the mystery and to discover the 'why' of suffering so far as we are capable of grasping the sublimity of divine love.(SD 13)

Hughes (1993 p. 28) points out how :

Our renewal, like our good resolutions, is always doomed to failure as long as the focus is on self-improvement. All Christian renewal, if it is to bring about a real change of mind and heart, must start not from effort, but from attentiveness to God, who alone is good.

Suffering has this ability : to bring one to the end of one's own resources, so that one is better able to encounter God : 'Pay attention, come to me; listen, and your soul will live' (Is 55:3). As Craig (1979 p.142) explains :

It is only when we are brought up short, when we are afraid or bewildered or disorientated, that we turn to God with an uncomprehending, frequently agnostic, cry for help. The bubble of our self-esteem has been pricked, our complacency has gone, and we are totally vulnerable. Then and only then can grace begin to operate in us.

Jesus says : ' Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.' (Mt 11:28). Christ meets us in our sufferings, there is :

concealed a particular power that draws a person interiorly close to Christ, a special grace. To this grace a great many saints..owe their profound conversion. (SD26).

Our question at the beginning, was : 'How can we become a different person? ' John Paul 11 (1984) suggests that it as a result of the 'profound conversion' just described :

A result of such a conversion is not only that the individual discovers the salvific meaning of suffering but above all that he becomes a completely new person. He discovers a new dimension, as it were, of his entire life and vocation. (SD26).

Mrs Q., for example describes how :

On the real desperate days of overwhelming pain and fatigue I scream : 'I don't want to feel this way.' But heightened emotions only add to the stress and prolong the misery, so I calm myself. God never leaves me and I believe that with Him by my side I can do anything. That doesn't mean it is easy, but faith is stronger than the body and brings its own peace and fortitude.

I have developed personally and spiritually in ways that I wouldn't otherwise. And it gives others the opportunity to minister to my needs.

Mrs M. says how she experiences love : 'Yes, yes, yes, yes everywhere.'

Rev I. , a Church of England Minister who took part in the research study explains how :

I stand at the foot of the Cross. It's the place I come to examine myself. I do need to return to the foot of the Cross......All of what I do, takes place in the light of the foot of the Cross.
.
Cassidy (1988 p.59) suggests that we need to learn about the 'spirituality of the foot of the cross'. She defines it as 'the stance of the impotent bystander.' The author would suggest, however, that from a partnership perspective, there is much more involved than being an 'impotent bystander.' Both the person suffering and their carer, are brought, in the their respective helplessness, to the Cross. And there they stand alongside Mary, and the others who were present (Jn 19: 25), in their pain and grief. The author described his experience :

so many tears, tears from deep within, tears of sadness, of frustration, of anger, of loss, of rage. Holding her close (his wife) - through the pain, anxiety, irritation. Holding her with all the strength I can muster, as best I can. Just her and me. Day by day. Hours on end. Holding when I can, which isn't always . (Crowhurst 1998 p. 13)

Perhaps, for the sufferer it is easier to identify with Jesus on the cross. Mrs G, for example says that : 'I do feel I am on the cross as opposed to watching Christ on the cross.' Mrs M. on the other hand, says that she no longer relates to Christ on the cross : 'I want to relate to his resurrection. I believe God does not want us to suffer.'

From a partnership perspective, both these outlooks are valid. John Paul 11 (1984) points out how

Christ has in a sense opened his own redemptive suffering to all human suffering. In so far as man becomes a sharer in Christ's sufferings - in any part of the world and at any time in history - to that extent he in his own way completes the suffering through which Christ accomplished the Redemption of the world. (SD 24)

One indeed then, can participate in some way in Christ's physical agony on the Cross, for the sake of the 'Church as the Body of Christ which continually develops in space and time.' (SD 24). Mrs G. says that she meets Christ in her illness

Everywhere. I think I meet him in the most profound way in the pain..sometimes when the pain is really bad I might envision how that pain is manifest in Christ in his passion - but I see it in the present, as if I am linked to it, so I experience it with him

Christ, though, is risen.

We have outlined how partnership theory fosters a shift in how we learn, how we perceive, how we deal with complexity. That discussion reaches a new level when considering the apostle John's perception that the 'historical sequence of events that happened between Good Friday and Pentecost in fact happened at that indivisible moment when Christ gave and received all...' (Verney 1995 p. 192) Implicit then, in the Paschal mystery is the ability to take a sweeping viewpoint, that can see one's situation in the light of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.

All that we have been discussing, it could be said, comes together in the theological virtues, of faith, hope and charity which 'dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the Holy Trinity.' (CCC 1812). John Paul 11 (1994) particularly urges the Church to explore the theological virtues in preparation, at this time, for the Millennium (TMA 37). We shall explore faith, hope and charity from the perspective of chronic illness and partnership, and show how they provide a pathway through chronic illness in marriage.

Through the gift of Faith, the work of the Holy Spirit, a person is enabled, maybe by journeying the path of chronic illness, to open their heart, and their mind to God (DV 5). Faith, says Cook (1995 p. 512) is not :

a question of the mind's grasping something so much as it is of the whole self's being 'grasped' by the presence and power of God's Spirit who illumines the mind and draws a person into a life of intimacy and friendship with God.

This is the fullness of life that we are all called to, the journey of chronic illness can lead to it . As John Paul 11 points out : 'Suffering is ...an invitation to manifest the moral greatness of man, his spiritual maturity. This is a level of maturity that enables one to be made worthy of the Kingdom of God (2Th 1:4-5) ' (SD 21). Mrs Q., for example, describes how :

God put me here, in space, in time, in illness, in His Love, in my Husbands love, in a warm home, in a comfortable bed. He shows me just how much more than I thought can be handled by the human spirit as long as it relies on his support.

Christ suffered and died and as St Peter says : 'through his wounds you have been healed.' (1 Pt. 2:25) Baines (1991 p. 131) describes how Peter's life was transformed, as a result of the Resurrection :

Peter was transformed into a man of hope, who lived in the present but in the light of the eternal, that is, of what really matters.

Christ rose from the dead and the same power of the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us. The issue then , as Foster (1992 p.24) asks, is to what extent are we actually living the Resurrection ? As St Paul wrote :

we can boast about our sufferings. These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance and perseverance brings hope and this hope is not deceptive because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. (Rom 5 : 3-5)

Mrs M says how, through her illness :

I am beginning to love myself a little and hope to improve on it every day. I know I am benefiting from this illness in a positive way.

Hope springs from our relationship with God and our faith in God's love and mercy. Plunkett ( 1995 p.68) contrasts 'Holy hope' with 'rational' and 'intuitive' hope. Rational hope tends to spring from faith in science and materialism, to 'describe, predict and help to control processes of change in the external world.' (ibid). Chronic illness can make one very aware of the limits of science. This study has highlighted some of the frustrations that people with chronic illness have faced just in gaining basic acceptance from the medical profession. Indeed a common feeling that was expressed by research participants, was one of feeling 'humiliated' by doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.

Intuitive hope, going beyond the rational, leads to theories, common in 'New Age' thinking that one can heal oneself of one's illness, by lifestyle changes or personal transformation work. Much of this is very useful, the author and his wife have drawn, for example, upon : Gawain (1985) on creative visualisation; Levine (1987) on healing and Hay (1984) on positive affirmations , however, they can only play a part.

Clearly rational hope and intuitive hope complement each other and have much to offer partners supporting each other through chronic illness . However, as Plunkett (1995 p.68 ) warns, on their own they can lead to a placing of trust ' in self and in humanity as independent of all other agencies, and thus (construe) absolute self-reliance as a virtue.'

Christian, or 'holy' hope, is rooted in the Paschal mystery and is the :

confident hope that the same power will be exercised by God in our lives also. This hope is not a vague wish but is rooted in God himself (Watson Nov 1998 pg. 59)

As Baines (1991 pg. 140) puts it :

For to meet with Jesus is to be confronted by hope. To embrace him is to see real life, past, present and future, as being somehow redeemed by him. The still wounded hands of his resurrection body speak into our pain and suffering. His concern that the disciples should eat a proper breakfast (Jn 21 : 1-14) speaks into our daily routine and basic needs.

Franchine (1994) discusses how in the midst of chronic illness, with all its associated 'anxiety, apprehension, sense of alienation and isolation...inadequacy, anger and resentment.' that it is most important to 'maintain some measure of hope.' The hope for the Christian is that in all the darkness of never ending pain, the everyday struggle to cope , the endless frustrations, the ongoing battle for recognition and treatment, that Jesus is there with us and we are there with Him, and in partnership, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we reach out to each and to the world, in love.

Mr M., for example, said that in regard to caring for his wife : 'It is not too difficult - because I love her.'

Mr G. finds caring for his wife

easy in that I don't have a job as such...but it's extremely difficult to the extent that when I don't feel good in myself I find it hard to be available to my wife. Generally though, it is not too difficult - because it's a joy being with my wife. I love being with her. We get on very well.

McNutt (1974) suggests there are three basic kinds of sickness :

1. Sickness of the spirit, caused by our personal sin.
2. Emotional sickness and problems, which have been inflicted upon us,
by circumstances and other people.
3. Actual physical sickness in our body, caused by disease, accident or
heredity.

The first two categories, in particular, say McNutt , require inner healing. Hendrix (1988 p.82) for example, describes how because of 'unresolved power struggles', we can 'be in love, but not whole.' He points out how we can enter into marriage :

with the unconscious assumption that our partner will become a surrogate parent and make up for all the deprivation of our childhood. All we have to so to be healed is to form a close, lasting relationship. After a time we realise that our strategy is not working.

Gray (1992 p.276) suggests that

When ... unresolved feelings from childhood (come up) we easily interpret our partner's comments as criticism, rejection and blame . Having adult discussions at these times is hard. Everything is misunderstood. When our partner seems critical, 10 per cent of our reaction relates to their effect on us and 90 percent relates to our past.

One is in a caring situation, up to twenty four hours a day. One has to cope with the subsequent physical limitations and loss of conventional 'props' : for example, a job , career, social life that so often serve to bolster one's sense of self-esteem, and offer space and time away from the relationship. This means that one can be brought face-to-face with one's limitations, hurts and the need for one's own healing in a very intense way indeed. The picture Mr and Mrs G. give of their respective situations (used here with permission) vividly illustrates the complexity of caring and being cared-for :

Mr G. outlines the difficulties he faces as a carer :

Physically restricted in lots of ways - both going out physically and also in our intimate relationship, because my wife is so sore to touch. This brings its own limitations. Emotionally there are huge issues for me that I am dealing with...a sense of loss and particularly anger (which no one understands). I find I need a lot of support but do not get it. I need spiritual support but the clergy only seem to see practical needs. I'm really struggling spiritually but feeling I'm very much an amateur and faltering in my attempts. Lots of good intentions, but not fulfilling them.

Mrs G. , on the other hand, describes her feelings of abandonment :

..there's nobody on earth who can step into my space and experience it with me. To that extent I feel abandoned, even by people who care. Very, very occasionally I feel abandoned by God, even though I know that I'm not, because the actual pain blocks out any sense of anything, sometimes. I feel I have been abandoned by the medical profession, in the past...I have been abandoned by some of my friends. Other friends have abandoned me in the sense that they have not stood by me, stayed with it. It's not an intention to abandon, it's a gradual process.

Mrs G. is struggling with a sense of abandonment, because of the pain she is in, that seems almost ontological. Mr G. is struggling with his own emotions, faltering spirituality and lack of support as a carer. However, he is not 'just' a carer, he is a husband to Mrs G and she is his wife, both called to 'grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of mutual self-giving.' (CCC 1644). There is no question of maintaining a 'professional distance' as a carer, one is present in all one's vulnerability, nakedness and need for love, as a partner. This is an intricate and difficult situation to work out. From a partnership perspective , the difficulties. however, are precursors not of despair but of 'creativity, inquiry and new understanding.' (Montuori and Conti 1993 p. 27)

This is even more the case, when the situation is brought, in partnership to the foot of the Cross, where spiritual transformation is possible.

Partnership, as we have seen fosters an holistic, creative understanding of events. We bring all of our self to the foot of the Cross. As Hughes (1993 p. 22) asserts, for too long our spirituality has been 'split' God meets us in the midst of our experience and struggles. We come to Him as we are.

If we consider our total self, in terms of :

MIND /BODY

SPIRIT /EMOTION

then through the power of the Cross there is the possibility that our :

· awareness will be lifted from thoughts of limitation to love, compassion
and healing; (MIND)

· our pain will be transformed into a gift to be used; (BODY)

· our feelings of isolation , distress and grief will be converted into feelings
of oneness, joy and wholeness (EMOTION)

· our spiritual emptiness, our feelings of torment and spiritual attack will
be transfigured into rebirth, restoration, triumph and glory. (SPIRIT)

For chronic illness in marriage is a challenge that brings so much pain, but potentially so much reward ! As John Paul 11 (1984) points out : 'A source of joy is found in the overcoming of the sense of the uselessness of suffering, a feeling that is sometimes very strongly rooted in human suffering.' (SD 27) Von Balthasar (1968 pg. 37) shows how :

only in love of the other as other, only when man passes beyond the sphere of I into the sphere of Thou, can he find the road from man to humanity.

It is precisely in the struggles we just mentioned that one can discover the great gift of marriage , unconditional love , to the extent that one sincerely gives of oneself to the other (GS 23). In the giving of our self, one finds one's true self. In one sense our limitations and our wounds are a gift, because they lead us to God , but as we have seen this is not an easy road, it may involve journeying to the foot of the Cross. But as Powell (1978 p 112) notes :
Under every crucifix, depicting the Lord with his heart opened and his hands stretched out as if to embrace all the weak and the wounded of this world, there should be a caption reading :

'This is what I mean when I say I love you !'

From a partnership perspective, at the foot of the Cross one can : enter into partnership with Mary in all one's helplessness; with Jesus on the Cross, sharing in his pain; with the risen Christ, reaching out to the world , completing his mission of Redemption and with the apostles at Pentecost, through the 'untiring preaching of a word, which , it will be said, has no equal.' (EN 11).

For this is a very rich experience indeed. Rabbi Feinstein (1993) explains very well the good that can emerge from pain and suffering :

'Ki Tove ' 'And God saw that it was good.' That was the great revolution that began our faith. The whole world sees chaos, terror, random death as inevitable. And this one little people, a people who suffered more than any other people, this people has the cosmic chutzpah to say - 'it doesn't have to be that way ! Come - be God's partner, help create the world.'

In November 1998, the Bishop's Conference of England and Wales published Valuing Difference , containing a wealth of practical suggestions for promoting the full participation of people with disabilities, including those disabled through 'medical conditions' (p.16) in the life of the Church.

Mrs Q., describes just how creative a parish community can be in its response :

Church friends stay in as close contact as we can handle and the congregation prays for us regularly. We ask specific prayer from prayer partners. Many Church people ask my husband how I am, but neglect to ask how he is....The minister visits when he sees we are at a new low. Other friends can offer prayer and advice , as asked. The Church service is taped, start to finish, so I can feel like I'm there and continue spiritual growth.

However Mrs Q also describes how :

I don't like being 'visited' by those kind and well-meaning people who then tick me off their list....the Christmas ones are especially irksome. A real friend comes reasonably often, not twice a year : 'Oh I must see -----sometime; how is she ?' Then when they come they want to hear how I am but tell me nothing of their lives. That seems like shallow sympathy and going through the motions.

Sadly the audit included in Valuing Difference (pp.64-68) does not explicitly examine how the parish reaches out to those who are sick and housebound. The author and his wife have some concerns about the overall tone of the document. It suggests for example (pp.24-25) : befriending schemes ; respite care; support and meeting needs, all of these are concepts that are used in professional social work jargon.

The Church must be careful not to "professionalise" its stance towards the sick and disabled. As Newbigin points out : 'It is the illusion of the strong, the whole, the healthy to see themselves in the centre and to see the handicapped as those on the margin.' (Vanier 1988 p.68). Awareness of this should rather lead to a 'humble, loving encounter' (Freire 1972 p. 100) rather than the somewhat unsatisfactory encounter described by Mrs Q above.

More work needs to be done on ways in which those suffering from chronic illness, can be be given an opportunity not just to be 'included' but to possibly minister to others , especially within the Church, out of the depths and richness of their experience . (cf. Valuing Difference p. 10).

As Newbigin (op cit) suggests, the disabled are :

the bearers of a witness without which the strong are lost in their own illusions. They are the trustees of a blessing without which the Church cannot bless the world. their presence in the Church is the indispensable corrective of our inveterate tendency to identify the power of God with our power, the victory of God with our success. (Vanier 1988 p.68)

The author and his wife, for example, are drawing upon the richness of their journey through chronic illness, and are reaching out to their parish community by devising and running an 'Opening Your Heart to God' group, from Advent through Lent to Pentecost. This is in preparation for the Millennium and is based upon the call from Cardinal Hume, examined in this study, for us to become 'new people'. The author runs the group and his wife supports and holds it in prayer from home. The exercises and activities are planned together. As Austen and Austen (1999 p. 22) point out :

Learning how to tread the way of the cross is best learned from people who have some experience of it through having no choice but to tread it.

In the Old Testament God 'reveals himself to the People of Israel as a God of unconditional love.' (Powell 1978 p. 106). The prophet Hosea used the image of marriage to illustrate the nature of the covenant relationship between God and humanity : 'I will betroth you to myself for ever, betroth you with integrity and justice, with tenderness and love;' ( Hos 2: 19)

Both Luke (Lk 22 : 20) and Paul (1 Cor 11 : 25) speak of the 'new covenant' in reference to the words Jesus spoke, just before his Passion over the wine at the last supper. Through this : 'One Spirit was given to us all to drink.' (1 Cor 12: 13). Hughes (1998 p.1007) reminds us that 'Covenant' literally means 'a coming together'.

We see it as a coming together in partnership : with ourselves, with others, with the earth and with God, through Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, who makes all partnership possible.

Conclusion go to contents

The two realms, partnership and the Cross can be said to bring together the immanent and the transcendent, the visible and the invisible. This inquiry has tried to show how partnership, as a theory of cultural transformation is incomplete without taking into account spiritual transformation as well. The very possibility of a partnership society, after all, is postulated, as we saw, upon a spiritual perspective : the impact of Goddess worship upon paleothic culture.

To introduce partnership and to show how it reaches its fulfilment in Christianity, the study considered the complexity of chronic illness within marriage. Partnership, it was suggested has much to offer the couple with its creative, holistic, systems viewpoint and the continual challenge that it poses, to move away from a dominator towards a partnership model of human relationships.

The study attempted to show how, ultimately, the move from a dominator to a partnership model , because of sin, must involve spiritual growth. In particular, the experience of suffering and caring, can bring one to a place where one becomes painfully aware of one's limits, frailty and helplessness. The term 'foot of the Cross' was used to describe this place, which was described, in partnership terms as a potentially dynamic, meaningful and hopeful place to be. Through the power of the Holy Spirit one can enter into and share in Christ's suffering and work of redemption, but this is always in context of the Resurrection, experienced as the conversion process of 'dying' to self and rising to new life.

It is this process which ultimately brings about the radical change of the whole person, that Cardinal Hume so urgently calls for, as we stand poised on the brink of a new Millennium.

This is not to imply a masochistic nor a passive acceptance of suffering. Rather, this study by raising concerns about :

· the medical services that continue to leave people with chronic illness feeling dehumanised, humiliated and not listened to;

· the prevalence of a death-making subculture that so affects the values and attitudes and hence the practical response that society adopts towards the sick and disabled ;

· the apparent travesty of a Church that does not seem to be adequately meeting the needs of the chronically ill, despite a strong pastoral responsibility to do so,

raises real issues about the necessity to respond creatively and practically to human suffering and to chronic illness in particular.

One, however must note the above concerns with caution. It is not possible to draw generalisations based upon the limited nature and size of this study. Much more work needs to be done specifically on how best to access the views and insights of the very ill and the often house or bed-bound . Also more research is required on how best to access the views of carers. As the research undertaken for this study showed, in line with other studies, it proved very difficult to enable carers to share their experience. To that extent, there is an acknowledged weakness in the research , as it was unable to effectively address the combined experience of couples suffering chronic illness within marriage.

The overall challenge, posed by this study, is a creative and critical one, to listen, to learn, to take risks and to reach out in the Father's love, in order to move, for the first time in the history of Western Civilisation, from a dominator to a partnership society. This is a momentous task challenging how we think, act , learn and be. Following on from the issues raised in the text concerning possible authoritarianism within the Church, there is need for further research into how open and possible it is for the Church itself , as an institution, to adopt a partnership perspective.

Specifically, the support offered by the Church towards the chronically ill, as outlined for example in Valuing Difference (above), requires careful consideration. This study raised concerns about the potential 'professionalising' of support . It would be very interesting indeed to research how to offer the support outlined, in Valuing Difference, within a partnership model.

The theory of partnership itself, would seem to require much more development. The striking parallels between partnership , Christian Personalism and Freire's theory of cultural change, were noted. The study has shown how partnership is emphasised in different ways :

· as a theory of cultural transformation;

· as providing a framework for creative thinking and empowerment

· as an argument for inclusiveness.

However, to the author these, on their own, do not seem to take enough account of our frailty as human beings and the need for a transcendent frame of reference. This study has tried to extend the discussion by considering partnership in Christian terms , from a perspective of spiritual transformation, thereby bringing the power of the Holy Spirit, into the partnership relationship.

The author is struck by how relevant partnership appears to be, especially to the dynamic of the Church as the Body of Christ. There is a particular relevance concerning the recurring issue of participation, through the Holy Spirit, in the life of God. Much more research could be done in this area, especially continuing the investigation into how partnership fosters a creative, holistic approach to situations, as we saw in our discussion of the spirituality of the foot of the Cross.

This dissertation has emerged out of a lived encounter with chronic illness in marriage. The insights and developments are very real and very helpful, at least to the author and his wife. The methodology observed how the author set out to breathe 'life' into the research question , in the hope that it would become a 'kind of song'. Through the encounter of partnership with the spirituality of the foot of the Cross, it has become , for the author and his wife, a love song, full of hope and possibility.

Bibliographygo to contents

Sacred Scripture :

All biblical quotations are taken from The Jerusalem Bible (London, Darton, Longman and Todd, except where otherwise indicated)

Old Testament

Gen 1:27

Hos 2: 19

Is 55:3

New Testament

Mt 9:36

Mt 11: 4-6

Mt 11:28

Mt 11:29

Mt 16:24

Mt 20 : 25-28

Mt 24 : 43-46

Mk 6:34

Mk. 13:29

Lk 1:49

Lk 1 :28

Lk 1 : 38

Lk 8:35

Lk 19:10

Lk 22 : 20

Jn 1:14

Jn 3:4

Jn 3 :5

Jn 3 : 5-8

Jn 5 :5

Jn 5:9;

Jn 5:31-32

Jn 6:63

Jn 7:37-38

Jn 12 : 24

Jn 13 : 13-17

Jn 14 : 6

Jn 15 : 1- 8

Jn 15 : 4

Jn 18:37

Jn 19: 25

Jn 21 : 1-14

Col 1 :15-20

Col 2 :15

1 Cor 1: 18

1 Cor 9:16

1 Cor 10:16-17

1 Cor 11 : 25

1 Cor 12: 13

Eph 2 :13- 22

Eph 4:21;

Eph 4 : 32

Gal 3 : 26-28

Heb 3 :14 (New Revised Standard Version)

Heb 9 : 15

Heb 10:5-7

Jas 5:14-15

1 Jn : 8

1 Jn 3: 16

1 Pt. 2:25

Phil 2 :5-8

Phil 2 : 15

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(c) Greg Crowhurst 2000

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