Understanding observed realities
Paradigm shifts require agents of change – men and women of vision, courage and persistence
Over 50 years ago philosopher of science Thomas Kuhns introduced the concept of paradigm shift. He concluded from his study of scientific advancement through the centuries that certain theories would gain acceptance by the scientific community and become the norm.
Kuhns called this a paradigm; a model of truth that described observed reality. He further noted that there were times when the paradigm would be challenged by new information, sometimes so strongly that the paradigm would be discarded in favor of a new one. This new paradigm would then become the accepted norm. Kuhns termed this one paradigm giving way to another a paradigm shift.
A paradigm shift, however, is more than just the result of a change in this or that data or concept. It entails a complete conversion of mind-set, a whole new way of viewing reality, a shift in viewpoint and milieu.
The consequences of a paradigm shift are enormous for the way we think about and embrace truth. Nowhere can this better be illustrated than with Darwin’s theory of biological evolution or Einstein’s theories of relativity. These now accepted paradigms have resulted in views of the natural order radically different from previous paradigms. Yet they are part of the great tradition of scientific advancement and progress. All paradigm shifts are components of the one journey of science.
The idea of paradigm shift is not only pertinent to science but can also be applied to the life of the Catholic Church. It has gone through its own paradigm shifts in the course of 2,000 years. It is in the midst of one now.
In fact, it may well be the most significant one since the first century when the decision was made to allow Gentiles to enter the Church without first requiring they accept certain Jewish practices.
This decision, made only after vigorous debate, opened the Church to the wider world and launched it on a long journey of encounter with other cultures and peoples. The Edict of Milan in the fourth century, the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century and the age of Enlightenment have all produced paradigm shifts in the Church.
The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s is yet another example. The Church looked at the modern world with a new gaze, one prepared to read the “signs of the times.” It sought to be relevant, credible and responsive.
The church also reformed and updated much within itself. Its approach shifted from rigidness and legalism to being more open and pastoral. It sought engagement with other peoples, cultures and religions and recognized within them whatever was good and true. The vision and dynamism of that Council can properly be considered a paradigm shift and 50 years on it is still in the process of realization.
Paradigm shifts do not occur magically nor quickly. They require agents of change – men and women of vision, courage and persistence. They become the means through which the paradigm shift unfolds. They are its fuel. St. Paul for universal inclusion, Emperor Constantine for religious freedom, Martin Luther for church reform and St. Pope John XXIII for aggiornamento were all architects of paradigm shifts.
The one that began with Vatican II has been taken up with vigor and determination by Pope Francis as perhaps none before him. He understands clearly that he is the current agent of paradigm shift actualization. He rightly discerns that the Church needs to be relevant, credible and responsive to the world.
There are those, however, who measure and judge the quality of the current paradigm shift by the quantity of issues addressed by Francis. But this is to miss something fundamental. It is not the aggregate of issues and reforms that define the heart and soul of the shift. It is rather the incarnation of the Council’s vision of what it means to be church. The real task is to see the forest beyond the trees.
We have reached a critically important moment in this current paradigm shift. As its agent Pope Francis is inviting Catholics to see the bigger picture. And that picture consists in an understanding of church as the people of God committed to the preferential option of accompanying the human person in the midst of lived reality.
To achieve this Pope Francis is encouraging and enabling conversion to collegiality, synodality, co-responsibility, accompaniment and mercy. He is above all else seeking to establish a new mindset among Catholics and especially within the hierarchy.
This conversion to a reformed way of thinking, seeing and hearing will allow for the genesis of a new ecclesiological context within which to address the myriad individual issues, while at the same time continuing our journey of faith in continuity with our past and relevance for the future.
“Catholic Church has gone through its own paradigm shifts in the course of 2,000 years.”