“Proclaiming the Gospel with her whole life”

Testimony by Mrs. Yvonne Demers

Sharing her vision of the Church and of the new challenge put forth by Pope Francis for a pastoral ministry focussed on the periphery, within the framework of a missionary journey, in just one hour, was quite a challenge! Yet Mrs. Yvonne Demers succeeded to do so with conviction.

On October 13, her testimony resonated with the Sisters and lay people who were present at Maison Jésus-Marie. Firmly rooted in her experience at having been committed to the Church for nearly forty years, she shared her vision with realism and hope.

From the beginning, Mrs. Demers made it clear that she was giving her opinion, her point of view, as a Christian and former pastoral agent. "My vision of things needs to be looked at in a critical manner and thus be adapted to each person’s situation," she said.

The present-day Church has a cumbersome structure... cumbersome from its 2000 years of history, and of acquired and maintained power... cumbersome from its doctrinal, legislative and economic heritage... cumbersome from its traditions and patriarchal culture.

The findings can be disappointing and yet, Mrs. Demers keeps faith and hope in this church. She relies on the life of Jesus and on that of Charles de Foucault. Both appear to have experienced missionary setbacks and yet, after their deaths, their message took on a vitality which continues to this day. There is also Pope Francis who, by his calls, is succeeding in opening doors to freedom.

Mrs. Demers stressed that even if we believe the Church to be in decline, it remains faithful to its mission and continues its efforts to adapt its message to the world of today. But the challenges are immense. She raises a few:

•    A challenge to take our present day culture into account
•    The challenge to revisit doctrine and tradition
•    The challenge to rethink the parochial model