Are Catholics and Protestants really that different?
My husband and I went to go see Colin Hay in concert last weekend. He is best known as the crooked-eyed lead singer of the band “Men at Work” popular back in the 80’s. Since that time, slow but steady, he has established quite a lovely solo career. Much of his success stems from his brilliant live performances - which are a mix of song and marvelous storytelling – featuring just him, his guitar and some modest lighting. He spoke with great wisdom and a joyous levity on many topics, from fame to drugs, family to loneliness. One anecdote he shared has really stuck with me.
He said when he was growing up, he was a Protestant. He said he knew he was a Protestant because he wore a blue blazer to school. The Catholics wore burgundy blazers to school. Walking to school was quite terrifying because, apparently, as he understood it as a child, the different color blazers meant that the boys had to fight each other to and from school each day. He said “that was really all I knew about the difference between being a Protestant and being a Catholic. Same God, different blazers.”
Everyone laughed, but seriously. Maybe we all need to take a step back for a slightly wider view, no? Don’t get me wrong. I love my Catholic family. I’m not denying there are some very significant differences in what some of our Protestant brothers and sisters believe about Who God is and how to interpret our shared sacred scriptures - and what we Catholics believe and profess. Big, important differences, that I don’t think we can or should gloss over, but….come on!
Can’t we? Don’t we really stand together in awe of the God who created this amazing 13 billion year old universe? Can’t we practice a bit of epistemological humility and admit that even if we were to combine all the knowledge from every Christian ever in existence, past and present, we still know next to nothing about the Author of love, babies and supernovas? I don’t know about you, but I have learned great and wonderful things from people wearing a different blazer than me. Truth from wherever it comes is truth. I’m thankful to Colin Hay for sharing his truth with such artistry.
Below are some words from Pope Francis on the topic of Ecumenism excerpted from a Vatican Radio report by Philippa Hitchen:
“Christian unity is an essential requirement of our faith, a journey of personal and community conversion to the will of Christ...Unity, is a gift from God and our task is to welcome that gift and make it visible to others. Rather than just a goal to be achieved, we should see the search for unity as a journey that we undertake together with patience, determination, effort and commitment, knowing that all of us are sinners for whom God has infinite mercy…when we work, pray and serve the needy together, we are already united. When theological, liturgical, spiritual and canonical differences are genuinely rooted in the apostolic tradition, they are not a threat, but rather a treasure for the unity of the Church. Trying to suppress such differences, he warned, as happened in the past, goes against the Holy Spirit who enriches different Christians with a variety of gifts.
No one should deny their own faith history, Pope Francis said, and no-one should tolerate the practice of proselytism which he called ‘a poison for the ecumenical journey’. True ecumenism, the Pope concluded, is when we focus not on our own reasons and regulations, but rather on the Word of God which requires us to listen, to receive and to witness to the world.”
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