Crazy Catholic Question#145: Why am I still a Catholic?

Why am I still a Catholic?

Well, I don’t know about you, but weeks like these leave me hanging on by a pinky finger. The tragic news coming out of Pennsylvania of the thousands of children’s lives forever marked and shaken by an abuse of power - not only of the priests who sexually violated them but also of our own hierarchy’s complicity in concealing this horrible violence – leaves me asking “What am I still doing here?”

C.S. Lewis once wrote “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The nature and intensity of this pain coupled with the fact that we have not invited—no, DEMANDED—an outside investigation of the magnitude conducted in Pennsylvania in every, single (Arch)diocese that exists indicates there is something very serious and systemically wrong with us, the way we are organized and our whole Catholic, clerical culture. It’s been 16 years since the Boston Globe broke the silence. What is going on? The fact that our own Archbishop appears to view this problem as a lapse of chastity rather than a catastrophic failure in leadership only compounds the problem; amplifies the pain.

Catholic Historian Kathleen Sprows Cummings wrote a great NYT piece this week in which she talks about two different tacks to take in bringing about change in patriarchal institutions. “Some feminists seek a place at the table; others want to reset the table. The former hope to promote gradual progress from within an existing framework of norms and organizational structures; the latter demand nothing less than radical, wholesale reform. When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, I have always been a “place at the table” kind of feminist…Tuesday’s grand jury report has changed my mind…<and has>  propelled me directly to the center of the “reset the table” camp. We need to rip off the tablecloth, hurl the china against a wall and replace the crystal with something less ostentatious, more resilient and, for the love of God, safer for children!  People will say that there is still holiness in the church, that there are many priests and bishops with good and pure hearts, and they are right. But there are times when the sin is so pervasive and corrosive that it is irresponsible to talk about anything else, and this is one of those times.”

So, why are we still Catholic? Why are we still coming to the table? Because WE, the Body of Christ, the Church, The People of God, are absolutely essential to any kind of substantial reform.  

What we believe, what we hold sacred and how we choose to live our lives and the Gospel values we profess with integrity is what makes us Catholic. I cannot simply stop believing what I believe, nor do I wish to. I bought the dream hook, line & sinker; Jesus’ vision of what could be is still compelling and sometimes the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s the source of my hope. The Bishops don’t own that hope, or the Church, or the People of God. Jesus is the source of that hope and I don’t think He is going anywhere in this debacle. He is right where He always is, in solidarity with the wounded. I say we all follow him there with gusto. I’m not sure what that is supposed to “look like” quite yet, but I think the first step is to listen together.

To that end, the first item on our agenda at our next Chic Chat Women’s Spirituality meeting on Friday, Sept. 21st at 11:30AM in our library is “Discuss how to respond to Pennsylvania report.” If you would like to attend, ALL women and men are very welcome. Personally, I like this creative proposal:  https://dailytheology.org/2018/08/17/statement-of-catholic-theologians-educators-parishioners-and-lay-leaders-on-clergy-sexual-abuse-in-the-united-states/

Send your Crazy Catholic Question to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns via our website at www.ctredeemer.org.

Crazy Catholic Question #144 - Baptism

What is the meaning of our baptism?

Fr. Ron Rolheiser says at the center of our lives there is an innate tension. On the one hand, “something in us wants to be different, wants to stand out; from the minute we’re born, our independence and uniqueness begin to make their protest. We don’t want to be the same as everyone else. And this isn’t just  pride or ego. Nature intended it that way. If no two snowflakes are meant to be the same, how much more so human beings?

But, we also have within us an equally strong desire for unity, community family and intimacy.” As much as we want to be separate and stand out, we also deeply desire to be connected - not out of fear but because we somehow know that our togetherness is an essential part of God’s design and dream for us.

Since the time of early Christianity, Baptism has been our initiation into this togetherness. In Baptism, the “one Spirit” makes us members of the Body of Christ and of “one another” (Our Catechism, 1267).  ‘I am baptized’ says that we are part of something bigger than ourselves; each of us are an indispensable part of the on-going incarnation of God into our world.

Alone, we are not the Messiah, we are not perfect; we, as individuals, are not “the whole enchilada” so to speak, but, we are also not powerless or expendable. Each of us are unique and important pieces of God’s creation, equipped and called to make a special contribution to the on-going revelation and redeeming action of Christ in our world. Odd though it may be (and sometimes hard to see), we are the vehicle of choice for God’s grace.

On the day Jesus began his public ministry, he stood in the temple and read from Isaiah “God has anointed me…sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to prisoners.” Then he closed the scroll and said “today this scripture is being fulfilled.” By God’s design, through our baptism, we have been swooped up into the Trinity through the person of Jesus and in some mysterious way - WE play a part in this fulfillment! WE are both the message and the messenger of this grace, we ARE the Body of Christ bringing God’s saving love to the world - right now, this very minute! WE are the anointed, called to heal one another by virtue of our faith in the power of the Body to which we belong.

So what’s taking so long? What is holding us back from living out our baptismal call to spread the good news of God’s love for us? Maybe it’s that we still haven’t heard the news ourselves. The image of God as a somewhat vindictive judge who meticulously records of our every infraction still looms large in our Catholic imagination. We still don’t believe that we are loved beyond measure and that there is nothing we have done to earn this love and absolutely nothing we can do to lose it. Baptism is sign and symbol designed to open us up, plunge us into this boundless love of God so that we can give what we have received and act as compassionate agents for transformation in our world. 

One of the most profound truths I learned as a child was that each time we dip our fingers into the baptismal font and cross ourselves that we can with confidence hear the words that God spoke to Jesus on his day of baptism - “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well-pleased.” This acceptance is the very heart of the good news that is, indeed, almost too good to be true! Nonetheless, we are bid to believe it and to live in the freedom that this lavish love affords. The very heart of our calling as baptized Christians is to muster the courage to accept this acceptance and to share extravagantly, to the point of scandal, what we have received.

Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: www.crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.