Notes From Day Seven: Trashing the Catholic Church or getting to know the community

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: CASAROSADA.GOB.AR
Pope Francis released a document titled Evangelii Guadium in November worth reading.

According to news reporters, the United Nations, at its meeting in Geneva, has reprimanded the Catholic Church for its failure to deal with child sex abuse. At the same time, say reports, UN critics attacked the church for its positions on gay rights, abortion and contraception.

I am not a Catholic myself although I subscribe to the core understandings of the church as, for example, the Apostles' Creed summarizes those understandings. I also think that in the areas of gay rights, abortion and contraception the Catholic Church has work to do. And on the presence of child abuse, the whole church no doubt agrees with the current pope, Francis, that it is a continuing “shame” for the church.

However, listening to reported UN criticisms of the church, someone could conclude that the Catholic Church is a nefarious organization intent on covering up the sins of its leaders.

This conclusion would have to ignore many developments in the church including the December, 2013 Vatican announcement that the new pope is adding to the church's attempts to deal with child abuse by setting up a committee to fight sexual abuse and help victims. At the same time one can legitimately ask why the church refuses to provide more of the information that the UN is asking of the church.

Hearing the criticisms aimed at the Catholic Church, one wonders if the critics have actually met ordinary priests, nuns, monks and members of the church. It is always easy to join the company of those who, from a distance, stone the accused.

As I have said, I am not a Catholic. My own connection to the Christian life and to God has been nurtured mainly through Protestant churches, branches of the Christian Church that are distinct from the Roman Catholic branch.

Yet I have experienced Catholic church members, many priests, and the Catholic scholars who do their work at Kings and Brescia, as caring and thoughtful people. While I was a (Protestant) chaplain at Fanshawe and at Western University, Catholics were among my most supportive friends. They offered their time, their scholarship, and their facilities for discussion sessions I helped organize. They had a strong practice of the care of students. The attempts to create community in the Catholic colleges outshone the community life of the larger secularized environments of the college and university. The Catholic Church that met at Kings invited me to speak there and I will always remember the church gathering in a circle, including me, holding hands, and saying together the Lord's Prayer.

Anyone stepping into a Catholic church, say, on one of Canada's Native reserves, in a town or village, or in the city of London, can easily pick up on the themes of compassion, care for people all over the globe, education, community, justice and citizenship. The experiences that most people have of ordinary Catholic Church life are far removed from the scandalous actions of a minority of its leaders. Visiting a Catholic Church is likely the best place to learn about the Catholic community.

At the moment, there is another great place to start exploring the Catholic faith and life — and, for that matter, the Christian faith and life. Pope Francis last November released a document for the purpose of renewing the message and mission of the church. It is called Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). Here is one of the key paragraphs:

“The great danger in today's world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God's voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God's will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.”

I suspect that the pope was not thinking his words would find their way into the Interrobang. Still, I will say more about these lines next week.

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