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I had planned to write an entry today about how I'm finally finding myself more comfortable identifying myself as a Catholic, even as the "leadership" of the Church becomes more visibly dysfunctional by the day. This hasn't been an easy journey for me, as I've tried to record here in a series of entries going back to 2008 (I recently made those posts public, so if you didn't see them because you weren't included on the limited reading list and want to read them, click on the "catholic" tag to see them).
However, a full page advertisement in today's Washington Post has hijacked this entry. The ad, by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, is substantially similar to one that ran in the NY Times in March. The cartoon at the top is different and the line in the handwriting font near the bottom read "Join those of us who put humanity above dogma" instead of "There is a more welcoming home for you", but the bulk of the text is identical.
I do plan to respond to the outrageous things being done by the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Church at some point, but this ad so badly misunderstands the nature of the Catholic Church that I feel compelled to respond. The last bullet point of the ad most clearly highlights the key misunderstanding..."You're better than your church..." This implies that the Church is the hierarchy, that I am somehow separate from the Church. This is not a Catholic understanding of Church. The Church is the body made up of all the faithful, and we believe that when Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide the Church, this promise applies to the entire Church, and not just the Pope or the bishops (although all evidence suggests that these same bishops seem to have become just as ignorant of this as those who wrote the ad).
In that sense, I can't be better than my Church, since I am, in part, my Church. While it might appear to an outsider that it is futile to remain in the Church and struggle to change it, those of us who choose to stay believe that our witness to what we believe is the true Gospel message must, eventually, win out. Besides, if we surrender and leave, then the Church will never change. The only way it will change is if we stay and fight for the soul of our Church. This struggle will not be short or easy, but it cannot be won by leaving.
So, to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, I respond: Thank you for the invitation, but I will not surrender my Church to those whose hunger for power and fear of the future blinds them to the true message of our church. And, please, try to remember that the leadership of the Church does not speak for the entirety of the Church...there are many of us who believe differently!
However, a full page advertisement in today's Washington Post has hijacked this entry. The ad, by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, is substantially similar to one that ran in the NY Times in March. The cartoon at the top is different and the line in the handwriting font near the bottom read "Join those of us who put humanity above dogma" instead of "There is a more welcoming home for you", but the bulk of the text is identical.
I do plan to respond to the outrageous things being done by the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Church at some point, but this ad so badly misunderstands the nature of the Catholic Church that I feel compelled to respond. The last bullet point of the ad most clearly highlights the key misunderstanding..."You're better than your church..." This implies that the Church is the hierarchy, that I am somehow separate from the Church. This is not a Catholic understanding of Church. The Church is the body made up of all the faithful, and we believe that when Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide the Church, this promise applies to the entire Church, and not just the Pope or the bishops (although all evidence suggests that these same bishops seem to have become just as ignorant of this as those who wrote the ad).
In that sense, I can't be better than my Church, since I am, in part, my Church. While it might appear to an outsider that it is futile to remain in the Church and struggle to change it, those of us who choose to stay believe that our witness to what we believe is the true Gospel message must, eventually, win out. Besides, if we surrender and leave, then the Church will never change. The only way it will change is if we stay and fight for the soul of our Church. This struggle will not be short or easy, but it cannot be won by leaving.
So, to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, I respond: Thank you for the invitation, but I will not surrender my Church to those whose hunger for power and fear of the future blinds them to the true message of our church. And, please, try to remember that the leadership of the Church does not speak for the entirety of the Church...there are many of us who believe differently!
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Date: 2012-05-08 03:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-05-14 11:54 am (UTC)