The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, May 2nd: Acts 14:21-27; Revelation 21:1-5; John 13:31-35)

MORE SCANDALS TEST THE FAITHFUL

Once again we’re embroiled in another Church scandal. More evidence of sexual molestation by Catholic priests has been uncovered, mostly in Europe this time. Not surprisingly, the usual anti-Christian, anti-Catholic pundits are screaming bloody murder. For example, the New York Times has been offering wild, unsubstantiated charges disguised as facts in its relentless front-page stories. Noted atheist writer Christopher Hitchens demanded that Pope Benedict be arrested and locked up.

This type of reaction is to be expected. These people hate the Catholic Church and they hate the truths the Church stands for: God is real; there will be a final judgment for all people; Heaven and Hell are real; Jesus really is who He said He is; and we’re all called to live by God’s laws and values during our time here on earth. All of these core Church teachings are directly opposed to the “no judgment, do whatever you feel like doing” philosophy promoted by the Times, Hitchens, and most of the other secular atheists who dominate the news media and entertainment industries today.

It’s tempting to dismiss these angry voices. Where was their outrage when clergy of other denominations sexually abused children? Where are the investigative news stories explaining that the Catholic priest scandal pales in comparison to the vast number of public school teachers who sexually abuse their students? The New York Times has yet to print a single story about a Brooklyn rabbi who was recently convicted on eight counts of sexually molesting a 16-year-old boy. Not even a single paragraph printed on, say, page D-46. Nothing. It is definitely selective outrage at work here.

Bill Donohue with the Catholic League points out another aspect of the sex scandal story: “In the 1960s, 70s and 80s—the very period when the vast majority of cases of priestly sexual molestation took place—the prevailing zeitgeist was to rehabilitate and renew. Had the Church dealt punitively right off the bat with alleged offenders, it would have been branded heartless and un-Christian at the time. How perverse it is, then, that those who sold us the idea that every malady could be cured by rehabilitation are now the very ones condemning the Catholic Church for following their prescription. That they are selectively doing so is all the more infuriating.”

He makes a good point. Back when most of the abuse was taking place, many accused priests were sent away for a few months of counseling, after which the doctors assured the local bishops that the priests were fully cured and there was nothing to worry about anymore. At that point, if the bishops had insisted on a “zero tolerance” policy and turned the priests over to the police, the bishops would have been labeled as cruel and ruthless. And since most of the offending clergy were gay, the bishops surely would’ve been labeled as homophobic, too. Now we know counseling rarely if ever “cures” a sex offender. But projecting today’s knowledge back three and four decades and second-guessing decisions made in ignorance is very unfair.

So, if it’s easy to dismiss certain Church critics because of their questionable motives and hypocritical positions, it’s not easy to dismiss the scandal itself and the great harm it is doing to the Church and many of the faithful people in the pews. Or rather, I should say, FORMER faithful people no longer in the pews.

You don’t have to read national publications to find stories of Catholics who are fed up with the Church and have left. Just ask around your town or your neighborhood, or even your family. Now, granted, some of these people—just like the folks who left the Church in a huff a decade ago when the priest sex scandal was centered in Boston—are just looking for an excuse not to attend church anymore. Similar to the New York Times and Christopher Hitchens, for these people, any excuse will do.

However, this time around, there are more and more good and decent people, people who stuck by the Church a decade ago, who are simply fed up with it all. Their sincere view is: How much more embarrassing and humiliating—and downright evil—revelations must we endure? Will it ever stop? How in good conscious can I continue to remain a loyal member of this organization?

Many people have had enough and they are leaving the Church for good. This situation is incredibly sad. For those of us who are still members of the Church—those of us who believe leaving will never be an option—what can we do?

I have one simple answer, a statement that has been used many times over the years: Don’t leave Peter because of Judas.

The Catholic Church is the church founded by Jesus Christ almost 2,000 years ago, and St. Peter, the Rock, was named by Christ as its first leader.

The only thing infallible and perfect about the Catholic Church is the deposit of faith—the core religious doctrines handed down by Jesus and the apostles. This is the precious gift given to the Church by the Lord Himself.

On the other hand, the people who run the Church, right now and during the previous 20 centuries, are far from infallible and perfect. They are and have been sinners—just like you and me. As the Bible says, “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Unfortunately, throughout the years there have been many Judases in the Church, even in positions of great power.

Another Irishman named Bill summarized the situation quite well, I think. That noted religious philosopher and TV personality, Bill O’Reilly recently wrote: “A number of Catholics have left the church because of the priestly sins, but not me. From the beginning, in Sister Claudia’s first-grade class, I understood that the Catholic Church was about Jesus, not Father Flannery. Believe me, I saw so many loons in my Catholic school days that I should be a Buddhist. But it is the theology, not the church leadership, that keeps me in the fold.”

O’Reilly offers this analogy: “We've had some pretty bad leaders in America, right? Do they make you want to renounce your citizenship? The United States is not the people who lead it. It is all of us. Same thing with the Catholic Church. It's not corrupt priests or apathetic leaders in Rome. It’s Jesus and his followers, the folks who sit in the pews on Sunday. And that’s good enough for me.”

To all Catholics who are fed up and who are considering leaving the Church for good this time, I have this little bit of humble advice: please don’t. Work to make the Church more holy, and start with yourself before demanding holiness from others. Focus on the beliefs, not the bureaucrats running the organization. Focus on the doctrines, not the dummies puffed up with pride and power. The Bible reminds us that those who have been given much, especially positions of religious leadership, will be held to a higher standard. In other words, the creeps will get theirs in the end. God will make sure of it.

Focus instead on Jesus. He truly is present in the Church, both in the Eucharist and in the hearts of the humble faithful who seek to serve Him each day. That is the only reason the Church exists: to bring people to Jesus. Please don’t let the morons muddle the message. And again, please don’t leave. That’s just playing right into the hands of those who always have hated the Church—and hated Jesus.

©2010