being a Catholic means that you’re part of a faith community that possesses a clearly defined authority and doctrine, obligations and expectations. It means that you believe and accept the teachings of the Church, especially on essential matters of faith and morals; that you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish; that you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly; that you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially…
The labels people assign to Catholics are attempts to describe how more or less in communion with the Church that person is. I don’t like labels; they are divisive and tend to lead to holier-than-thou. We all need to accept that we ALL need to work on becoming more in communion with our holy mother Church.
This has got to be the best letter I have ever read by a bishop on the issue of Catholic identity.
It is a perfect description of group dynamics even from a secular viewpoint. A member of a gang cannot disagree with the precepts of the group he/she has sworn allegiance to. A soldier, also the same. Consequences ensue if those mandates are defied.
The bishop uses the word “diminish.” This implies more or less not Catholic versus non-Catholic in a black and white application. And I absolutely love what he says about labels (of course, that is what I said; we all like our sayings
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This is probably better posted on the section of morality rather than spirituality but the bishop also said “issues of life and death.” That would not include traditions: celibate priests, for example. Rules that can be changed through discernment on the part of the members of the hierarchy.
But actually, my issue isn’t with doctrine or public statements of the teachings of the church. My concern is for those people who have terrible angst because in their particular situations (unknown to those on the outside) they feel they cannot comply with some teachings (not abortion, mind you). They know they are already considered less Catholic because of what is perceived as “dissent” and therefore they suffer in silence or become angry in their hurt and attack the teachings themselves. For example, I just heard of a situation where a distraught woman whose husband left her for another woman asked a priest if she could file for divorce. His response? No, the Church says marriage is forever. She should do all she can to make the marriage work. I need not say, “Hello?
He left
her!” In this case, thank God, she had a friend who brought her to another priest lest the Church lose another soul because of feelings of being rejected by that same Church.
These things are very different from Kennedy’s overt public stance as if he were some authority, setting up a new “progressive” religion. And these people need to be able to come out in the open to a compassionate welcome; one that respects their situation, their thoughts, their struggles, their choices of conscience, rather than “teaching” them the “right” way.
As for our older priests? I bleed for how they are being treated.
My, my, I have issues, no?
I love our Church but I do feel sometimes we are becoming too much Church militant and less Church mercy. And I feel labels are political (and a backlash against the sex abuse scandals but that’s another story too).
Again, comment welcome since I have issues.
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