Catholic Church and Intolerance

Recently a relatively well known, Canadian Catholic TV & Newspaper columnist, with strong fundamentalist views, triumphantly declared that, “once someone denies basic and absolute Catholic teaching they are no longer believing Catholics”. Furthermore, he added “for a Christian who refutes papal authority, the teachings of the magisterium and the integrity of the sacraments there is an obvious alternative. It’s called Protestantism". This exclusivist attitude may perhaps  serve Pope Benedict XVI who has expressed a preference for  a leaner, smaller, purer church dedicated to the observance of a strict orthodoxy, but it hardly addresses Catholics struggling with  Church teachings. 

More importantly we must now ask - does the Church belong only to the conservatives? And what of the millions of Catholics, who cannot for one or another reason, follow certain Church teachings. Where would you draw the line? How would anyone know? And, finally who would decide? Is church (community) only for those who claim they never deviate (or question) from church teachings?  (Without sin?)

It is estimated that almost 80% of Catholics believe the Church should allow Catholics to use birth control. Contraception is strictly prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church. Such acts are considered intrinsically disordered. Ultra orthodox groups within the Catholic Church believe that sexual activity not aimed at procreation is considered sinful and even evil.

Recent statistics reveal that a majority of Catholics would permit abortion in cases where the pregnancy was initiated through rape or incest. Yet, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that ending the life of a pre-embryo, embryo or fetus cannot be allowed, except in very rare cases where a life-saving operation on the woman results in the unintended death of the embryo or fetus.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that, a homosexual orientation is deliberately chosen. The church regards all homosexual behaviour to be intrinsically sinful, regardless of the degree of love and commitment within the relationship. It is estimated that some 10% of the population is gay. Six in ten Canadians (59%) oppose the Catholic Church and other religious groups issuing directives to politicians on how they should vote on such issues. One in ten Canadians who oppose gay marriage say that politicians should vote as religious leaders direct them.

Three-quarters (74%) of Canadians believe that interfaith dialogue would have a “positive impact” on their community. However, Catholic dogma still teaches ‘no salvation outside the Church’. Additional obstacles to true ecumenism were pronounced in 2000 through a new doctrine Dominus Jesus under Cardinal Ratzinger as he declared “the Catholic Church as the sole true Church of Christ“ and all other Christian churches to be deficient in Truth. At the same time the Roman Catholic Church has steadily refused to accept an official role in the World Council of Churches.

The Roman Catholic Church today comes down heavily on those that do not follow its teachings. The Code of Canon Law (1436.1) states, One who denies a truth which must be believed with divine and Catholic faith, or who calls it into doubt, or who totally repudiates the Christian faith, and does not retract it after having been warned, is to be punished as a heretic or an apostate with major excommunication. Under these terms opposition and any further discussion is quickly squelched.

Of course like any other Christian, Catholics are also sinners and thereby equally deserving of God’s salvation. The problem is how does one determine which teaching a ‘good’ Catholic fails to follow or accept? Surely the answer to that question can only be God. Once a religious institution decides that it has the exclusive power to determine ‘who is in and who is out’ it becomes a cult. Charles Kimball, author of When Religion Becomes Evil, identifies five warning signs of such corruption in religion.

1. Absolute Truth Claims

2. Blind Obedience

3. Establishing the "Ideal" Time

4. The End Justifies Any Means

5. Declaring Holy War

Recent statistics gathered by Ipso-Reid in 2006 suggest that there are more than just a few Catholics who simply cannot follow or agree on certain Church teachings.

• Eight in ten Canadians (81%) agree that “you don’t need to go to church to be a good Christian.”

• 70% of those who call themselves Christians agree that “my private beliefs about Christianity are more important than what is taught by any church.”

• Every-week church attendance in Canada in 1946 at 67% had dropped to 20% and is continuing to drop.

• Six in ten Canadians (59%) oppose the Catholic Church and other religious groups issuing directives to politicians on how they should vote on such issues.

Church attendance continues on a sharp decline. Only one in five attend a place of worship on a weekly basis. Another 13% attend about once a month, which represents only one-third of the population. Nineteen per cent go a few times a year, and 11% show up once a year or so. No wonder they're selling off churches. While the reasons for the decline vary belief in God (88%) has remained virtually unchanged in a century! These staggering statistics suggest what while people strongly belief in God they are still turning away from the institutional church. One can only conclude that there exists a serious unresolved problem between the two parties.

There is no absence in the Catholic Church today of growing fundamentalism, self-righteousness and exclusivism, along with an anti-Christian and militant attitude on question of human sexuality. The latter particularly as it affects abortion, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Religious tolerance has clearly given way to name calling, angry accusations and even public excommunication. At the same time the Catholic Church remains in serious denial by refusing to address the endemic and systemic problems related to the ongoing sexual abuse crisis. Politically the Church refuses to acknowledge the relevant needs of the people it serves. While the “People of God” have spoken, the patriarchal Church remains silent in response; preferring monologue over true dialogue. In an effort to blame its problems on modernism, relativism and secularism the Church continues to block the progress and enthusiasm that was generated by Vatican II. Obviously there are many more issues that contribute to the current demise of the Catholic Church, but these can only be resolved with kindness, tolerance, and the love that God offers to ALL his people so that they may become ONE. Let’s thus begin with dropping a self-righteous attitude with the knowledge that God meets us where we are not were others would have us be.

Dutch gay protest over Communion

Headline: from BBC NEWS, Feb. 28, 2010 'Den Bosch, Netherlands, Dutch gay protest over communion'

"Hundreds of Dutch activists, dressed in pink wigs and clothes, recently staged a protest at a Mass over the Roman Catholic policy of denying communion to practising homosexuals. The dispute began earlier this month when a priest in a nearby town refused communion to an openly gay man. Several hundred demonstrators, dressed in pink wigs and clothes, left the church in protest. A man at the centre of the row has said he wants equal treatment - if he is regarded as a sinner, he wants the priest to refuse communion to all other sinners too".

The BBC story was subsequently also reported in the Holy Post section of the National Post. As could be expected it raised a Holy furor by some bloggers.

Note: As author of this blog I do not condone the reported outlandish behaviour by the gay demonstrators on Church property in any way. My primary aim is to draw attention to those who use communion as a means of determining 'who is worthy and who is not'. This is strictly a matter between the individual and God. Any teaching that diminishes the individual or group in the eyes of God and prohibits them from taking part in the sacraments cannot be considered to have been communicated by an unconditionally loving God.

Many Catholics see official church teachings as the final word on many of the issues facing the world today. These same individuals believe that to be a 'good Catholic' means to accept these teachings without question and without any private or personal discernment- and the need to interpret these teachings against the greater Gospel values. Perhaps more importantly Catholics need to understand that official teachings on homosexuality are quite recent. Definitive Vatican teachings on sexuality are very much a mid-twentieth century phenomenon. The 1969 Catholic Catechism describes homosexuality as follows: "It is not the fault of the individual if he or she is not attracted to the other sex. The causes of homosexuality are unknown. In their human isolation, they look for friendship. But even where they find true and loyal responses, the perfect fulfilment of their human longings is not granted them".

Compare this compassionate view with the one expressed by Pope Benedict XVI as Cardinal to the Bishops of the Church, 'On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons'(1986) describing homosexuality as an intrinsic moral evil and that gay services are not to be tolerated and that Church facilities cannot be made available [for them]".

These conflicting statements reveal the struggle in which the Catholic Church finds itself today. Regardless, Catholics are encouraged by Canon Law to seek resolution to these important questions by considering the matter in the light of exercising religious freedom, as well as our responsibility to follow one's informed conscience.

Because some Catholics have adopted a comfort zone based on certain adopted 'belief systems' it may be of value to consider the following reflection:

"We must move from a belief-based religion to a practice-based religion, or little will change. We will merely continue to argue about what we are supposed to believe and who the unbelievers are." - Richard Rohr, The Naked Now

Readers to the blog on the Holy Post were then invited to again reflect on the events that took place in Holland in the following context:

The gay group protesting in Holland apparently wore pink wigs and clothing making them visual targets for easy identification. In this guise they are, according to some, sinners who have no right to receive communion or be given shelter in any official church facilities. The rest of us can easily hide our sins underneath our Sunday fineries while we piously receive communion and then smugly condemn those who wear their sins on their sleeves. (Remember a vast majority of Catholics do not follow church teachings on birth control).

And quoting Fr. Richard Rohr "We Christians, who dare to worship the scapegoat, Jesus, became many times in history the primary scapegoaters ourselves—of Jews, heretics, sinners, witches, homosexuals, the poor, the natives in the New World, slaves, other denominations, and other religions. It's rather hard to believe that we missed such a central message.

The pattern of exporting our evil elsewhere, and righteously hating it there, with impunity, is in the hardwiring of all peoples. After all, our religious task is to separate from evil, isn't it? That is the well-disguised lie! Any exclusionary process of thinking, any exclusively dualistic thinking, will always create violent and hateful people on some level.

This I state as an absolute, and precisely because the cross revealed it to me. The crucifixion scene is our standing icon stating both the problem and the solution for all of history."

Have we forgotten that there was a religious group in the previous century who also wore a specific badge that gave some the right to kill them - all 6 million or so - including gays because they were gay?

To avoid a situation similar to what happened in Holland this week it might help by putting a big sign outside churches stating: 'Homosexuals not welcome!' Or better yet 'Sinners not Welcome'! that would give Jesus the day off from his already hectic Sunday schedule.

For some Holy Post readers any defence in support of homosexuals was seen as pure heresy. One reader stated:

"There are NO conflicting Church teachings on homosexuality. While we all have the responsibility to follow our own conscience, we also have the responsibility to form it well, and to know and understand what these teachings are. Religious freedom does not entail just doing your own thing ... otherwise, the door of the RCC is wide open ... for you to leave, that is".

To which I posted the following:

These issues should never become points of division. Rather they should be seen as opportunities for dialogue and exploration. God's creation is ongoing and so should our understanding of humankind. Based on your insensitive judgment - If I were to differentiate RCC from Christianity the latter as following Christ, then I should gladly accept your invitation to leave – but remember that doesn't solve the problem. It needs healing. Remain open to the Spirit – its A Matter of the Heart!

Which prompted the following retort:

"I have nothing against "remaining open to the spirit". However, one needs wisdom to discern spirits. Do you believe you are holier and wiser than 2000 years of tradition and teaching? Do you believe you can abolish what is written in scripture? Do you believe creation is in some state of "spiritual evolution"? Because if so, you classify as New Age".

Still another individual wrote:

"This isn't about scapegoating it's about not profaning the body of Christ. It was a different thing if the priest had known what the Carnival Prince was up to, but he was aggressively flaunting sin for all to see. This is causing scandal. As for all the exclusionary talk - it was Jesus who said enter through the narrow gate. We can't pick and choose what we want to follow".

Prompting this personal message:

I believe when Jesus spoke of the 'narrow gate' he was metaphorically referring to 'the way of love'. That is without question the most difficult gate for us to enter and path to follow. At times we feel so challenged (offended) that we re-act with instant hatred. At that point Jesus calls us to be pro-active and seek the narrow gate. It means dropping all our pretenses, our biases, our judgments, our ego and letting the love of Christ become our way of seeing, responding, etc.

Which was followed by this unfortunate reply:

"You are entitled to your own opinion but there's something called Objective morality. A Natural Law. Love is not divorced from it. Instead of spending your time reading New Age philosophies, you might want to study Catholicism and its teachings on Realist ethics, etc."

The question of Homosexuality and their participation in the Eucharist is a very sensitive and difficult issue for a lot of people, especially those who feel bound to strict church teaching. But as the institution continues in the direction of more absolutes, rigidity and exclusivity it becomes increasingly difficult for many of us to remain neutral. Some of the advice offered is growing tiresome if not typical - 'if you don't like it leave'. This could hardly be the expected response from Jesus. Still, there are others who would prefer that we do not discuss such issues, since it might lead to confrontation and division. For those people I would suggest that they read about what went on behind the scenes during Vatican II, the argument about circumcision between Peter and Paul, the confrontation between Jesus and some of the Pharisees! It could be said that for the sake of peace perhaps it is better to avoid any controversial issues altogether. But then I find myself asking is that being faithful to what I have come to believe in my heart? (there are times in my life when I find homosexual behaviour, i.e., parades extremely offensive) But ultimately I have to ask myself 'what would Jesus do? Would he truly refuse those who seek him regardless of their background?

In a final attempt to bring this matter to a level of unbiased Christian compassion and understanding I ask readers to consult a recognized expert on sexual behaviour in the Roman Catholic Church. A.W. Richard Sipe is devoted full time to research into the sexual and celibate practises of Roman Catholic bishops and priests. His website can be reached at http://www.richardsipe.com/

which covers such concerns as:

• Celibacy/Sex/Catholic Church
  
• Gay Bishops - see also section on Natural Law
  
• Sexual Active Catholic Clergy
  
• Celibacy, sex and research, etc.
  

Note: A.W. Sipe was the chief investigator for the sexual abuse case which took place at a Catholic institution in Canada almost twenty years ago.

One final question: Is it perhaps time to reflect on the unique gifts homosexuals bring to the church and the rest of humanity?

In the meantime readers are invited to reflect on the following article 'What should a Gay Catholic Do? at
http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=81913739-3048-741E-5405178212524077 by Fr. James Martin, S.J.

IMPORTANT NOTE: just days after this post readers of the Washington Post learned that Desmond Tutu made this comment about homosexuals "It is time to stand up against another wrong. Gay, Lesbian, transexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family".