Celebrating Our Religious Freedom

The following letter (italics) was recently submitted to a conservative Roman Catholic U.S. website in an honest effort to gain some insight on several distinct politically motivated issues.  Whether or not you agree with the viewpoints in this letter is not the issue.  Nor is a question of who is right and who is wrong about the various issues facing many Roman Catholics today.  What is of concern is that so many adult Christians seem to submit to the opinion of others rather than searching their own hearts through the gifts of the Holy Spirit which they received following the Sacrament of Confirmation. Surely God’s gift of faith is unique to each individual and can only be celebrated when we learn to trust directly in our hearts rather than by simply abrogating this gift to others?  To do so will only lead to a continued and destructive form of co-dependency. Remember God accepts us where we are - not where others would have us be.          

I am a relatively new Catholic (2 years confirmed on May 1, so please be patient with me), and am running into some confusion over the correct balance between obedience to the Bishops and where prudential judgment comes into play when it comes to the matter of finding political solutions to problems. I tend to run into Catholics, either in person or online, who fall into one of two categories: (a) Everything the Bishop says or supports is 100% gospel truth and you are not Catholic if you don't automatically jump on the bandwagon of whatever the Bishop is promoting right now, and (b) Everything the Bishop says is just a suggestion and you can make your own judgment about these things. Position B is obviously wrong. No question in my mind on that one. But where I am confused is on Position A and to what degree we are to submit our own logic and reason to the opinion of the Bishop on political matters when you disagree with the manner of implementation of our moral principles. I was under the impression that the Church and the Bishops are to teach the moral principles that should undergird our solutions, but that the actual work of solving these problems falls to the laity and implementation itself is a matter of prudential judgment so long as we are working within the boundaries of those moral teachings. I've read quite a few things lately that suggest (or flat-out say) that this is wrong and that we are supposed to submit ourselves to whatever the Bishops think on matters of implementation.

Now, for me issues such as abortion and SSM are no- brainers. The Bishops teach that intentionally killing an unborn person is wrong. Therefore abortion must always be wrong because it is the intentional killing of an unborn person.That's a pretty direct correlation. Same thing for the issue of same-sex unions. But when it comes to other political matters I get very confused.

For example (and this is only one of many I could give), the current illegal immigration debate. The Bishops have lent their support to the current "comprehensive" bill. Now as far as the morals undergirding their position, I agree completely that all people have intrinsic value and should be treated with dignity and respect. So I can agree that we should not be kicking down doors and dragging kids out of their parents arms and I also agree that no entity should interfere with the Church's ability to minister to people, regardless of their status.

But when it comes to supporting this bill, I have issues. First, I don't think it's a good idea to do "comprehensive" anything. Look at Obama-care for the prime example of the kind of gigantic mess these types of bill cause. There are also, historically, lots of awful little surprises tucked into these type of bills that come back to bite us eventually and has we known that x was snuck in there we might not have supported it. In this particular bill it's just come out that there is a biometric database of all US citizens that would be implemented if the bill passes and is signed into law. Hello, Big Brother! Second, I would rather this be done in pieces and in the daylight- instead of in back rooms between "gangs" where who knows who is even writing these bills, and we all know no one reads them- so we can see what is actually passing, and make sure it is actually implemented.

So I guess my question is am I a bad Catholic because I would see this problem be solved in pieces instead of defaulting to the "comprehensive" position of the Bishops? I have these same views on a lot of other subjects as well. Economics and the reach and role of government are other areas in which I struggle with their conclusions. I agree with the moral premises that the Bishops teach us (keeping the well being of the poor front and center) but I disagree with the various methods of implementations that they endorse and I think that some of what they endorse does not help the poor in the long term and undermines our position and our charitable mission in communities and the lives of individuals. Is is OK for me to see the implementation part a different way or does that make me a bad Catholic or a cafeteria Catholic?

Sorry to write a book for you. But I truly want to be loyal to the teachings of Our Lord and His Church and in this area I am really struggling to see things clearly.

Thanks so much for your time!

Again, as a reminder, you may not agree with the writer’s position on some of the issues, but he/she has every right and duty under canon law, to express them without fear of condemnation.  My sole purpose in bringing this matter to the fore is to ask ‘why, as adults, does your religious institution not teach us to rely on our unique gift of the Holy Spirit?’   

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  John 14:26

 
Roman Catholic adults should be encouraged to trust in their hearts, the place where their treasure lies. See also 1 Corinthians 13:11. All Church teachings and other trusted teachers who understand this can be helpful, but until such time that we have come to rely on ‘the God within’ we probably have not learned to trust in God as well as our hearts.

For those who feel they must obey church teachings or have difficulty accepting them remember that Vatican II established for the first time in church’s history, that an informed conscience will always take primacy over any church teachings.  As such Roman Catholics are asked to discover the depths of their own conscience. To obey one’s conscience is the very dignity of the human person; according to it the human person will be judged. See Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World n. 16 and the Declaration on Religious Freedom, nn. 2,3,14.

Great spiritual teachers, be they bishops, deacons, Popes, etc. will always tell you “except for our Creator we as adults cannot expect others to direct or be responsible for our spiritual growth and development.

Addendum August 26, 2013:

Freedom

Jesus’ notion of the Kingdom is a different understanding of freedom than that of most religious and secular leaders today. We think of freedom as not having to do what we don’t want to do, but divine freedom is the capacity to be fully who we already are, to develop our inherent and true nature, as much as possible—really wanting to do what we know we have to do. Only God can create that freedom inside of us. Love can only proceed from such inner freedom. A mustard seed, yeast, and light—that all develop from within—are some of Jesus’ central metaphors for this freedom-loving Reign of God. Paul just calls it “grace.” For him grace and freedom are almost the same thing (see Ephesians 2:7-10, Galatians 5:1). And I would add to that “heaven.” Freedom, grace, and heaven are the same thing.

Secular freedom only creates individualists and private freedom, but not a society. It never gets around to the common good, which is a central principle of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, which instead demands from you and demands for others—while ironically giving you all that you really need. Then you become who you most deeply and truly are, a member of a family, a neighborhood, a society, and a planet. If you are trying to “go to heaven” alone or on your own merits, you are preparing for a place other than heaven. - Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM

 

   

 

 

Trust, Freedom and Maturity

In July 2006 the following article appeared in Online Catholics, an independent Australian e journal under the heading 'Trust! Freedom! Maturity!

Where do they exist in the Australian Church?

The model of Church being fostered within Australia has been brought into sharp focus with the decision by the Archbishop of Melbourne to withdraw his approval for social psychologist, Fr Diarmuid O'Murchu MSC, to conduct two lecture series in a Catholic institution early next year.

"It is a matter of trust," the Christian Brothers' St Patrick's Province leader, Br Peter Dowling cfc, said when speaking with Online Catholics this week. While he would not be drawn on whether or not he thought Archbishop Denis Hart's reaction was over-kill, he did express wonder at the level of trust being displayed and the degree of freedom with which people where encouraged to develop their faith.

Br Dowling confirmed that Archbishop Hart had withdrawn his approval for Fr O'Murchu to give two summer courses in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, in January 2007. The arrangements - which had included the Archbishop's approval - had been made at the end of 2005. The Christian Brothers and those associated with the visit were bitterly disappointed by the new decision.

The workshops were to be given at the Christian Brothers-owned Edmund Rice Centre "Amberley", Lower Plenty, near Melbourne. Br Dowling said he believed he had taken the correct and polite action by asking Archbishop Hart for his recognition of Fr O'Murchu's visit.

The withdrawal followed the Archbishop's receipt of information published recently in L'Osservatore Romano that Fr O'Murchu's 1995 book, Reframing Religious Life: An Expanded Vision of the Future had been the subject of a critical note from the Doctrinal Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Spain. Although the note was written more than three years ago, it only recently had been translated into English. While the MSCs Superior General is seeking clarification of the situation, there has been no statement from the CDF critical of Fr O'Murchu's views. Br Dowling said he wondered at the timing.

More perturbing, though, was the level of trust not being placed in those who wished to participate in the Melbourne seminars, he said.

On learning of the Archbishop's concerns, the Christian Brothers' Leadership Team made a strong representation that the courses should go ahead. Among the reasons put to Archbishop Hart were that the people who would be involved were well educated and mature in their faith and that they were attracted by ongoing faith development. No only were they enthused by new ideas, but their established insights and understandings allowed them to make choices about how they received new and stimulating information. They enjoyed the cut and thrust of learning and energizing conversations such were sure to occur during the courses.

However, in a letter of June 8, Archbishop Hart formally withdrew his approval for Fr O'Murchu to speak in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. A media spokesman for Archbishop Hart told Online Catholics on Tuesday that the Archbishop considered that "Fr O'Murchu's views on the nature and place of religious life in the Church meant his lectures would be a disservice here".

Both courses already had proved very popular. At the time "Amberley" stopped taking bookings, 60 people had confirmed with deposits for the Catching Up With Jesus course and 80 had confirmed with deposits for the Religious Life – Changing Paradigms course.

Br Dowling said he was unsure what would happen.

"Diarmuid O'Murchu is committed to coming to Australia but he won't be speaking in the Archdiocese of Melbourne under the auspices of a Catholic body."

On the "Amberley" website, the Director, Mr Andy Kuppe, said he was exploring "other options for the possibility of the courses proceeding". He has asked those interested to check the "Amberley" website for updates.

He told Online Catholics that the response to the withdrawal had been unanimously one of overwhelmingly disappointment and regret that an opportunity to engender faith life had been lost.

It is not the first time a Diarmuid O'Murchu visit to Australia has ruffled feathers.

He has visited Australia several times. On at least one occasion – when he was a keynote speaker for the National Catholic Education Conference, in Brisbane, in September 2001 – his visit drew flak from Michael Gilchrist of AD2000 who wrote in part: "However, the other two speakers' names - Morag Fraser, Editor of Eureka Street, and particularly Fr Diarmuid O'Murchu - leave one wondering about the philosophies of our leading Catholic bureaucrats… Father O'Murchu's name, while less familiar to Australian Catholics than Morag Fraser's, raises greater concerns, in the light of his publicly expressed religious views…"

However, it is the views of reviewer, Bert Monster, of Catholic New Times (June 2005) that are more likely to interest Online Catholic readers:

When three Canadian Catholic cardinals recently returned from Rome, following the election of Pope Benedict XVI, Marc Cardinal Ouellet publicly responded to the question of change in the Vatican. "If there needs to be change, it needs to be in the world, not in the doctrine."

Compare this response to the following quote from Fr Diarmuid O'Murchu in his book Quantum Theology. "Where religions have failed most dismally is in their perception and understanding of the world, which they all tend to dismiss as an inferior, ungodly, and transitory reality. This cosmology goes right back to the Agricultural Revolution, which projected the original mechanistic image that the world was an object to be conquered and controlled.

"Adopting this worldview, the religions concocted a self-inflationary, eschatological myth, whereby the world would come to nothing and the religions themselves would triumph. What was intended to be an instrument of God became a god in its own right; religion became an outrageous form of idolatry." …

If one takes the time to read O'Murchu's book one will quickly recognise that serious change in church doctrine is not only necessary but essential. Again Fr Diarmuid states: "Instead of trying to conquer and eliminate the negative, we [must] try to comprehend - not distance - and appreciate its complementary role for the positive."

… O'Murchu goes on to say that "Once we begin to understand and internalise the sacredness of life from within -- ourselves, our planet, and our universe -- then the classical academic search for an external agent may become quite irrelevant."

Is the Vatican ready for such change? (O'Murchu demands a rethink)

Br Dowling said it was the wish of the Christian Brothers to help people engage in creative and stimulating conversation as a means of sustaining and developing their faith. Their support of Fr O'Murchu's visit to "Amberley" was an expression of this.

"Now we are wondering about the model of Church we are operating in; the kind of trust it engenders and the tension between theology and magisterium," he said.

Fr Diarmuid O'Murchu, a member of the Sacred Heart Missionary Order, and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, is a social psychologist whose entire working life has been in social ministry. In that capacity he has worked as a couple's counsellor, in bereavement work, AIDS-HIV counselling and laterally with homeless people and refugees. As a workshop leader and group facilitator he has worked in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, The Philippines, Thailand, India, Peru and in several African countries. His best known books include Quantum Theology (1996 - revised in 2004), Reclaiming Spirituality (1998), Evolutionary Faith (2002), Catching Up with Jesus (2005).

Editor's note: In preparing this report, Online Catholics approached Fr O'Murchu for comment. Fr O'Murchu, although based in London, is currently working in the United States and, at this stage, preferred not to comment.

This Prayer to the Holy Spirit is written by Fr O'Murchu. It and other prayers for special occasions are on his website.

Come Holy Spirit, breathe down upon our troubled world.
Shake the tired foundations of our crumbling institutions.
Break the rules that keep you out of all our sacred spaces,
and from the dust and rubble, gather up the seedlings of a new creation.
Come Holy Spirit, enflame once more the dying embers of our weariness.
Shake us out of our complacency. Whisper our names once more,
and scatter your gifts of grace with wild abandon.
Break open the prisons of our inner being,
and let your raging justice be our sign of liberty.
Come Holy Spirit and lead us to places we would rather not go.
Expand the horizons of our limited imaginations.
Awaken in our souls dangerous dreams for a new tomorrow,
and rekindle in our hearts the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.
Come Holy Spirit, whose justice outwits international conspiracy,
whose light outshines religious bigotry,
whose peace can halt our patriarchal hunger for dominance and control,
whose promise invigorates our every effort:
to create a new heaven and a new earth, now and forever. Amen.