Catholic Beliefs Threatened

The Catholic News Service recently quoted Pope Benedict XVI as saying that ‘Catholic beliefs are not open to popular vote’.

Pope Benedict XVI is absolutely correct ‘Catholicism is not open to popular vote or democracy’.   However, there is little doubt that the institutional Church under Pope Benedict is operated under a distinct form of autocracy or even a theocracy.  History teaches that the Roman Catholic Church once claimed the role of supreme ruler of the world (a role Jesus clearly rejected while spending 40 days in the desert).  It is precisely this form of institutional religion Jesus came to reject and turn upside down. By following a way of life as lived by Jesus we no longer have the need for earthly power or control.  When our communities are places where everyone is welcome we will discover the true meaning of God's unconditional love.  Here we lead by example not by fixed dogmas or doctrine which has brought the world so much division and exclusion.

God did not create us to be robots.  God created us for greatness endowed with holiness and diversity. God created us to become responsible adults trusting in the Holy Spirit. God created us as unique individuals to share our diverse gifts as a means of unity and reject any feelings of superiority.  Even before we were adults we were confirmed in the Holy Spirit.  Has Benedict forgotten that ‘the People of God’ through this sacrament were assured that ‘the Holy Spirit will teach us all we need to know’? (Jn 14:26; Lk. 12:12) Now Benedict XV! would have us surrender what God gave us freely through his Holy Spirit.  Why? Because the Vatican seeks power and control by reinforcing and centralising its hierarchical institution.  Benedict has rejected many of the visions held by Vatican II.  For example , why is collegiality is no longer practised, and why must theologians now surrender their God given inspiration to the Bishops?  And why must the laity now surrender and hide their gifts of the Holy Spirit under a bushel? (Mt. 5:14-15) What has happened to the supremacy of the individual conscience as stated in the documents of Vatican II? There simply is no hierarchy among Kingdom people.     

Jesus never wrote anything down and never insisted we embrace or practise his Jewish religion.  Jesus merely asked we become kingdom people. Isn’t that what we pray for when we say let ‘thy Kingdom come’? Here is the place where God accepts us as we are not as others would have us be.  Here is the place we have no need for condemnation, scapegoating or separation from all others be they relativists, secularists, atheists, gays etc., etc.. Here is the place where God is only interested in our potential not our sins.  Here is the place where it is safe to acknowledge that the ‘Devil’ or ‘Satan’ is none other than our individual ego’s which is responsible for so much pain and suffering in the world.  Here is the place we will discover that the life we lead is not about us, but rather about God experiencing himself through each of us in a unique and mysterious way.

Democracy versus Autocracy

Old and New model of church

The term ‘People of God’ was first introduced by Vatican II in its document now known as the ‘Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Church’ (Lumen Gentium). This document radically introduced a church that has moved away from the previous overemphasis on the hierarchy to a concept of church as including the whole people of God. Thus the major shift at Vatican II was from a church too concerned with juridical and the official church aware of itself as a mystery that expresses the love of God for all humankind.

Pope Benedict XVI on several occasions firmly criticized dissent from church teachings as disobedience of God's will.  While this charge would affect an estimated 90+ percent of Catholic women who have practiced birth control at one time of more during their lives – it is hardly encouraging for any meaningful and true dialogue between the faithful and the clergy on matters of faith.    

In this regard “the body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy One (cf. 1 John 2:20,27), cannot err in matters of belief. Thanks to a supernatural sense of the faith (sensus fidei) which characterizes the people as a whole, it manifests this unerring quality when ‘from the bishops down to the last member of the laity,’ it shows universal agreement on matters of faith and morals” (Lumen Gentium, 12).

When Benedict quotes his understanding of “sensus fidei” he subordinates its meaning by adding that this sense of faith “can come only when Catholics actively participate in the life of the church and follow the teaching of the pope and bishops”.  In other words, only the Catholic hierarchy alone holds the truth.    

The Church Is a Democracy

Daniel C. Maguire, Professor of Ethics at Marquette University offers this valuable insight on why the Church Is a Democracy  

http://www.religiousconsultation.org/Church_IS_a_Democracy.htm

Is disobedience to Church teachings a sin?

“Any form of inquisition, however subtle, not only harms the development of a sound theology, it also causes irreparable damage to the credibility of the church as a community in the modern world,” - Nijmegen Declaration (1968) co-signed Joseph Ratzinger

It is now evident that  former Cardinal now Pope Benedict has completely reversed his stance on dissent from Church teachings by calling for total obedience to church teachings as God's will. Catholics today are faced with overwhelming number of religious issues ranging from birth control to euthanasia. At the same time we are being told that to deviate from Church teaching is a grave sin. Can we know for certain who is right and who is wrong? The answer to that question for some will be a definitive ‘YES’ and for others an equally definitive ‘NO’! Confusing? Not really.

It is important to note Benedict’s warning equates ‘dissent’ from Church teachings as a direct disobedience to God. This kind of dogmatic reasoning completely ignores the primacy of individual conscience. Remember even Jesus deferred to the Father (John 8:28). Church teachings, except for declarations about Mary’s Immaculate Conception and Bodily Assumption, are and never have been infallible. Ultimately we must learn to rely on our relationship with God and the teachings of the Church. However, when there is conflict between the two we must obey one or the other.

Today there are those who seek safety in their faith by submitting to a strict obedience to Church teachings. However there are also those who have matured beyond the need for ready answers. Jesus reminds us that “no one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money”. (Mat. 6:24) In either case God, through his unconditional love for humanity will respect the basis for our individual decisions. The role of the Church is to reflect that unconditional love and bring us to a mature understanding of our faith. As adults we are called to take personal responsibility for the growth of our faith. Anything else merely keeps us dependent on the opinions and decisions from people we probably do not even know or understand. In modern terms this is known as a co-dependency! This cannot bring us to a healthy relationship with God or with ourselves. Jesus recognized this problem when he said “No pupil is greater than his teacher, but every pupil when he has completed his training will be like his teacher”. (Luke 6:40). The Church at times has been an excellent and very necessary teacher, but like any good parent, the time comes when it needs to let go and let God. Perhaps this point is best illustrated when Catholics begin to understand the Sacraments as a starting point rather than a destination. The rest is the responsibility of the individual adult.

Confirmation (Latin confirmare, make firm) is the sacrament of initiation through which baptized Christians receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit which strengthens them in their faith. Accordingly this is the time an individual commits or awakens his or her self to the Divine Indwelling, a.k.a. the ‘Internal Guidance System’, or the ‘True-Self’. Traditionally this is the point at which the ‘confirmed’ take full responsibility for the future growth of their faith and marks the beginning of the formation of the individual conscience. The primacy of the individual conscience was clearly recognized by Vatican II and therefore part of todays church teaching. It can be found in  PastoralConstitution on the Church in the Modern World, Par. 16. 

At this point we need to learn to rely and trust in our ‘Internal Guidance System’ whenever an emotion resonates be that positive or negative. Whenever we are responding positively, we can know that we are in alignment with our True Self/Guidance System. Alternatively, if we find ourselves responding negatively to a situation/question, we can know that we are out of that alignment. The greatest affirmation we can receive is God’s promise that “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you” (John 14:26). While God set us free, our ego or ‘False-Self’ can easily deceive us and cause us to chose wrongly or out of alignment. There certainly have been times in Church history that it too was out of alignment. But Benedict’s silencing of dissenting voices may also shut out the voice of the Holy Spirit at a time when it is needed most.