Why the Roman Catholic Church is failing its people

Empty church pews

Religious News Service reported on November 19^th that prominent U.S. evangelicals Russell Moore and Rick Warren blasted the sexual revolution at a Vatican conference Tuesday (Nov. 18) and stated it is destroying the institution of marriage.  See details of article here,

What an incredible indictment this article is about institutional religion. The Catholic Church with a historically dismal record on ecumenism has suddenly found two sympathetic soul mates in fundamentalist preachers by the name of Russell Moore and Rick Warren.

If the Vatican was genuinely interested in solidifying the 'institution of marriage' and the family why does it not consult the laity?  If the ‘institution of marriage’ appears to going downhill according to the experts why was the laity not consulted in preparation for the recent Synod on the Family? If we are indeed living in a culture obsessed with sex then yesterday’s religious experts have failed the laity miserably. And perhaps no one failed more in this area than the institution itself on the matter of sexual abuse of children.  Part of the failure must be attributed to the very unhealthy, outdated and damaging teachings on sexuality from the Roman Catholic Church itself.  Take for example the teachings on homosexuality, masturbation, inVitro Fertilization, the use of condoms and other means of birth control, celibacy, etc., one would think like St. Augustine, that human sexuality was not a gift from God but from the devil.  Why would anyone consult a group of celibate men to describe what sexuality and marriage should mean to a modern family?  What about family life itself?  Most families today require that both parents work in order to meet the monthly bills to pay for inflated mortgages, transportation costs, while raising children among staggering education costs.  What do celibate men know about these daily challenges?  Experience is still and only the best teacher.

Instead of condemning families and their sexual behaviour meet families where they are – not where religious institutions would have them be.  For a small minority to hide behind much needed changes on homosexuality (which has long since been identified by ALL major medical institutions as a hormonal issue) is a betrayal upon its victims.  While the Bible does offer its readers warnings about sexual deviation it has nothing to say about homosexuality any more then it has to say about inVitro Fertilization.

Survey after survey suggests that more than 90% of people believe in God.  Thus It should be obvious to religious institutions particularly the Roman Catholic Church that the reason why so many have left the church it is because they no longer believe in an institution that does not listen to them.  

Religious leaders have yet to learn not to denounce people from their self appointed empirical position and instead climb down from that misplaced ladder and like Jesus learn to dine with and be with the sinner.     

INTO THE SPIRITUAL WILDERNESS

If  you are among the many people caught in a 'spiritual wilderness' you might just want to listen to  what pastor Troy Watson of Quest Christian Community recently had to say about  the possible direction religion may take us in the 21^st. Century.

The following article by Pastor Watson first appeared in the St. Catharines, Ontario Standard on April 5^th. this year and is hereby reproduced in full on-line with his kind permission.    

Into the spiritual wilderness

TROY WATSON

Special to The Standard – Saturday, April 5, 2014

Over the past few years, I've been inundated with stories, statistics, articles, books and documentaries chronicling the mass migration of people leaving the Church.

          The response of "church loyalists" to this phenomenon of church abandonment has been all over the map. Some are angry while others are afraid. Some are in denial while others are grieving. Some blame contemporary culture, secular universities, the media, postmodernism or anything else under the sun (except themselves) while others desperately try to adapt and attract people to their church by incorporating more technology, pop culture and socially "relevant" issues and causes into their gatherings and programming.

          Some churches are asking tough questions about the evolving role of the church in our new world and have begun experimenting with new ways of being church. Others are convinced the solution is found in getting back to the old "tried and true" ways of the past.

          It seems the only common ground in virtually all churchgoing folk's response to the decline in Canadian church attendance, is that we need to — get people back to church. But this assumption might be causing us to miss the bigger picture. What is most important and most interesting in this unsettling season for Christianity, is discerning where God's Spirit is during this mass exodus.

          In the Exodus story in the Bible, God calls Moses to liberate the Hebrew people enslaved and oppressed in Egypt so that they may worship God in the wilderness. I can't help but wonder if there are correlations here.

Are the millions of Christians who are leaving the Church abandoning God? Or is something else going on? Are these people rebelling against their Creator or embarking on a journey into the unknown and the unfamiliar in attempts to reconnect with Divine Spirit and renew their faith and spiritual life? Could it be that the Church has become Pharaoh and the oppressive ancient Egyptian regime for some people and the Holy Spirit, like Moses, is beckoning them into the wilderness to worship their true God? What a sobering thought. That God's Spirit might be saying to the Church,. "Let my people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness." (Exodus 7:16).

          For many ex-churchgoers, the Divine Spirit has literally called them into the wilderness, into the healing beauty of nature, to be still and know God. Away from all the noise, consumerism and busyness of work, life and church. I empathize with this. As I get older, spending time in solitude, surrounded by nature, has become essential to my own spiritual wellbeing and sanity. Of course, equally important to my faith and spiritual growth is being part of a community, experiencing togetherness, spiritual friendship and serving others. But do we need "church" for this? I suppose that depends on how we define church.

So what makes a community a church? Do people have to sing together? Do they have to gather on Sundays? Does everyone have to beliei.re the same doctrine?

I believe many of our current versions of church will become extinct over the 21st century. As a pastor who makes his living through the current church paradigm, I may very well belong to one of these extinct versions of church. On some levels this concerns me but I hope my faith In God will give me the courage to let go of my desire for certainty, security and familiarity and kindle in me a willingness to follow wherever the Holy Spirit is moving. Even if that is away from Church as I know it.

THE EIGHTH SACRAMENT

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go ... Exodus 9:1

Since it first appeared, this blog carried the banner ‘Religion fails whenever it sees itself as a necessary intermediary to God.’ Although it was originally aimed specifically at the dangers of ‘institutionalizing religion’ I also realized that we have a personal responsibility to ensure that God’s gift of faith is constantly fed and nurtured within the greenhouse of our being. St. Paul calls that our spiritual temple (1 Cor. 6:19). It cannot simply continue to grow if we limit or compare our spiritual growth to others.  Each one of us is a unique individual, with a unique role to play when we pray for the bringing forth of ‘Thy kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven.’

For some time now it occurred to me that God’s gift of faith can be easily thwarted if we do not challenge our understanding of God’s unconditional love.  How do I limit that gift if I surrender my obligation to an  intermediate? Or should I surrender my obligation directly through the Creator who lives within the depth of each human soul?  Before the ‘institution’ was ever built Jesus simply said “follow me, I am the way”!   Accordingly, the role of the institution, as I see it, is to lead us to Jesus, and then let us go to be part of  an all inclusive community. 

Is it possible that the institution would collapse without our support?  If so, what will it be replaced with?  The familiar aphorism “Nature abhors a vacuum” will no doubt apply in such a scenario.  Who and what would fill that void?  One thing is for certain God will not suspend his grace upon the world.  Does Christian scripture not remind us “that we are ALL children of our Father in heaven?  That He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”? It is our personal response to God's grace and sharing that gift with others that really matters. 

  

The basic problem with institutional religion is that it seems to be pre-occupied with competing with other religions.  Just consider the various Christian denominations.   It is estimated that there are more than 41,000[1] Christian denominations in the world today.  If these communities cannot agree upon which group holds the exclusive rights to ‘Truth’ then how do we ever hope to understand another 42,000 [2]denominations of various non-Christian religions and spiritual beliefs?  Is this a problem for God, or is it simply a problem that ignores the unique understanding of each human being? 

One of Pope Francis’ first homilies, to his flock in May of 2013, warned that “some Christians establish the eighth sacrament “of pastoral customs” when they insist on protocol instead of seeking to meet spiritual needs” [3].  He concluded his homily by asking everyone to think about “the Holy People of God, a simple people, who want to get closer to Jesus and we think of so many Christians of goodwill who are wrong and that instead of opening a door they close the door of goodwill ... So we ask the Lord that all those who come to the Church find the doors open, open to meet this love of Jesus. We ask this grace.”  Surely this God given grace must apply to all people and all of the world’s religious institutions?

 

There is little question that  competing religious institutions continue to divide people and communities.  And, to the extent that it continues to bring much misery and suffering among humankind.   Is it simply because religious institutions seem to demand a common and fixed understanding rather than a shared diversity?   Should religious institutions remain as expressions of an exclusive and competing faith institution rather than that of a universal community reflecting the unconditional love of a Creator who accepts All people were they are – not where others would have them be?  I know its probably a silly dream.  But a dream we will ALL come to realize sooner or later.

In the meantime perhaps it is time for all of the world’s religious institutions to introduce a brand new vision of what it means to love God, our neighbour and especially our self, in the form of a Sacrament that allows people to discover their unique God given diversity rather than any false conformity – so that ALL may become as One!  I would call that, in Roman Catholic terms  the 'eighth sacrament'

  

‘To Let my people go, and let thy Kingdom come,often seems like a bit of wishful thinking  but let us together consider the alternative.

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditions

[3]http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/dont-create-sacrament-of-pastoral-customs-pope-preaches/

on the Institution of Religion

Have we forgotten that all early religions did not have access to a complete Bible, Torah, Koran, etc., or a hierarchical religious institution, as we know it today, to provide them with ready answers? Religion of the word somehow bypasses that ancient engagement with mystery. Religion seeks to undermine this tradition labeling it ‘animism’, ‘paganism’ or ‘spiritual darkness’. Have we forgotten that God has been wonderfully at work, long before formal religion ever began to evolve?

Yet, somehow today, we have dismissed our internal God mystery in favour of strict rules and regulations to be observed & interpreted only by those in power. Hardly a day goes by when we are not engaged in heated discussions about who is right and who is wrong. Who is in and who is out! Is this destructive form of institutionalized religion, in large measure, not the result of an obsessive concern for order and predictability? Why do we so easily submit to the authority of the institution, by quoting this and that, he or she, instead of listening to the mystery of God in our heart.

Religious dogma and doctrine have in large part become a substitute for what was once considered a mystery beyond the written word. What was once held by the heart has become sugar for the ego. Words to be dissected and analyzed to the degree where it can only be understood and interpreted by the most ‘holy’ and ‘worthy’. Those responsible for interpreting mystery were now called ‘clergy’ and all others were to be called to ‘laity’. Does this also not mean that laity has ritually abrogated their responsibility for their own faith development? For Christians, did Jesus not ask us to engage in the mystery of a personal and direct relationship with God and neighbour? When Jesus spoke to Peter “upon this rock I build my church” he did not mean that we should surrender our personal responsibility to love, God, our neighbour as our self. Nor did Jesus mean that he would leave us orphans to find our salvation through any human institution.

Again and again, we read in the media about someone invoking others, in the name of God, to do this and that which in the end often results in more suffering, more misery and death. We can only love God and others when we have first learned to love our self! The proper and only role of any religious institution therefore is to teach us to find that love within – the mystery that is God.

The Golden Eagle

A man found an eagle's egg and put it in the nest of a backyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.

All his life the eagle did what the backyard chickens did, thinking he was a backyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.

Years passed on the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a a beat of its strong golden wings.

The old eagle looked up in awe, "Who's that?" he asked.

That's the eagle, the king of the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens."

So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was. - Anthony de Mello

Regardless, of our religion, race or culture we are all God's creatures designed to soar!

Diarmuid O’Murchu, Religion in Exile, Crossroad Publishing, New York, 2000