Authority & Dissent: Comments   

Preaching by example
What kept me in the church as a young adult was partly learning about its deeply nuanced and wise teachings, but also—and more importantly—it was my encounter with deeply spiritual Catholic women and men. I thought much less about Pope Paul VI or the (then) new papacy of John Paul II than I did the religious women and men committed to God and justice, the Catholic workers, and even the sincere “everyday” Catholics and good parish priests I met.

Many of us seem to be worried about the future of the church, wondering whether young Catholics today (at least those in the US) will remain a part of the church. I’m becoming convinced that future of the church is less in the hands of the hierarchy and more dependent on us (by which I mean all the faithful) than we often realize. The question I am left with is: in what ways can I contribute to a more compelling Catholic witness in the parish and in public life?
Mary Doak, mdoak@sandiego.edu
University of San Diego

Think theologically rather than administratively
I agree heartily with William Shea’s comments about the monarchical and imperial church. The absurd notion of the Pope as “universal legislator” – to take only a single example – will be a permanent block to meaningful progress in ecumenism. Part of the problem, I think, is that church administrators (i.e. bishops) tend to think institutionally and not theologically. And even though the church in theory acknowledges that there is “development” in doctrine, and can even apologize for mistakes like the treatment of Galilleo, the institution is wary of admitting any error in teaching – even such teachings as the claim of the authority of the Roman Pontiff over “every creature”!
Richard Viladesau
Fordham University

The importance of parents as role models
The younger Catholics for whom being Catholic is an essential part of their identit and who regularly participate in formal Catholic activities, who live out corporal works of mercy (e.g., participating in prison ministry, helping out in soup kitchens and homeless shelters), as well as the spiritual—tended to share the following in common :

1) they had at least one parent for whom the Catholic faith was an essential part of who they were, and who spoke about aspects of the faith regularly.
2) they were “forced” as children to do certain non-negotiables, typically Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days
3) At least one of their parents would take them, either occasionally or regularly, to perform some prayer devotion and/or some corporal work of mercy. Many these Catholics have strong memories of stopping into a Church to “visit Jesus in the tabernacle” with their father on the way to run errands. Some of them have memories of participating in stations of the cross with a parent or with their family during Lent. Many of them prayed a rosary together as a family either once a week or most nights. A number of them helped out at soup kitchens, visited the sick and elderly (whom they didn’t know personally) and saw this as connected intrinsically to their Catholic faith.

We need a real work of evangelization aimed at parents. Most of the parents I run into who do have concerns for the Catholic faith often don’t know what they can do in light of their busy family and work lives. They have trouble dragging their kids to Mass and have no idea how to integrate their faith and their lived experience. And it is a struggle. Hilary Clinton famously wrote “it takes a village to raise a child,” and she’s right. We young parents, and any parents of young children, need all the help we can get.. But if parents aren’t aided in helping transform their homes into bright cheerful homes, homes in which they spend a high quantity of time and not simply high quality of time, any catechesis within the family can become odious. We have a lot of work to do. I remain hopeful.
Jeffrey Morrow, jeffrey.l.morrow@gmail.com
Seton Hall University

Reforming authority in the church
I know, and always have, that authority is essential to humanity because humanity is communal. My parents had authority, though of different sorts. You can't have community without it, from the family to the billion member communities such as the Roman Catholic Church and China. I'm not against authority even though I often resented its exercise. Alas, in religious communities, especially my RCC community, authority has been very poorly exercised historically and even more poorly justified intellectually. Clue number one: the "divine power" needs to be de-mythologized. Necessary? Yes. Probable? No. Possible? Barely.

Jesus taught that his followers are not to exercise authority as the Gentiles do, nor are they to add weight to the backs of their followers as certain Jewish leaders did. Read poor Pope Saint Pius X's encyclical Pascendi when you have a couple of hours and ask whether Pope Francis could have written it. I don't think so. Holiness and intelligence are not mutually exclusive, until holiness becomes institutionalized sacrality and intelligence is crippled by tribalism. Second clue to the needed reform: end clericalism and replace the nutty clerics.

Jesus said we can't serve two masters. We threw that one out the stained glass window when Constantine started to build churches for us. I'm sure those bishops thought that they were instruments of salvation of the empire and as a result they were themselves drowned in the pool of imperial amnesia: they forgot what Jesus taught! Third clue to a reform: wipe out the hierarchy of office and grace. We Christians should all be equal before human law as we are before the Throne.
Bernard Lonergan thus described what should count in the "real world" of common sense:

"Authenticity makes power legitimate. It confers on power the aura and prestige of authority. Unauthenticity leaves power naked. It reveals power as mere power. Similarly, authenticity legitimates authorities, and unauthenticity destroys their authority and reveals them as merely powerful. Legitimated by authenticity authority and authorities have a hold on the consciences of those subject to authority and authorities. But when they lack the legitimating by authenticity, authority and authorities invite the consciences of subjects to repudiate their claim to rule." Fourth clue to genuine reform: We shouldn't give trust to office holders unless they are genuine shepherd.
William M. Shea, wshea@holycross.edu
College of the Holy Cross