Later, I read a good response over on The Passionate Paradox, calling all anti-Catholics to take a look at responsible sexuality.
The whole time, I couldn't help but think that there was something funny about this call for people who don't agree with the Church to leave Her. Personally, I find it silly that people who don't agree with the Catholic Church call themselves "Catholic" in the first place. Yes, there is a place for those who have a difficulty accepting certain teachings, and struggle with them while recognizing that the Church has the authority to teach what it teaches--that's totally fine. On the other hand, to claim to be a Catholic while outright rejecting what the Church teaches (and worse, to tell others that the Church "no longer teaches" whatever doctrine one rejects) has never made sense to me. Why would someone who rejects Catholic Church teaching want to be a Catholic? Someone suggested to me the other day that maybe these people think they can ride the coattails of the Church into heaven or something.
The silliness of people who reject the Church making a big deal about leaving the Church made me think of an analogy for which I drew this cartoon:
 |
| (Click to Enlarge) |
The Church has often been called the "Barque of Peter" (see NAVIS PETRI above). She is sailing off toward Heaven, but some of Her members have decided they love Earth too much to let go, so they're trying to head back. They're too attached to money, sexual immorality, and/or power, and they're not willing to part with them, so they try to get the Church to change course by constructing a tug boat and attempting to drag the Church back to earth (see the SS ERGORP above). They try with all their might to get the Church to be "progressive" ("SS ERGORP" backwards is PROGRESS)--to be "with the times." The Church, however, is timeless, and recognizes that these things aren't truly good for people. She has one mission: get souls to Heaven. She is set on Her course, and will not be deterred by fleeting temporal pleasures. With the wind of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2) in Her sails, She will not be stopped--not even the gates of Hades will prevail against Her (Mt 16:18). Consequently, the SS ERGORP will eventually realize that they cannot change the Church, so they must decide: detach or join. They must either leave because they don't agree, or fully join themselves to the Church by recognizing that the Church is wiser than each of us, because She is the safeguard of the God's Revelation. They must also realize that they will never change the Church because Her official teachings will never change. That's how She safeguards what God has handed on--She doesn't let it get changed.
So now we are at a junction in history where many may leave the Church. That's okay. In fact it will be like the pruning of a plant--removing the branches and leaves that are deterring the flourishing of the whole. Pope Benedict XVI has been talking about a "smaller Church" for a while now (that link will lead you to an excerpt of a book that was originally published in 1969). 33 years ago he could already predict this exodus of the lukewarm (and we know what happens to the lukewarm--Rev 3:15-16). He foresaw a smaller, but "crystalized and clarified" Church.
Think about this: what if every 'Liberal' and 'Nominal' Catholic actually did go to a religion that agreed with his/her beliefs? How much better would Catholic education be once it was rid of all of the false teachers? How much better would people know what the Church really teaches, and not what the "Catholic experts" that the media digs up say? Sure, we may get ridiculed by that same media. Sure, we may no longer be 25% of the US population--or 1/7 of the world population. That's not necessarily bad--the Church will be purified and people receive the truths of the Church without all the voices of dissenting "Catholics" trying to confuse them. In the long run, perhaps it would actually allow more people to come to know the truths of Catholicism and draw more souls to Heaven. That, after all, is the goal: as many souls to Heaven as possible, not as many people calling themselves "Catholic" as possible.
And what for those who leave? Are they eternally doomed? Of course not! Was Peter eternally domed when he denied Jesus? The same is the case for anyone who has betrayed God. He must not take the path of Judas and think God will not forgive him. He must take the path of Peter and, when he realizes his mistake, receive the Lord's forgiveness.
The Church will always have open doors, anyone may come in and become a Catholic, but that involves a change on the part of the person, not the Church. If one is to become a Catholic (or return to Catholicism), one must be willing to conform himself to the Church. One should never seek to conform the Church to himself. That, after all, is how this whole topic began.
I was not arguing in favor of anarchy--the lack of human law and punishment. I can see how you might jump to this conclusion if the discussion ended at "God no longer allows humans to give those punishments anymore." I should have been more specific in stating that God doesn't put that in the Church's lap. The Church has certain Church laws for Her members, but She has never asked to be the arbiter of civil punishments. Civil laws are in the care of the civil government. The Church only asks that She and her members (including 1/4 of the US population) be treated fairly.
Please accept this as an explanation from a Catholic perspective. You may not agree with all of my statements, but if you hear me out, I hope it will help you understand our viewpoint:
We must consider what the purpose of human law is. Human law is an attempt to codify the natural law--to push people away from vice and toward virtue. God has given governments the authority to enact laws for just this purpose. Enabling people to live at their highest potentials of goodness, truth, justice, etc. Forming truly GOOD citizens is their aim. The ultimate goal of these laws is to draw people closer in their relationships with God (the source of all perfections: Existence, Goodness, Truth, Happiness, Beauty, Love, etc.).
Law, therefore, is actually a movement toward God. Who wouldn't want to be united to Goodness Itself? For the sake of an example, imagine every piece of goodness you've ever felt--every happy emotion, every good feeling, every joy felt resting in the delight of an attained good. Combine together every single bit of goodness you've ever experienced, and multiply that by infinity. That's one INSTANT in the direct presence of Goodness Itself (God). That's what we call "Heaven." Heaven lasts forever--an unending satiation of infinite Goodness. THAT is what we're made for.
To go there, we must be conformed to Love (because God is Love Itself--for a little background, see Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical on love). To be conformed to love is to have our priorities in line: 1) to recognize God as the source of all existence, life, love, goodness, happiness, truth, beauty, etc. 2) to conform ourselves to Goodness, and 3) to work so that as many other people make it to this state of supreme bliss as possible. That (if you will pardon the pun) is true love--to desire the ultimate eternal best for other people.
Now you see, true love is not just warm, fuzzy feelings about other people; it is a sacrifice that we make to help others reach that complete perfect union with Goodness Itself in Heaven. Too often people speak of love as though it just means having good thoughts about someone, or physically assisting someone. That is not necessarily love--it CAN be, but it is not a given.
To properly love others, we must first be able to recognize the finish line: Goodness. God is Goodness Itself, therefore Goodness is both objective and personal. It is personal in that the goal is a Person (actually 3 Persons in 1 God, but that's for another discussion). It is objective because there are actions that will objectively draw us closer in our relationship with God and actions that will move us farther from Him (just like in our relationships with humans--certain things make our relationships deeper and certain things stress our relationships). Everyone is in a state of flux (again, just like all of our relationships) until he/she dies. Death seals the person's relationship (if you will, the person's "decision" for or against objective Goodness).
We draw closer in our relationship with God through virtue--doing what is good, avoiding what is evil. We push farther away from God through vice--acquiescing to what is evil, almost always by placing lower goods above higher goods. People almost never do what is bad because they think it's bad; rather, they hold up what is a lower good (like pleasure, comfort, etc.) to be above a higher good (justice, charity, etc.). Sometimes, there are things that people think are good, but they really aren't. This is a place where we deviate from modern society. Modern society is often relativistic. It sees goodness as subjective--"I determine what's good for me." Relativism says there is only one objective truth: "there is no objective truth." Of course, we can see that as a self-defeating statement. We need to look beyond ourselves (which often tend toward selfishness, or at least justification of our bad actions). We need to seek out REAL Goodness. The more we do, the more we are able to see the fullness of Truth, Goodness, Beauty, etc.
Getting back on topic: law is there to push us in the direction that will most conform us to being truly good people--not just good as we define for ourselves. Laws are supposed to push man to pursue excellence. God has given man civil leaders to enact these laws and create punishments that justly redress any wrongs caused by breaking the law, and attempt to conform the law-breakers back toward Goodness.
What part does the Church play? With regard to civil laws, the Church plays the part of a beacon (a clarion call, an informer). She proposes to all societies and governments the way of Goodness. She hands on the teachings as they have been handed on to Her. She doesn't conform Her teachings about Goodness to fit any particular society. She hands it on how God gave it to Her. She doesn't impose--she doesn't make the laws, but She proposes-- She reminds the governments of what is true, good, beautiful, etc.
The First Amendment does not call for a freedom FROM religion; rather, it calls for a freedom OF religion. That is; it allows people to be religious and live how their religion lives, but it prevents the government from making an official state religion. It does NOT prevent the government from listening to the Church to gain wisdom about Goodness and the best ways to conform laws toward that goodness. It does, however, prevent the unjust discrimination against religions.