A Personal Viewpoint
by Fred Schaeffer, SFO (© 2006)
Here we are, in the Interregnum, the time between Popes. Our beloved friend and father, Pope John Paul II, isn't even buried yet, and the media is already highlighting his anti-liberal views. What about all the good this man has done? Highlight that!
Let's talk about that Liberal view, particularly that minority of "Catholics" who try to make the Church do things their way. Oh you know who they are... they are what is often referred to as the "cafeteria-style catholic" who picks and chooses the dogma that "seems to fit his or her personality."
A Liberal catholic might strongly believe in one or more of the following points:
Priests should be married
Women can do the same a priest can do
"Oh, God understands me" (in reference to looking sin in the face)
Why should these elderly Bishops and Cardinals in Rome run my life?
Alternative lifestyles and marriages
...and so on...
In my various travels through life, through religious life, on two continents, in six decades, with the Church and away from the Church, I can assure you that I've seen it all when it comes to the various types of Catholics out there. I love all people as St. Francis, whose Rule I live, would have me do, in Jesus' Name, and I do not like criticizing others. We all worship in different ways. But now as we are in this unique time, the Interregnum, some of the things discussed on television and on the radio, doesn't help my high blood pressure!
I am very familiar with people who espouse this liberal viewpoint, having lived with them, befriended them, but also prayed for them. I am not liberal, I do not share their viewpoints on Church doctrine, and most of all, I don't like what they are doing as they widen the distance between where they are at, and everlasting life.
There are many good, solid reasons why priests should not be married. Marriage takes a lot of time. A priest must be available 24/365 to their flock. I know several married priests, former Episcopalian priests. At 5:00 PM they go home; they return at 7 or 8:00 AM depending when they are scheduled to say Mass. They do not live in the Rectory, and thus they do not share in the community of such a parish. But the Roman Catholic Church, allows them to be priests and be married. Also, in the Eastern Rite, some priests are married as this is a part of the Eastern tradition. I'm not referring to Eastern Orthodox, they are not Catholic as they do not recognize the Holy Father in Rome. I am speaking of the Coptic, Melkite, Maronite, etc., Eastern Rite Catholics.
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The fact that Jesus Christ was not married is, to me, the primary reason why priests should not be married either. And, since Holy Mass is the "Do this in remembrance of Me" (as Jesus said at the Last Supper) - the Last Supper and the Pascal sacrifice, that is enough reason, to me, that women should not be priests. Jesus died on the Cross. He was a man, not a woman.
"God understands me," there used to be a time that I said that too. You know what happened? I left the Church for a period of just over 20 years, and it got me into all sorts of trouble. It doesn't work. You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to God. Sin is sin. If you violate any of the Ten Commandments, you are living in sin. Sure, God is merciful and compassionate, and He understands us all too well (that's why He died on the Cross, remember?) but I cannot fathom why God would be lenient to anyone who knowingly trashes the very Commandments He has given us 2000+ years ago!
The Pope and the Magisterium, that is Cardinals and Bishops of the Church, are the people who guard the Faith. That does not mean that they are all traditional, sure there are some liberals there too, but they listen to the Holy Spirit in discussing, deliberating and voting on matters of primary importance to all Catholics in the world. Listen to them. They have a lot of collective experience. And, they know what they are talking about.
For most of us, it takes a lifetime to figure out where we are at, and where we are going. We know what works for us and what doesn't, or maybe I should say we know what we can get away with, or not. There is no question that we are living in difficult times, times of great trials. We have a government who pays lip-service to the poor, and leaders who in large part cater to themselves rather than represent the views of the people. We have to contend with a moral cesspool that begins just outside of our front door. If we are strong in our Faith and Morals, we can go around it. If we are not strong we're in a lot of trouble. Materialism is rampant and seemingly unstoppable except for those who are strong and determined in Faith.
As a people, we are still aborting fetuses at an alarming, no, shocking rate, and the government supports it. We are now in the euthanasia business, too (e.g. Terri Schiavo). It's all wrong! This is not what Our Lord wanted. It is not why He created us. But He gave us His only Son, Jesus, who died on the Cross, for all our shortcomings, for all our grievous sins not only in this Century but throughout the history and future of the world. And He did this so that we may go back to Him, so that we may repent and sin no more. So that we may be with Him in all eternity. But this gift is not automatic. We have an obligation to live up to standards set forth by God, when He presented Moses with the two Tablets which contained the Ten Commandments.
The Catholic Church with all its faults and failures has put together an enormous wealth of writings, Encyclicals, Apostolic Letters, Homilies, that help us keep our responsibilities in Faith, in life! The Church has given us the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and subsequent attempts to make this book even more readable and understandable for those who need simpler language - but what can be simpler than the Ten Commandments and Holy Scriptures?
Come back to Church, do it because you loved Pope John Paul II, too. Come back to Jesus! Turn your life around and be a man or woman of peace and all good, a person of prayer and a caring soul, who can help bring Jesus and the Gospel to others you love, and to your extended family. And, finally, to anyone who cares to listen.
May God bless you and keep you!
April 5, 2005