Thursday, July 25, 2002
Dale: The Church in America is not The Church
This is depressing, and probably true.
Every time I read one of these stories about yet another dereliction of duty by our shepherds, I have to remind myself of the header above: The Church in America is not "The" Church. It's not the whole story. I think all American Catholics, whatever their status or beliefs, have the self-absorbed sense that what happens to the American Church is the story of the Catholic Church writ large. I'm certainly infected with this mentality. It's happening to the Church here! That means the whole Church is suffering from this same systemic rot: Abuse! Declining vocations! Rampant heresy! Clueless, corrupt bishops!
That's not necessarily the case, and two recent events drove it home. In the reliably heterodox Diocese of Saginaw (Mark Shea has been kind enough to publish a few of my rants about it on his blog), I attended a Mass where it was announced that a visiting priest would be presiding. At the beginning of Mass, the youthful priest stated that he was honored to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with us (I almost jumped in pleased surprise at this deviation from "Eucharistic Celebration!"). During the homily, he explained how he was pleased to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how it was important to bring the light of Christ to the world. He also shared his gratitude to those who shared it with him, converting him from his non-Christian background at age 9. He also described how his diocese of 350,000 had a seminary problem--there wasn't enough room to house more than 120 seminary candidates, and that there was more than 120 men interested in pursuing priestly vocations there. And, at the end of the homily, in a moment of astonishing beauty, he sang the Magnificat. In Swahili. I will remember the powerful, lovely holiness of that song until I die. It seemed like a foretaste of the celestial choirs that praise our God and King.
You see, Father was from Kenya, where the Faith is exploding, and they have a hard time finding enough personnel and materials to staff the 100+ diocesan mission churches where "catechism" is in strong demand. Yes, he actually used the word "catechism", apparently unaware that it is disdained in fashionable American Catholic circles. Like, say, Saginaw.
A week ago, at a Mass at my home parish, another visiting priest gave the homily. He explained how his diocese had around 250,000 members, and 80 priestly candidates in the seminary, with similar crowding problems. Conversions, too, were on the rise as the Gospel reached his people. He was, of course, Bengali (from Bangladesh). Until last week, I had no idea there were any Catholics in that country, let alone nearly half a million in two diocese.
Twice in two months, the fact that I am a member of a catholic--universal--Church has been driven home with great force. The 62 million Catholics in the U.S. are not (thankfully) the center and focus of Creation. Barring moral epiphanies and spine transplants on the part of both bishops and laity, the Church in America is going into a period of decline, maimed by self-inflicted (and tragically avoidable) wounds. As Scott Hahn said, God made no promises to the Church in America--it could vanish without a trace. But his promise to the Church Universal stands, and this can be seen--and heard--around the rest of the world.
Luke 1:46-55 (the Magnificat--NKJV):
46 And Mary said:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever."
This is depressing, and probably true.
Every time I read one of these stories about yet another dereliction of duty by our shepherds, I have to remind myself of the header above: The Church in America is not "The" Church. It's not the whole story. I think all American Catholics, whatever their status or beliefs, have the self-absorbed sense that what happens to the American Church is the story of the Catholic Church writ large. I'm certainly infected with this mentality. It's happening to the Church here! That means the whole Church is suffering from this same systemic rot: Abuse! Declining vocations! Rampant heresy! Clueless, corrupt bishops!
That's not necessarily the case, and two recent events drove it home. In the reliably heterodox Diocese of Saginaw (Mark Shea has been kind enough to publish a few of my rants about it on his blog), I attended a Mass where it was announced that a visiting priest would be presiding. At the beginning of Mass, the youthful priest stated that he was honored to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with us (I almost jumped in pleased surprise at this deviation from "Eucharistic Celebration!"). During the homily, he explained how he was pleased to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how it was important to bring the light of Christ to the world. He also shared his gratitude to those who shared it with him, converting him from his non-Christian background at age 9. He also described how his diocese of 350,000 had a seminary problem--there wasn't enough room to house more than 120 seminary candidates, and that there was more than 120 men interested in pursuing priestly vocations there. And, at the end of the homily, in a moment of astonishing beauty, he sang the Magnificat. In Swahili. I will remember the powerful, lovely holiness of that song until I die. It seemed like a foretaste of the celestial choirs that praise our God and King.
You see, Father was from Kenya, where the Faith is exploding, and they have a hard time finding enough personnel and materials to staff the 100+ diocesan mission churches where "catechism" is in strong demand. Yes, he actually used the word "catechism", apparently unaware that it is disdained in fashionable American Catholic circles. Like, say, Saginaw.
A week ago, at a Mass at my home parish, another visiting priest gave the homily. He explained how his diocese had around 250,000 members, and 80 priestly candidates in the seminary, with similar crowding problems. Conversions, too, were on the rise as the Gospel reached his people. He was, of course, Bengali (from Bangladesh). Until last week, I had no idea there were any Catholics in that country, let alone nearly half a million in two diocese.
Twice in two months, the fact that I am a member of a catholic--universal--Church has been driven home with great force. The 62 million Catholics in the U.S. are not (thankfully) the center and focus of Creation. Barring moral epiphanies and spine transplants on the part of both bishops and laity, the Church in America is going into a period of decline, maimed by self-inflicted (and tragically avoidable) wounds. As Scott Hahn said, God made no promises to the Church in America--it could vanish without a trace. But his promise to the Church Universal stands, and this can be seen--and heard--around the rest of the world.
Luke 1:46-55 (the Magnificat--NKJV):
46 And Mary said:
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever."
