A PERSONAL REFLECTION ON THE RECENT EVENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
As we celebrate the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross on Friday I thought that it might be an opportune moment to reflect on the recent events that have happened in the Catholic Church. Over the past few days I have been thinking about the McCarrick affair, the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report as well as the fallout from the Vigano testament. Many things have come into my mind. I feel very sad at the thought of all that has happened over the years. I felt exactly the same way about the abuses that took place in Ireland when they were uncovered a number of years ago back in the 1990’s. Then as now there seems to be a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. My prayer is that out of all this will come some good for everyone especially the victims. There are so many who have been hurt by the misdeeds of the few,
Again all of us have been reminded very forcefully of the hurt caused by those who were priests in the Church and also by some bishops in charge of the Church over the decades. In Ireland the catalyst for the Church to get its act together was the Murphy report. The Murphy report was the result of a judge led inquiry conducted by the Irish government into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin and it seems to me that the same could be said of the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report. It will be a catalyst for good. As a result of the Murphy report there was an Apostolic Visitation to the Church in Ireland which was a good starting point to get to where we are today but a lot more work will have to be done in the Irish Church as we move forward and we are moving forward. Then we had the explosive testimony from the retired Nuncio Archbishop Vigano and a lot has been said by many people Conservative, Liberal and all the in-between Catholics on his statement.
There is much in the testament that requires clarification and there is much that will cause division between the so called Conservative and Liberal parts of the Church in the USA and other places which I regret. In relation to the Archbishop’s demand for the Holy Father’s resignation let me point out what the Canon Law says about a papal resignation: Canon 332 §2 says, “Should it happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns from his office, it is required for validity that the resignation be freely made and properly manifested, but it is not necessary that it be accepted by anyone.” Putting canonically invalid pressure on the pope to resign through the media achieves a schism. It achieves a sede vacante. Consequently the resignation is not valid. Consequently any one elected by a conclave is an antipope. Is this what the Church really wants I don’t think so.
If what the archbishop says is the truth why is he afraid of the consequences of telling the truth to be seen and heard telling the truth for the truth sets you free. Jesus Christ told the truth to the people of his time and paid the price by dying on the Cross. The cross reminds us that God is in charge and has a plan for our ultimate well-being. We trust God who has made a promise to be faithful to us, and through the cross, he guarantees to see that promise come to completion. We sign ourselves with the cross as we enter and leave church and as we begin and end our prayers. Each time we do that we remember the God of the Promise, the God who was, who is and will be the one who will always be part of our journey. Signing ourselves with the cross also reminds us of God’s promise to be faithful to us when often times people are not as the scandal of abuse within the Church has shown.
Over the years so many people asked me in view of what has happened relating to the abuse and other church related scandals why did I stay. Well I remained because it was the right thing for me to do and continues to be the right thing because the Church means so much to me and so many others and that’s why we are hurt by all of this. I thank God that many of the ways of the past are gone. As we now know in many cases the people involved in the past were proven to be shamefully wrong with what they did. What has happened over the years certainly was not what we expect of the members of the church clergy or otherwise. Now is not the time for us to stick our heads in the sand ignoring what has gone on and what is now going on around us. Instead it is time for us start afresh looking for new ways to proclaim the old truths, the truths that were there at the beginning of the Church.
We cannot forget the Last supper in the upper room, the Cross of Good Friday and the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. They are part of what we as Church and faithful individuals are. We cannot forget all those who by their lives and witness over the centuries have brought many people to faith in God. We should not forget that Jesus Christ was the beginning and will be there at the end the alpha and the omega. At times it would have been so very easy for me and so many others to throw in the towel and that would be the easy solution and if the truth be told it would be no solution at all. Running away is easy but staying the course no matter how desperate the situation may seem to be at the time is what is required of all of us in order to make things the best they can be for the future. The Church in the USA at this time is bruised and hurting, much the same way we were in Ireland and as such we need to begin moving away from being confined to ourselves looking inwards staying in our own circles with their points of view. We need to get up and dust ourselves down and get going again. That is what the Cross calls us to do. We need to move away from the security of being on one side of the arguments or the other to looking outwards in order to bring the Gospel of Jesus to all those we meet. The question to be asked is what should be done to deal with the awful events that have been perpetrated over the years. It is not an easy question to answer in much the same way as many of the questions of recent times are not easy. But this is a question that we need to answer and I feel that the answer lies in honest open accountability. Accountability for all those who work in Church settings at all levels including the clergy. Civil law and the Canon law should be the same in that anyone found guilty of the crime of abuse or covering up abuse within the Church should be out no matter who they are or the job they hold.
Those who hold any office in the Church should be accountable at all times and in every place for what they have done and also for what they failed to do.We need to renew the faith community by creating new understandings, and new enthusiasms relating to faith and our great tradition of faith and all of these will lead to renewed life of faith. We need to acknowledge where we were in the past where we are now and we need to work out exactly where we need to be going into the future together. We need to reaffirm what we ourselves believe in as individuals and as communities so that we will inspire others to begin or continue their own faith journeys. I have heard so many people saying the Church is done for and I am sure the Apostles felt the same after Good Friday and here we are over 2000 years later wondering as they did what is going on and what are we going to do.
I am sure there has been and will be much discussion on how we as the Church in the world at large deal with the issue of abuse and the issues in the Church and all of that will be a matter of debate. But I hope that it will be a proper debate as we need to speak frankly and openly with each other. Seeking God’s will in our strengths and weaknesses. We should not be afraid of the opposite opinions to our own because seeing the other side will mean that we understand the decisions that we will make from both sides of the argument and as a result we will come to the right decisions with proper consideration of all the points of view. Over these days I have read many reports on the media about all of this and I hope that something will be done to begin to address the issues of Clerical Abuse in the USA and the other church related issues properly.
The beginning of the process here in Ireland was the Apostolic Visitation to the Irish Church in 2010 much good came from that visitation and that work continues today. But my fear is that any attempt to make things better in terms of how the Church deals with the issue of Abuse or anything else will be hijacked by those in the Conservative or Liberal wings of the Church and if that happens nothing will be achieved except division when there should be unity about getting this sorted. Unity of mind and purpose in defence of the good in the Church while remembering all who have been affected by the bad that was perpetrated over the years. I have been blessed by the priests and religious that have been part of my life as well as the many good faithful people of God who are trying to keep the faith despite the odds.
On August the 18th I attended Mass that was in honour of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the gospel reading was the Wedding at Cana. As we know in this gospel reading our Blessed Mother tells the servants to do whatever he (Jesus) tells you. That is what we need to be praying for that we will be able to do what god tells us to do in this present situation and bring it to fruition . Recently at a meeting I used the Adsumus prayer below and prayer is what is needed in our decision making processes as we go forward with God in his Church at this time. As we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross we remember in the words of the Antiphon at the beginning of the mass for the feast that we should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, through whom we are saved.
The “Adsumus” prayer has been historically used at Councils, Synods and other Church gatherings for hundreds of years.
We have come, O God the Holy Spirit, we have come before Thee, hampered indeed by our many and grievous sins, but for a special purpose gathered together in Thy name. Come to us and be with us and enter our hearts.
Teach us what we are to do and where we ought to tend; show us what we must accomplish, in order that, with Thy help, we may be able to please Thee in all things. Be Thou alone the author and the finisher of our judgments, Thou who alone with God the Father and his Son dost posses a glorious name.
Do not allow us to disturb the order of justice, Thou who lovest equity above all things. Let not ignorance draw us into devious paths. Let not partiality sway our minds, nor respect of riches nor persons pervert our judgment. But unite us to Thee effectually by the gift of Thy grace alone, that we may be one in Thee and never forsake the truth; inasmuch as we are gathered together in Thy name,
so may we in all things hold fast to justice tempered by mercy, so that in this life our judgment may in no wise be at variance with Thee and in the life to come we may attain everlasting rewards for deeds well done. Amen.
Fullerton T 