Illustration taken from TheAge.com.au (Dyson)I'll admit that I've thought about it...I've thought of leaving the Church I chose to enter back in 1999. Sometimes the patriarchy, the unskillfull ministry, and the carelessness with people's lives tears at my heart and my soul. But I remain a Catholic because I believe in a God who lived and died and is present among us. I believe in that God so deeply I feel called to make that God known more in this life. And I do that in the Catholic Church.
And I admire Present Jimmy Carter's courageous and painful decision to leave the Southern Baptist Conference to take a stand on the treatment and reception of women in that Church. And I wonder...what if....
3 comments:
First--glad to see you're blogging again. Welcome back!
Second--what keeps troubling me is the question "when is it wrong to stay?" Membership, after all, is support and a degree of approval. Just being a warm body in the pew does that. (I'm not even talking cash. No one in their right mind gives money to an RC Church these days unless it's designated for a particular cause. Otherwise it's likely to go to pay for the after-effects of gross mismanagement of one kind or another.) And a related question: what would it take for me to finally shake the dust from my feet? The boys in Rome don't own Catholic tradition (ask any Independent Catholic,) any more than they own Christian tradition. And it's Jesus who's key, not this Church. (Every time I see the Pope in his resplendence lately, I think--"Yeah, that's how the original disciples found Jesus--wearing ermine, living in a males-only enclave claiming total power.")So--the many harms done to women, the pointless insult and exclusion visited on gays and the divorced/remarried, the crippled personalities of those (many!) priests not called to celibacy yet trying to live it, theologians silenced, moral/theological questions settled by unthinking fiat, and a hierarchy distant from the people and living rich lives. Yup--two questions I toss around for myself. When is it wrong to stay, and what would it take for me to finally say "Basta!"
I've been thinking about how to respond to your post for the last three days.
At times, my faith has been challenged as well and I've thought about moving to another faith. But when I think about it more, I am continually reminded that WE are the church, not the Pope, not the Vatican, not the hierarchy. And as long as I follow the teachings of Jesus, as opposed to the church, then I'm not leaving.
Instead, I'll strive to change the church from within, day by day, step by step. It has always been two steps forward, one step back. But change is happening, albeit slowly.
The church will not change enough to suit most of us in our lifetimes. But we must work for the generations that come after us or we have accomplished nothing.
And when I look at my parish, I think that 20 years ago, this would not have been possible yet here we are today, pushing, nudging and cajoling for change. That keeps me going.
I'm inclined to think that as frustrating as the Church is... like our form of government, it is the best we've got. ANY Church is bound to fall short. We must seek to maintain our integrity and our connection to the Body. This is not to say that this won't involve breast-beating, hair pulling and screaming... IT WILL! and lots of talking and praying...
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