How Can We Love the Church?

Bulletin Column – October 20, 2019 – How to Love the Church

            Earlier this month, the Diocese of Bridgeport released the final report from independent auditor Judge Holzberg, who spent the last year cataloguing the sexual abuse crisis and the diocese’s response to it, both past and present. It is a difficult report to read – “gut-wrenching” would be more like it – and it is a great source of pain for so many involved: survivors, families, priests, and lay Catholics alike.

            With such a shameful past, how can we continue to be Catholic in these times? There are many who have used the sexual abuse scandal to jump ship and seek spirituality elsewhere: in a megachurch, in other religions, or just by becoming one of the “nones” who claim no religion. Others abandon the Church because of Her teachings, or perhaps over something as simple as being yelled at by a priest or encountering a grumpy parishioner (not that we have any of those here!) Even I, as a priest, have been very hurt by members of the Church, and I too am shocked and disgusted by the scandals that keep making news.

            How can we continue to love the Church as She goes through her Via Crucis (Way of the Cross)? There are a few perspectives that might help us remain faithful during this difficult time:

            - First, we must stand on Christ’s promise that “the gates of Hell will not prevail against” the Church! (Matthew 16:18). He didn’t promise that the Church would always be robust or filled or glorious in the world’s eyes. He did promise that Satan would not ultimately triumph over the Church, and that the Church would endure to the end.

            - Second, it can be very helpful to study Church history. When we do that, we realize that the Church has been through equally trying times! Even beginning with the Twelve Apostles, we had a betrayer in their midst, and the first Pope (Peter) denied knowing the Lord. From the start, Jesus chose sinners to carry on His work. Crazy? Definitely. Daring? Without a doubt. Wise? Only with the wisdom of the Cross, where the weak are made perfect by God’s strength living in them.

            - We often speak of the Church as being semper reformanda – always reforming. The Church is never perfect until eternity, even though She is the Bride of Christ. We are all pilgrims on a journey to holiness, but we’re not quite there yet. As Pope Francis likes to say, “The Church is not a hotel for saints, but a hospital for sinners.” That goes for the men in the hierarchy as well as the last person in the pew. We are all sinners in need of God’s redeeming grace – and in a Church made up of sinners (of whom I am one!), how can we be surprised that the Church is not yet spotless?

            - But at the same time, we can still say we believe in one holy catholic Church because the Church really does possess real holiness! Consider: the Church’s Founder was holy (Jesus Christ), the Church’s goal is holy (salvation), the means of acquiring that goal is holy (grace through the Sacraments), and many members of the Church are holy (Mary, the saints). In addition, all of us can name a few “living saints” whose holiness keeps the Church afloat – I look out on Sunday morning and see more than a handful of profoundly holy men and women, boys and girls – laypeople whose lives are heroic in charity and prayer and humility. It is these who make up the Church!

            - We should want to be part of the solution! The Church will only heal and grow stronger if we become saints. The Church failed in the sexual abuse crisis because of a lack of holiness: deception, sexual perversion, a lack of integrity. The Church will grow stronger when we combat these things with honesty and transparency, purity, integrity. It is needed in the hierarchy, yes – but it is also needed in the pews, because as they say, “a rising tide lifts all ships.” Holy families will produce holy vocations; holy vocations will produce holy priests and bishops.

            We can take a positive kernel from this otherwise-horrific report of Judge Holzberg: since 2002, the Diocese of Bridgeport has been exemplary and stellar in its handling of sexual abuse cases. I firmly believe that right now, the Catholic Church is the safest place for children and families because of the cutting-edge Youth Protection training, a strict and stringent Zero Tolerance policy for sexual abuse, mandatory background checks for all those who work with youth, and a comprehensive Code of Conduct. Even secular organizations are looking at the Catholic Church’s youth protection guidelines and copying them, because the Church is now considered the gold-standard of how to protect young people in an organization.

            It has been difficult to be Catholic for the past few years – without a doubt. But this latest round of scandals has shone a light on a wound that needs healing – and now that it has surfaced, it can be dealt with and healed through the truth and love of Jesus. We as faithful sons and daughters of the Church should not despair. On the contrary, I believe that the Church will emerge purer, holier, and more brilliantly luminous as She reflects more perfectly the Light of Christ to the world.

            So stay Catholic. Love the Church. Be part of the holy solution as God raises up the next generation of saints.