This Just In: Catholicism Out of Touch

Complaints against the Church are often true despite themselves. The closed minds of clergy and the heavy-handed moralism of Bishops are indeed problems which we need to reexamine. But first we ought to find out what’s enclosed in those clerical minds and what morality those bishops are imposing on us. Exactly which of the Church’s ideas are so out of touch and inapplicable today?

The dusty old ideas which make the Institution teeter on the edge of relevance are not the Church’s native teachings. The idea that we’re all one in the “brotherhood of man” and the notion of “self-esteem,” together with what Archbishop Sheen called “false mercy”–these things may have been cool in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, but today they’re pretty much old fashioned. Nowadays, in fact, both liberals and conservatives find uses for them. If you’re not very self-assured, you may want a Church that coddles you. But keep in mind it was the “false mercy” of Bishops that led them to coddle abusive priests, forgiving predators again and again, and helping them maintain their self-esteem instead of helping children keep their innocence.

The only ideas that become “old fashioned” and “out of date” are those that don’t address reality. Real life is full of ups and downs, and only the truth is both flexible and unchangeable enough to remain relevant from age to age. All falsehood eventually becomes irrelevant as life goes on, and anyone who tries to keep it up becomes a limp and listless “conservative” of sorts. The truth alone is worthy of our zealous action.

So don’t get me wrong. I’m not just trying to get people up in arms against liberal Catholics. Rather, I’m going after any “Catholicism” which shows itself incapable of dealing with reality. I know priests on both the “right” and “left” who are more eager to keep the Catholic image clean than deal with dirty laundry. And both “conservative” and “liberal” bishops defended priestly predators from reality.

But meanwhile, there is a gold minority among Catholics today; those who preach Christ Crucified and who, like Jesus Himself, shout out “Repent!” These people are the future of Catholicism. There are Catholic men who become priests because they have a strong sense of purpose and are driven to save souls from Hell. I called one such priest on a lazy Sunday morning to ask him if he could hear my confession. He’s over 90 years old, and constantly runs out to hospitals and even to people’s country homes to offer last rites to the dying at all hours while his fellow-priests sleep. He also manages a parochial school, one of the few still active since most young seminarians opt for the priesthood as a cushy job and close down schools rather than do the hard work of running them. The old guy told me over the phone that he would not hear my confession–he was busy having lunch for Christ’s sake —click! I may not have felt especially good about myself at that moment, but I was inspired.

There are also nuns, like Mother Angelica, who preach the timeless teachings of the Church. As anyone who’s ever watched Mother Angelica talk on EWTN must admit, there’s no way she’s even trying to be cool. But she’s no fake. And what is her message to Catholics?

“You are on the winning side. You have nothing and no one to fear. Be Catholic and be proud of it. Don’t worry about liberals. … Pray for them because they’re on a downward path. They need your prayers, your love, your forgiveness. God needs your zeal.”