Faith or the follower: Wherein lies our trust?

Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger

Do some people hate the Catholic Church? This I would find hard to dispute, or to offer defense against many of their reasons. Though not said in so many words, many feel disappointment, frustration, hurt or even revulsion for “the institution.” Jews and Muslims as well — recently Mormons — are all subjects of invective, typically for the behaviors of some who claim to follow a certain religion. Some even reject all “established” religion as divisive and dangerous. They cite violence and oppression committed in the name of a religion or religious belief. History is rife with examples of atrocities committed in the name of a religion — or against a religion or religious groups. Some conclude that religion itself is the cause. Yet history also shows that attempts to eliminate any religion or religious group — typically based on atheistic ideologies — also result in heinous actions, including genocide. 

Catholicism is not unique in its record of good and bad actors, saints and sinners alike. Jesus himself was betrayed by one of his closest disciples and, in the end, only one stood by him at the foot of the cross. If we are to judge the legitimacy of our faith only by the behavior of any of its followers, we might have a hard time defending it. Yet is it not fair to be asked and challenged, are we living by what our faith teaches or what we prefer it did?

“The Church says, but I think …” How often have I heard that or similar introductions to an attempted response to questions on what we believe and teach as a Church. Church doctrine is clear. We have a magisterium that preserves and defends it. Even a wayward remark of a priest, a bishop — even a pope, context-free — can be measured and critiqued against a deposit of faith that is quite solid and consistent, although open to development. 

It is hard to deny that many of the arguments against the Catholic Church as a positive and beneficent presence in our world are, at least in part, tied to certain moral positions on human rights, sexuality and individual autonomy which, some may feel, run counter to contemporary social and cultural norms. The defense of the institution of marriage, for example, as a lifelong, faithful partnership between a man and woman, fundamentally ordered toward the procreation and education of other human beings, and as a constitutive element of social stability, remains solid and uncompromised. Against that teaching, however, can easily be cited all too many examples of infidelity and abuse both from within and outside the family unit, including clergy. 

To paraphrase what Christian moral theology holds, flesh is not weak but strong. Only the Sacrament of Marriage can contain it. I recall the priest hearing Lara’s confession in the film “Doctor Zhivago” counseling that. C.S. Lewis wrote similarly. G.K. Chesterton said Christianity “restrains passion and thereby saves it.” Does this translate into a faith of “no’s” or rather one that seeks to keep us from going off the rails and losing our humanity. With so many fleeing from marital commitment in our day, do we not see more parentless children, men and women without faithful partners, deep loneliness and emotional insecurity? Is it fair to attribute such disorders to religion, to any one religion for that matter — or to its absence? Is the problem the faith itself — what it teaches about marriage or other important moral matters — or the faithfulness thereto of those who claim to be its followers? Maybe it is more as Chesterton opines, that “(t)he Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”

A certain human resistance to following a sound path that may be difficult, though not impossible, is often obfuscated by complaints that our faith is but a catalogue of rules and regulations, of “thou shalt nots.” Another way to look at it, however, is that our faith appeals to the highest of human aspirations, to love and be loved, to generate and cherish human lives, to experience loyalties and commitments that are faithful and lasting, to never be abandoned or left alone. Yes, this is difficult to achieve, but grace builds on nature — and nature certainly moves us in these directions or at least inspires us to. 

We may fail many times, but faith that is also rooted in a belief in a merciful and forgiving God also invites us to show that same mercy and forgiveness to one another and never lose hope despite our failures. If we focus only on the woeful behavior of the sinners among us — and who will cast the first stone? — and not on the faith itself, which is really in the person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then we will surely be disappointed.

Bishop Fulton Sheen once remarked, “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” I cannot say that I fully share his optimism. The increased awareness of the scandalous behaviors of some of those who call themselves Christians — or, let me be blunt, Catholics, particularly some clergy — gives cause for many to question whether they want to be members of our family. It pains me deeply to think of how effectively the Evil One, with whom some among us have sadly cooperated, has discouraged many or deprived them of the very sacramental life flowing from the wounds of our crucified Savior by the behavior of those through whom he humbled himself to carry on his own mission to bring everyone home to heaven. 

It may be helpful to bear in mind that the effectiveness of the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacrament of Penance — or any other sacrament — is in no way enhanced or diminished by the personal moral or spiritual state of the priest who ministers it. We can count on the Real Presence of Christ, sacramentally and substantially in the Holy Eucharist and mystically in the Body of Christ, the worldwide ecclesial communion, and the Communion of Saints we are a part of. This presence may not be obvious in an ill-prepared homily of the celebrant, the stubbornness of the person at the end of the pew that one had to crawl over to find a place, but if we look to the faith itself, hanging on to the cross rather than any one follower, we may find solace, even at times when we feel frustrated and disillusioned.