Certain of Uncertainty

"In these matters, the only certainty is that nothing is certain."

Spoken by the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder nearly two millenniums ago, those words have echoed in my head throughout the day as I began to ponder more and more about the effect that Father Alberto Cutié has had on the Christian community the past month or so. Ever since the news first came out that photographs were taken of him with his, now, fiance I have had a conflicted mind, heart, and feelings. I just have not been able to make any sense of the situation as far as what I think is the right course of action.

At first, I felt like what he did was insane. I was a supporter of clerical celibacy, as I still am as I read what St. Augustine once said about it:

"As for the proud minister, he is to be ranked with the devil. Christ's gift is not thereby profaned: what flows through him keeps its purity, and what passes through him remains clear and reaches the fertile earth...The spiritual power of the sacrament is indeed comparable to light: those to be enlightened receive its purity, and if it should pass through defiled beings, it is not itself defiled."

However, I realized soon afterwards that though I believe it is true, it should not necessarily be a requirement. You can read my thoughts about that here.

My new found feelings went into an extreme this weekend when Archbishop John Favarola issued a press release. There were certain phrases he used that really rubbed me the wrong way - so much that my status on Facebook read: "Gabriel Medina thinks John Favarola should step down. How's that for controversy?" Some of those phrases included that Father Cutié was now "professing an erroneous faith." No authentic Christian denomination, in my opinion (and I'm sure in God's opinion) is erroneous. There definitely may be erroneous elements to all of them, but that includes some erroneous aspects that lay within the Catholic Church as well.

Another phrase that irked me was that Father Cutié "may have abandoned [the parishioners of his former church]...but the Catholic Church will never abandon" them. Excuse me? You are telling me that the Catholic Church will never abandon me? This Catholic Church that has strayed from God's teachings so many times in the past? This Catholic Church that supported the Spanish Inquisition? This Catholic Church that supported the Crusades? This Catholic Church that felt it should lay its hands in all political matters and allow corruption from the fall of the Roman Empire through the end of the 18th century? This same Catholic Church that continues the awful act of excommunication?

While I am a Catholic, the term Catholic does not mean that I will not make the mistake of believing a man will not abandon me, be he Father Alberto Cutié or Pope Benedict XVI himself. I'm a Catholic because it is my best tool to maintain a strong relationship with the one who truly will not abandon me - the LORD.

However, when I got home from FIU this evening, I finally had a chance to read this article from the Miami Herald about Father Cutié's first mass with the Episcopal Church, and did not like what I read. Apparently, Father Cutié has been thinking about leaving the Catholic Church for a long time, but still continued on as usual. The fact that he had doubts is not what troubles me, it's the fact that he was having pre-marital relations with this woman, and it was for that reason alone that he knew things had to change, and that's what irks me about his decision. So many people leave different denominations for one small thing or the other.

"I don't agree with my church's view on abortion, so I'll join the United Methodists."

"I don't agree with my church's view on female ordination, so I'll join the Episcopal Church."

When you are switching denominations so frequently, it almost seems as if you are looking for a God who conforms to your views, rather than conforming to the views of your God. Which one of those do you think makes more sense in the greater scheme of things?

I brought up Pliny the Elder's quote at the beginning of this blog because I do not know how to feel about the Father Cutié situation anymore. There are so many conflicting feelings in my heart and mind. But, perhaps it's best to leave it alone, just like I hope the Catholic Church will. Just let him go. Stop talking about him. Stop continuing this distraction that leads the discussion away from the LORD and towards a man who is merely...well...a man.

Father Cutié has made his decision. Let's forget about this mess already.