The news has been rampant recently about yet another sex abuse case within the Roman Catholic Church. What makes this particular case so different is its link with Pope Benedict XVI. Back when Joseph Ratzinger was a Cardinal, this particular priest was brought to his office (since he was in charge of overseeing this particular problem within the Church). Instead of the priest being handed to authorities (since the abuse of minors is a crime, in addition to a sin), he was ordered to undergo psychiatric therapy. When transferred to a different parish, the priest continued to abuse minors.
This problem within the Church has been a thorn in its side. It has been an insidious cancer in the Christian faith amongst those who follow the Catholic tradition. This particular aspect of the Church, among a few others, is the reason why the Church has such a bad reputation in the world. How can the children of God - that is the entire world - be fed with the Gospel if the vineyard of God is not all that welcoming? How can we expect people to allow their old ways to die and renew themselves in faith, hope, and love if the harvest is bearing bad fruit?
I have come to believe that more people will get turned off from attending church than be reasoned away from it. While there are many different things that I feel need reform, I will stick with the lone issue of sex abuse. There is a difference between being a sinner and being a criminal. It's really simple, if a priest, a deacon, a bishop, a cardinal, or the pope himself for that matter, commits such a desolating sin - like child sex abuse - not only should he not be allowed to hold the position anymore, but he should be turned over to police. Instead of trying to cover its tracks, the Church should be have a more open-door policy towards her adherents.
People don't want secrecy, they want openness. Jesus did not hold secrets. Unlike the Jewish high priests who later played a role in his crucifixion, Jesus was open and indeed opened the door to the kingdom of heaven. He opened people's eyes and hearts to the truth instead of holding the truth to himself and only giving out pre-selected information.
I'm not saying that those who commit the sin should be kicked out of the church altogether, but just as a shepherd should not commit inappropriate acts with his sheep, the pastors and associate pastors of these parishes should not be committing inappropriate acts with the parishioners, let alone their children.
So kick them out of the priesthood. That will surely send a message to those who are not pure of heart and yet are thinking of attending seminary. If a priest sins, it will be all right because no fully mortal man is without sin. But just as you wouldn't allow a priest who commits murder continue in his post, neither should one who has done this. You want to give a true apology? Show the people that you are cleaning house and ensuring it will not happen anymore.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Faith Above Politics...Always
For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a big fan of Glenn Beck's radio program. As far as his Fox News program is concerned, I am a sporatic fan, because after Beck's switch from CNN to Fox News, the radio host gradually turned away from his libertarianism and transformed into the typical Fox News neo-conservative type that I have come to despise in American politics.
Earlier this month, the host had a few things to say about the role of church and American politics. In essence, because of his mounting fear of progressivism, the former libertarian began denouncing churches that promoted social justice.
According to Beck, the words "social justice" are "code words" for Nazism and communism. He later urged Christians to discuss the terms with their priests and to leave their churches if leaders would not reconsider their emphasis on social justice.
This got me thinking about the number of Americans who put country before God, when in reality, it should be the direct opposite. They are part of the Church of the United States, a faith that claims to place its trust in God, when in reality it breaks the first commandment in its idolatry of individual and constitutional rights.
Glenn Beck is a Mormon and at times talks about how his conversion to that faith helped him battle his earlier alcoholism. Throwing aside all theological arguments, can the Mormons continue to claim they are a Christian church while totally shunning issues of social and economic justice? Perhaps it isn't a Mormon teaching (that could be the case since I am not a religious scholar). Perhaps it's Mr. Beck's idolization of American constitutionalism. But the question stands, can Mr. Beck be a true Christian if he does not believe that social justice is a major issue in our world?
Despite all of the changes he has gone through since his conversion to the Fox News machine, Mr. Beck continues to profess that he is a libertarian and that he is a Christian.
Well, I'm a libertarian, and I don't think that true libertarianism throws social justice out the window. We may believe that the government is not effective enough in its assitance in regards to social justice, but certainly, libertarians understand that it is through churches and through non-profit organizations that these issues can be addressed.
One of the major issues that the Roman Catholic Church addresses are issues of social justice. The Archdiocese of Miami has an Office of Social Advocacy whose purpose is to promote "social justice and anti-poverty initiatives through legislative advocacy, and seeks to connect the works of faith and justice throughout the Archdiocese of Miami...[and]coordinates the Archdiocesan response to emergency needs both at home and abroad." So I guess the Catholic Church and its billion adherents are a bunch of Commies. I guess I'm a Commie, but then again, I don't agree much with Communism.
So yes. Despite being labeled as a "sick, twisted freak" for listening to Glenn Beck, I still consider myself a libertarian. However, before I am a libertarian, I am an American.
Before I am an American, I am a Catholic.
Before I am a Catholic, I am a Christian.
And in the end, all my decisions and all of my opinions are going to based on that last fact. And if social justice is not on your list of priorities, that's when you should reconsider your church's stance on social justice. Christianity without social justice is not Christianity at all.
Earlier this month, the host had a few things to say about the role of church and American politics. In essence, because of his mounting fear of progressivism, the former libertarian began denouncing churches that promoted social justice.
According to Beck, the words "social justice" are "code words" for Nazism and communism. He later urged Christians to discuss the terms with their priests and to leave their churches if leaders would not reconsider their emphasis on social justice.
This got me thinking about the number of Americans who put country before God, when in reality, it should be the direct opposite. They are part of the Church of the United States, a faith that claims to place its trust in God, when in reality it breaks the first commandment in its idolatry of individual and constitutional rights.
Glenn Beck is a Mormon and at times talks about how his conversion to that faith helped him battle his earlier alcoholism. Throwing aside all theological arguments, can the Mormons continue to claim they are a Christian church while totally shunning issues of social and economic justice? Perhaps it isn't a Mormon teaching (that could be the case since I am not a religious scholar). Perhaps it's Mr. Beck's idolization of American constitutionalism. But the question stands, can Mr. Beck be a true Christian if he does not believe that social justice is a major issue in our world?
Despite all of the changes he has gone through since his conversion to the Fox News machine, Mr. Beck continues to profess that he is a libertarian and that he is a Christian.
Well, I'm a libertarian, and I don't think that true libertarianism throws social justice out the window. We may believe that the government is not effective enough in its assitance in regards to social justice, but certainly, libertarians understand that it is through churches and through non-profit organizations that these issues can be addressed.
One of the major issues that the Roman Catholic Church addresses are issues of social justice. The Archdiocese of Miami has an Office of Social Advocacy whose purpose is to promote "social justice and anti-poverty initiatives through legislative advocacy, and seeks to connect the works of faith and justice throughout the Archdiocese of Miami...[and]coordinates the Archdiocesan response to emergency needs both at home and abroad." So I guess the Catholic Church and its billion adherents are a bunch of Commies. I guess I'm a Commie, but then again, I don't agree much with Communism.
So yes. Despite being labeled as a "sick, twisted freak" for listening to Glenn Beck, I still consider myself a libertarian. However, before I am a libertarian, I am an American.
Before I am an American, I am a Catholic.
Before I am a Catholic, I am a Christian.
And in the end, all my decisions and all of my opinions are going to based on that last fact. And if social justice is not on your list of priorities, that's when you should reconsider your church's stance on social justice. Christianity without social justice is not Christianity at all.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
What is Justice?
"Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our life in light of the teachings of the Gospel. This year, I would like to offer you some reflections on the great theme of justice, beginning from the Pauline affirmation: 'The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ' (cf. Rm 3, 21-22).
Justice: 'dare cuique suum'
First of all, I want to consider the meaning of the term 'justice,' which in common usage implies 'to render to every man his due,' according to the famous expression of Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century. In reality, however, this classical definition does not specify what 'due' is to be rendered to each person. What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law. In order to live life to the full, something more intimate is necessary that can be granted only as a gift: we could say that man lives by that love which only God can communicate since He created the human person in His image and likeness. Material goods are certainly useful and required – indeed Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine – yet 'distributive' justice does not render to the human being the totality of his 'due.' Just as man needs bread, so does man have even more need of God. Saint Augustine notes: if 'justice is that virtue which gives every one his due ... where, then, is the justice of man, when he deserts the true God?' (De civitate Dei, XIX, 21).
What is the Cause of Injustice?
The Evangelist Mark reports the following words of Jesus, which are inserted within the debate at that time regarding what is pure and impure: 'There is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him … What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts' (Mk 7, 14-15, 20-21). Beyond the immediate question concerning food, we can detect in the reaction of the Pharisees a permanent temptation within man: to situate the origin of evil in an exterior cause. Many modern ideologies deep down have this presupposition: since injustice comes 'from outside,' in order for justice to reign, it is sufficient to remove the exterior causes that prevent it being achieved. This way of thinking – Jesus warns – is ingenuous and shortsighted. Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil. With bitterness the Psalmist recognises this: 'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me' (Ps 51,7). Indeed, man is weakened by an intense influence, which wounds his capacity to enter into communion with the other. By nature, he is open to sharing freely, but he finds in his being a strange force of gravity that makes him turn in and affirm himself above and against others: this is egoism, the result of original sin. Adam and Eve, seduced by Satan’s lie, snatching the mysterious fruit against the divine command, replaced the logic of trusting in Love with that of suspicion and competition; the logic of receiving and trustfully expecting from the Other with anxiously seizing and doing on one’s own (cf. Gn 3, 1-6), experiencing, as a consequence, a sense of disquiet and uncertainty. How can man free himself from this selfish influence and open himself to love?
Justice and Sedaqah
At the heart of the wisdom of Israel, we find a profound link between faith in God who 'lifts the needy from the ash heap' (Ps 113,7) and justice towards one’s neighbor. The Hebrew word itself that indicates the virtue of justice, sedaqah, expresses this well. Sedaqah, in fact, signifies on the one hand full acceptance of the will of the God of Israel; on the other hand, equity in relation to one’s neighbour (cf. Ex 20, 12-17), especially the poor, the stranger, the orphan and the widow (cf. Dt 10, 18-19). But the two meanings are linked because giving to the poor for the Israelite is none other than restoring what is owed to God, who had pity on the misery of His people. It was not by chance that the gift to Moses of the tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai took place after the crossing of the Red Sea. Listening to the Law presupposes faith in God who first 'heard the cry' of His people and “came down to deliver them out of hand of the Egyptians” (cf. Ex 3,8). God is attentive to the cry of the poor and in return asks to be listened to: He asks for justice towards the poor (cf. Sir 4,4-5, 8-9), the stranger (cf. Ex 22,20), the slave (cf. Dt 15, 12-18). In order to enter into justice, it is thus necessary to leave that illusion of self-sufficiency, the profound state of closure, which is the very origin of injustice. In other words, what is needed is an even deeper 'exodus' than that accomplished by God with Moses, a liberation of the heart, which the Law on its own is powerless to realize. Does man have any hope of justice then?
Christ, the Justice of God
The Christian Good News responds positively to man’s thirst for justice, as Saint Paul affirms in the Letter to the Romans: 'But now the justice of God has been manifested apart from law … the justice of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith' (3, 21-25). What then is the justice of Christ? Above all, it is the justice that comes from grace, where it is not man who makes amends, heals himself and others. The fact that 'expiation' flows from the 'blood' of Christ signifies that it is not man’s sacrifices that free him from the weight of his faults, but the loving act of God who opens Himself in the extreme, even to the point of bearing in Himself the 'curse' due to man so as to give in return the 'blessing' due to God (cf. Gal 3, 13-14). But this raises an immediate objection: what kind of justice is this where the just man dies for the guilty and the guilty receives in return the blessing due to the just one? Would this not mean that each one receives the contrary of his 'due'? In reality, here we discover divine justice, which is so profoundly different from its human counterpart. God has paid for us the price of the exchange in His Son, a price that is truly exorbitant. Before the justice of the Cross, man may rebel for this reveals how man is not a self-sufficient being, but in need of Another in order to realize himself fully. Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship. So we understand how faith is altogether different from a natural, good-feeling, obvious fact: humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from 'what is mine,' to give me gratuitously 'what is His.' This happens especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and communion. Thanks to Christ’s action, we may enter into the 'greatest' justice, which is that of love (cf. Rm 13, 8-10), the justice that recognises itself in every case more a debtor than a creditor, because it has received more than could ever have been expected. Strengthened by this very experience, the Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.
Dear brothers and sisters, Lent culminates in the Paschal Triduum, in which this year, too, we shall celebrate divine justice – the fullness of charity, gift, salvation. May this penitential season be for every Christian a time of authentic conversion and intense knowledge of the mystery of Christ, who came to fulfill every justice. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you my blessing."
- Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten Message
Each year, on the occasion of Lent, the Church invites us to a sincere review of our life in light of the teachings of the Gospel. This year, I would like to offer you some reflections on the great theme of justice, beginning from the Pauline affirmation: 'The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ' (cf. Rm 3, 21-22).
Justice: 'dare cuique suum'
First of all, I want to consider the meaning of the term 'justice,' which in common usage implies 'to render to every man his due,' according to the famous expression of Ulpian, a Roman jurist of the third century. In reality, however, this classical definition does not specify what 'due' is to be rendered to each person. What man needs most cannot be guaranteed to him by law. In order to live life to the full, something more intimate is necessary that can be granted only as a gift: we could say that man lives by that love which only God can communicate since He created the human person in His image and likeness. Material goods are certainly useful and required – indeed Jesus Himself was concerned to heal the sick, feed the crowds that followed Him and surely condemns the indifference that even today forces hundreds of millions into death through lack of food, water and medicine – yet 'distributive' justice does not render to the human being the totality of his 'due.' Just as man needs bread, so does man have even more need of God. Saint Augustine notes: if 'justice is that virtue which gives every one his due ... where, then, is the justice of man, when he deserts the true God?' (De civitate Dei, XIX, 21).
What is the Cause of Injustice?
The Evangelist Mark reports the following words of Jesus, which are inserted within the debate at that time regarding what is pure and impure: 'There is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him … What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts' (Mk 7, 14-15, 20-21). Beyond the immediate question concerning food, we can detect in the reaction of the Pharisees a permanent temptation within man: to situate the origin of evil in an exterior cause. Many modern ideologies deep down have this presupposition: since injustice comes 'from outside,' in order for justice to reign, it is sufficient to remove the exterior causes that prevent it being achieved. This way of thinking – Jesus warns – is ingenuous and shortsighted. Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil. With bitterness the Psalmist recognises this: 'Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me' (Ps 51,7). Indeed, man is weakened by an intense influence, which wounds his capacity to enter into communion with the other. By nature, he is open to sharing freely, but he finds in his being a strange force of gravity that makes him turn in and affirm himself above and against others: this is egoism, the result of original sin. Adam and Eve, seduced by Satan’s lie, snatching the mysterious fruit against the divine command, replaced the logic of trusting in Love with that of suspicion and competition; the logic of receiving and trustfully expecting from the Other with anxiously seizing and doing on one’s own (cf. Gn 3, 1-6), experiencing, as a consequence, a sense of disquiet and uncertainty. How can man free himself from this selfish influence and open himself to love?
Justice and Sedaqah
At the heart of the wisdom of Israel, we find a profound link between faith in God who 'lifts the needy from the ash heap' (Ps 113,7) and justice towards one’s neighbor. The Hebrew word itself that indicates the virtue of justice, sedaqah, expresses this well. Sedaqah, in fact, signifies on the one hand full acceptance of the will of the God of Israel; on the other hand, equity in relation to one’s neighbour (cf. Ex 20, 12-17), especially the poor, the stranger, the orphan and the widow (cf. Dt 10, 18-19). But the two meanings are linked because giving to the poor for the Israelite is none other than restoring what is owed to God, who had pity on the misery of His people. It was not by chance that the gift to Moses of the tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai took place after the crossing of the Red Sea. Listening to the Law presupposes faith in God who first 'heard the cry' of His people and “came down to deliver them out of hand of the Egyptians” (cf. Ex 3,8). God is attentive to the cry of the poor and in return asks to be listened to: He asks for justice towards the poor (cf. Sir 4,4-5, 8-9), the stranger (cf. Ex 22,20), the slave (cf. Dt 15, 12-18). In order to enter into justice, it is thus necessary to leave that illusion of self-sufficiency, the profound state of closure, which is the very origin of injustice. In other words, what is needed is an even deeper 'exodus' than that accomplished by God with Moses, a liberation of the heart, which the Law on its own is powerless to realize. Does man have any hope of justice then?
Christ, the Justice of God
The Christian Good News responds positively to man’s thirst for justice, as Saint Paul affirms in the Letter to the Romans: 'But now the justice of God has been manifested apart from law … the justice of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith' (3, 21-25). What then is the justice of Christ? Above all, it is the justice that comes from grace, where it is not man who makes amends, heals himself and others. The fact that 'expiation' flows from the 'blood' of Christ signifies that it is not man’s sacrifices that free him from the weight of his faults, but the loving act of God who opens Himself in the extreme, even to the point of bearing in Himself the 'curse' due to man so as to give in return the 'blessing' due to God (cf. Gal 3, 13-14). But this raises an immediate objection: what kind of justice is this where the just man dies for the guilty and the guilty receives in return the blessing due to the just one? Would this not mean that each one receives the contrary of his 'due'? In reality, here we discover divine justice, which is so profoundly different from its human counterpart. God has paid for us the price of the exchange in His Son, a price that is truly exorbitant. Before the justice of the Cross, man may rebel for this reveals how man is not a self-sufficient being, but in need of Another in order to realize himself fully. Conversion to Christ, believing in the Gospel, ultimately means this: to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship. So we understand how faith is altogether different from a natural, good-feeling, obvious fact: humility is required to accept that I need Another to free me from 'what is mine,' to give me gratuitously 'what is His.' This happens especially in the sacraments of Reconciliation and communion. Thanks to Christ’s action, we may enter into the 'greatest' justice, which is that of love (cf. Rm 13, 8-10), the justice that recognises itself in every case more a debtor than a creditor, because it has received more than could ever have been expected. Strengthened by this very experience, the Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.
Dear brothers and sisters, Lent culminates in the Paschal Triduum, in which this year, too, we shall celebrate divine justice – the fullness of charity, gift, salvation. May this penitential season be for every Christian a time of authentic conversion and intense knowledge of the mystery of Christ, who came to fulfill every justice. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you my blessing."
- Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten Message
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