I'm currently in summer session and am taking a really interesting class called Christian Religious Education and the Adolescent/Young Adult....no I really don't think they could make the title any longer! Today the prof brought up a statement made by the Pope the other day. He said something to the effect that all other denominations that are not of the Catholic faith are wounded and are not full/whole. So naturally many people in the class were outraged ( in a calm type way thankfully) and a discussion was started. It was brought up that this new guy Benedict has just trashed decades worth of work that Pope Jean Paul accomplished in trying to unite denominations. Somehow though, and I couldn't really begin to explain it, the prof explained the language used by the Pope in a way that was no longer "churchese" but was clear to all of us, including those of a secular upbringing. The thing is that so many people are without someone to explain what this statement really means. We need to be able to understand it from a catholic faith understanding to really get what it means. In the end I agreed with the statement. But again, just saying that could get people riles up so I will attempt to give the short version. Its unfortunate that messages like these go out to the world without clear explanation. I wonder what if any repercussions might be from those who like me took offense to it?
The statement says that other churches are not full churches. The Catholic church follows manifestos that include community(how do we take care of our weakest), humanness (how Christ is reflected in us), hospitality(how we are when we are at our best), rationality(find and embrace truth wherever it is found), Justice (maintaining relationships with all people), Sacramentality( God is mediated through all things, a sense of balance), tradition(faith of the living, the living faith of the dead), and spirituality (living in the here and now and finding what you are seeking). Without even one of these concepts a church is not considered whole, or full. So from the Catholic point of view I can agree that many churches do not concentrate on all of these manifestos. From the Catholic point of view this is what the Pope was pointing out in his speech, that churches are missing something. That which makes a church Catholic is missing from protestant churches. When you think about it...its almost redundant! Really? A Protestant church isn't Catholic? Go figure?!
4 comments:
Even as a Lutheran (though an increasingly "poor" one at that) I love the Catholic church. tehy have so pretty wiked theology and traditions backing them up. problem is like that statement alot of that goodness gets lost in the message, though I can't say lutherans, or most others, as a whole are doing much better.
It is interesting how often we tend to hear something once and take offense before fully realizing what it actually means (which may not be offensive at all). That being said, I believe the only true wholeness cannot be found in any one church or any one denomination even with near perfect theology and tradition. We can only find wholeness in Jesus. The problem is that we sometimes lose sight or distort his teachings to suit our own likes, dislikes, traditions, comfort level etc. We live in a broken world....even when we strive to become whole, we seem to break it again. Thankfully, our Lord is whole and loves us even in our brokenness....okay enough sermonizing for me.
well said Jenn!
I agree, well said Tim and Jenn. There are lots of folks who just like reacting against the Pope and the Catholic Church. I admire the foundation/history/tradition of the Catholic church and I can't wait to be re-united with them as the One Church of Jesus Christ!
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