Staying in the Church Without Going Crazy: Is It Possible?
February 12, 2019 by Ellie Harty.
Save
Share4
Well, to answer the question with a shaky “yes”, I often have to turn to those with thoughts much wiser than mine. Brian Cahill on SemNet Live in February 2015 tackled the topic in Our Troubled Church and Why Some of Us Stay and helped reacquaint me with some of that wisdom.
He quotes Michael Leach who says in Why Stay Catholic:
“Catholicism seen through the eye of a needle is a religion of rules and regulations. Seen with sacramental imagination, it is a unique take on life, a holy vision, a way of seeing the chosen part of things… The church has changed. It is changing. It will change. After the dust settles, the gold will remain.”
Hans Kung adds extra depth from his great work, On Being a Christian:
“Then why stay? Because, despite everything, in this community of faith critically but jointly we can affirm a great history on which we live with so many others. Because, as members of this community, we ourselves are the Church and should not confuse it with its machinery and administrators, still less leave the latter to shape the community. Because, however serious the objections, we have a found here a spiritual home in which we can face the great questions of the whence and whither, the why and wherefore, of man and the world. We would no more turn our backs on it than on democracy in politics, which in its own way is misused and abused no less than the Church.”
Photo: Paul Buckowski, Albany Times Union
Henri Nouwen weighs in:
“Life is full of brokenness, broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful, except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives.”
Brian Cahill adds: “Many of our church leaders are broken, but are they any more broken than many of our political leaders? And are they any more broken than we are?”
Cahill’s favorite, he says, is Fr. Ron Rolheiser who wrote in The Holy Longing:
“To be connected to the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers and hypocrites of every kind. It also at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race and gender. To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of the soul…”
That last quote celebrates the Church’s great inclusion of just about everyone – except, of course, women and all genders in full ministry and leadership – in its flawed beloved community.
My “yes” to staying is still rather shaky. But I’m working on it – we’re working on it – and that is infinitely comforting.
AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to PrintShare to Email AppShare to More16
This entry was posted in #achurchforourdaughters, General, Women's Ordination. Bookmark the permalink. Ellie Harty View all posts by Ellie Harty.
2 comments on “Staying in the Church Without Going Crazy: Is It Possible?”
Jacinta says:
Thank you for those helpful quotes. I stay because I absolutely need the Eucharist and all the sacraments to strengthen me on my journey. I feel the need to be able to offer the sacraments to others, too. If I were to ask another church to ordain me, I don’t think I would ever feel fulfilled. I need Christ in the sacraments and for that I’m willing to keep fighting for the Church to listen to the desires of the Holy Spirit.
Luis Gutierrez says:
Hang in there! Patriarchal gender ideology is deeply ingrained and intertwined with religious doctrines. We are dealing with the first and most universal consequence of original sin (cf. Genesis 3:16). Dismantling ecclesiastical patriarchy will be a dust storm, get ready for a long journey with zero visibility and no guiding light except the candle that burns in the heart.
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment
Name *
Email *
Website
Please enter an answer in digits:
two × one =