The Church of Silence
I need to preface this post by stating that I am not a Catholic. I'm married to a Catholic, who does not practice, and have several close family members who practice faithfully. So I do not speak as a lay person, but I do have insight.That said, what happened on Friday to Fr. Tom Reese was wrong.
The fact that it broke on Friday, a slow news day in front of a slow news weekend, was undoubtedly an optimistic effort to shove the whole mess under the collective Vatican rug before Monday, when something fresher would be certain to capture the media's alleged attention.
Father Tom is, or rather was, the seven year editor of America magazine, a leading publication regarding Catholic thought and opinion. The degree in which his peers hold him in respect is commanding. Here's a few quotes:
“Father Tom is no loose cannon and no flaming liberal or radical, but a trusted and knowledgeable expert on a broad range of Catholic issues. In his job at America magazine he has proved himself as a moderate and extremely fair-minded editor who has taken meticulous care to balance any articles on controversial topics with perspectives from all different viewpoints. That always included a clear representation of the church’s teaching on any given issue. That, nonetheless, he is being forced out for providing that kind of forum for intelligent debate on issues of concern to American Catholics today sends a chilling message." -- Meinrad Scherer-Emunds , U.S. Catholic Magazine
Reese is an exemplary Christian, a model priest and a Jesuit in the best of that order’s tradition of robust thought and dedicated scholarship. A political scientist by training, he has written some of the most authoritative and objective studies of the hierarchy yet published. -- National Catholic Reporter, editorial
Reese, professionals across the spectrum say, is a moderate and mild man. No raging anarchist, no raving heretic. He is a thoughtful man, a fair man and a competent one. He is a scholar and writer, a person who examines a subject from multiple perspectives so that others can do the same. He provides the background ideas people need to come to clear, firm conclusions of their own. He is, in other words, a good journalist. -- Sister Joan Chittister
Over the past five years, Fr. Tom Reese oversaw articles published on some touchy subjects including condoms, gay priests, perceived foot dragging over theological discipline, pro-choice American politicians, and Dominus Iesus (a 2000 Vatican document by then-Cardinal Ratzinger that clarified the Church's position as the one true Christian Church, causing controversy among non-Catholic Christian denominations and Jews, and slowing forward progress made towards these groups). The America magazine articles opened dialogue and referred to church teachings in the discussion of these topics, many of them complex or emotionally complicated.
The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is the group responsible for the ultimate removal of Father Tom, after applying pressure for five years. The Congregation during that time was headed up by Cardinal Ratzinger. In 2002 the Congregation proposed a three member censor board for the magazine, a control device that was rigorously debated against by the magazine. Reese ultimately resigned May 6, 2005 when faced with the choice of leaving or accepting a censor board.
Discussion regarding Ratzinger's (now Pope Benedict XVI) involvement is ongoing, but without credible evidence I am not ready to render an opinion.
I am, however, ready to ask some questions.
What, exactly, is the Church afraid of? Is an informed laity a threat? Is it a consensus that if these issues are removed from the public forum, they will no longer be discussed? Is that really realistic? Is quashing conversation going to attract and keep young people in the Church? Do they believe a muzzle is a tool for teaching or understand it is simply for control?
I believe that asking questions of ourselves and of our beliefs is how we strip our defenses, admit our vulnerabilities and achieve humility in our individual quest for spirituality. Defining and releasing our baggage is part of finding faith. It's hard as hell to do.
Practitioners of Catholicism must do it in increasing silence. A door to faith, in the form of intellectual discovery, has slammed shut.
posted by Jet @ 3:23 PM
8 Comments:
The Vatican has a very large and lumpy carpet, and it hasn't been cleaned underneath for centuries.
Should they be released, the ghosts, gobblins, skeletons, and the like collected therein would terrify us all into oblivion, I am sure.
I think it important for us to remember that, bottom line, the Vatican is first and foremost, a powerful political entity - above and beyond a religious one, and that the pope is a political leader. Even the eating of fish on Friday is about an historical order from the Vatican to do so in order to save a failing fishing industry - and has nothing to do with those two loaves of bread and the fish of biblical report. So this is not surprising...I think it is simply a beginning of the goings on we can expect from Ben 16.
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Doesn't it feel like debate even if it is fair and balanced, is being stifled?
This is exactly what I was afraid of when I found out that the most likely pope would be Ratzinger. I am willing to give him a chance, but so far I am not impressed. His plans seem very clear. He wants to turn the clock back in time and get rid of vatican II.
Blogger ate my previous comment, one which struck that perfect balance between other's comments and furthering the debate. SIGH...
Sally, that's precisely it. If vigorous intellectual exchange is vital to spiritual discovery, why remove it from play?
Windspike and frstlyml, that carpet is indeed troubling, in as much as it represents the all too human side of organized religion. A single human fault may not merit much notice, but times that by a multitude, and the holes really start to show. There are some very good, truly pious people in the church, but not all of them.
Lina, I wrote on your blog that I too was willing to give Ratzinger an opportunity before forming an opinion. But I find this, so newly into his papacy, troubling. This smacks of an old vendetta, rather than inspired leadership. I sincerly hope that I'm wrong, but I will continue to watch carefully.
I too was worried about Ratzinger becoming the new Pope because of his hard line stance against all things not Catholic. We need a fresh perspective and new ideas to keep the faithful as such, and Ratzinger is not the one to do it. The more people cry out for moderation, consideration and equal exchange of ideas, the tighter and more turned in to themselves our Catholic leaders become. The lumpy rug has become a mountain of obfuscation. Thank God for people like Sister Chittister!
This is the same institution that ran the Inquisitions for over 400 years, just beneath the skin they are ready to do it again.
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