I often get extremely disheartened at the
way the Church is under constant attack from within. I accept that the Church
will naturally be subjected to constant attacks from outside, as Satan frantically
and desperately attempts to destroy the Church. However, I find it extremely heart
breaking to come to terms with the fact that so many attacks that take place on
the Church, come from within the Church.
These attacks, from within the Church, take so
many clever guises and they are sadly always presented as being for the greater
good of the Church and, of course, in accordance with the will of Christ. Those
who engage in these attacks on the Church generally muster the support of very
intelligent and highly persuasive individuals to help their cause. It is therefore
often very difficult, at face value, for ordinary Catholics to recognise the attack
on the Church for what it really is. On the contrary, it is in fact quite easy
for the ordinary Catholic like me to fall into the trap of believing that what
is being proposed is extremely reasonable and therefore actually acceptable.
This is clearly, what they hope to achieve.
Those intent on attacking the Church also rally
the support of priests, religious, and theologians for their cause. This is
done specifically to give their cause added credibility and to increase the
extreme difficulty that ordinary Catholics already have in trying to discern
the truth. It is quite horrifying that these priests, religious, and
theologians allow themselves to be used in this way.
What is equally horrifying is not only that priests,
religious, and theologians are engaged in this way, but also that on many
occasions these attacks on the Church are actually organised and managed
directly from the premises of the Church. Once again, how does the ordinary
Catholic differentiate what is of the Church and deserving of support or not,
when the attack comes directly from the Church premises?
Let’s not forget to mention of course how
the Catholic newspapers today serve as one of the biggest and most successful
platforms from which to launch an attack on the Church, all fooled by the
belief that as a ‘newspaper’ they have some sort of ethical duty to provide a
voice for all, just like a secular newspaper would do.
The complete and utterly shameless ways that
are used to enable ordinary everyday Catholics to be deceived must leave us
with no doubt whatsoever that a firm and no nonsense response is required to
protect the Church and its members. We cannot allow this to continue unchecked because,
if we do, we are increasing the probability of one of our children, our family
or our friends being exposed to their treachery and succumbing to their false
teaching. This is an extremely serious matter and we must, as quickly as
possible, oust those who attempt to attack the Church from within. This is
literally a matter of life and death.
This will of course not be easy. Often these
efforts will be complicated by accusations that those doing the ousting are
behaving uncharitably. One has only to read the comment section of any Catholic
newspaper to see this in action. Take note of the comments in reaction to the person
who has the courage to speak the truth. Seldom is any effort made to address
the contents of the person’s response itself. This is because they frankly have
no interest in dialogue, despite what they may say.
Instead, their only objective is to
embarrass and humiliate the person in order to silence him or her. They do so
by branding him or her as uncharitable, confrontational, disrespectful, bully
and many other hurtful labels. They firstly want any others reading the
comments to be too afraid to even consider supporting the person. Further, they
hope, and sadly, they’re often successful, that the person will simply ‘run
away’ from their bitter and hurtful attack. Their behaviour is intent on
silencing the person at all costs while of course maintaining the perception
that they are the victims in the entire matter.
If this behaviour does not stop the person
then they will begin with the next range of options: censor and delete the
person’s comments; enlist people to address ‘letters of complaint’ to the
newspaper about the allegedly hurtful and confrontational content, in order to get
the person banned completely.
The reason that these attacks on the Church generally
continue, despite the fact that many Catholics actually find them unacceptable,
is that most people naturally want to avoid any unpleasantness. Life is tough
enough without having to complicate it any further and it is this sentiment
that is exactly what these groups are banking on. They persist because they
have shown that more often than not, they can simply wear other people down and
in that way get their own way.
Consider Pope Benedict’s words during his
homily at the Chrism Mass earlier this year. Speaking about those who simply
refuse to obey the Church’s teaching on the ordination of women and who persist
in this regard, Pope Benedict says: “Do
we sense here anything of that configuration to Christ which is the precondition
for all true renewal, or do we merely sense a desperate push to do something to
change the Church in accordance with one’s own preferences and ideas?”[i]
This morning’s gospel reading does of course
always give me great comfort whenever I become disheartened and despondent at
this constant attacking of the Church. It is very short so I will repeat it
below.
“In the evening the disciples went down to the shore of the lake and got
into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the lake. It was getting
dark by now and Jesus had still not rejoined them. The wind was strong, and the
sea was getting rough. They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Jesus
walking on the lake and coming towards the boat. This frightened them, but he
said, ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’ They were for taking him into the boat, but in
no time it reached the shore at the place they were making for.”[ii]
It is nice to be reminded that despite the
winds of persecution that the Church constantly faces from every side, even
sometimes, like the waves, breaking into the boat, Christ is always their with
His Church. He will ensure that the Church will not be deviated from course and
the Church will arrive, on time, at its planned destination, with all of those
who remained faithful and safely within her.
We need Catholics to realise that they must be prepared to stand
their ground and remain in the boat, despite being battered with unflattering
and hurtful labels, because the destination is so truly magnificent
and worth it.
