The media are again having a field day with the latest news about the Catholic Church. The Vatican is investigating an organization of Catholic nuns for straying from official Church teaching.
This group was criticized for promoting “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”
However, the media often oversimplifies complex issues. A TV network reporter covering the story noted that this wasn’t the first time the group had allegedly departed from the teaching of the bishops.
In referring to the HHS mandate, the reporter said: “The nuns wanted heath care; the bishops didn’t.” This oversimplification is truly breathtaking.
Catholics have become accustomed to media attention, with sexual abuse by priests, calls for ordination of women, and the latest dust-up over the HHS mandate being the fodder for the nightly news.
In some cases, the media attention is warranted. The crimes of a few priests regarding children, as well as their subsequent cover-up, are nothing short of shameful.
Sunlight is indeed the best disinfectant.
Down through the ages, the Church has stumbled and fallen from time to time. It can take the perspective of years, if not centuries, to sort things out and accurately evaluate the situation.
Case in point: Pius XII has been accused of insufficiently helping the Jews during World War II. In July 1942, the Dutch bishops protested the treatment of Jews in their country. As a reprisal, the roundup of Dutch Jews increased and some went into hiding, including Anne Frank’s family.
Defenders of the pope cite this as a reason for Pius’ quiet behind-the-scenes work of saving Jews. We may never know the full story in our lifetime.
As with any large institution, the Church suffers from a certain amount of institutional inertia. In the past few centuries, it has had to deal with both the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment, to name but a few challenges. Sometimes, radical new developments catch it off-guard. It takes time to change institutional thinking.
In 1745, a papal pronouncement denounced the practice of charging interest, or usury, as it was called. Medieval thinkers had explained that money was a medium of exchange and “not fertile,” in the words of Aristotle. With the advent of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution, the entire theory of economics would change, as would the Church.
The Church has also become involved in areas beyond its expertise, such as the prosecution of Galileo for his espousing the heliocentric theory. Prohibitions against the reading of heliocentric literature finally disappeared in 1835.
The Church has been ahead of the curve in terms of social teaching.
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum, which is considered to be the foundation of Christian Social Teaching. Topics such as social inequality, workers’ rights, a living wage, and unions were treated at length. It was written when the American Progressive movement was coming into full flower.
In 1968, Pope Paul VI published Humanae Vitae, probably the most controversial of modern papal pronouncements. In it, he reaffirmed the Church’s prohibition against artificial birth control. If society were to adopt artificial contraception, he predicted a growth in martial infidelity, a general lowering of moral standards and the use of women as mere instruments to satisfy male desires. As a result, respect due to women would suffer. He also predicted dire consequences if governments were to adopt policies favoring artificial contraception.
His predictions are proving correct.
While the Church has had, and will continue to have problems, it also recognizes its role as a “stumbling block,” or a “sign of contradiction.” Doctrinally, it has never taken the easy way and expects rejection from many quarters.
In its long history, the Church has always grappled with problems and controversy. Its founder was also controversial.
But it will survive, learn and grow from its mistakes.
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