Hypocrisy And Mercy

 

Hypocrisy is a universal experience. Every human being at some point in their lives realises that in some areas of their lives they could be classed as hypocrites. Certainly every night as I examine my conscience and every time I sit in the queue waiting to go to confession I realise that I am a hypocrite – a hypocrite in the sense that I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I so often fall short of it: I sin and fail to live up to the standard the Lord and Master has laid down for his disciples. Am I alone in that? Not at all – every disciple of Christ fails to live up to the Gospel. But rather than dumping the Gospel and giving way to hedonism and immorality, we strive to live the Gospel more perfectly, and with God’s grace, one day we will. In this the Saints serve as wonderful examples, they encourage us and pray for us. And of course that most wonderful of sacraments, confession, helps us in our struggle.
 

As men and women convinced of the truth of the Gospel we proclaim it and its values as men and women who are trying to live it. We recommend it to others, we defend it and we remind society that it is true, good and just. We offer the examples of the Saints as the Gospel in flesh, and so while we fall, those we proclaim the Gospel to can see that as we struggle to stay true to the truth, those holy ones who have gone before us have won the race. To men and women of goodwill struggling with their own fallen humanity the Gospel becomes a light, and even the disciples of Jesus, human and broken as they are, also serve as examples – those considering becoming Christian can see that you do not have to be perfect, to be a saint, to join, but in the communion of the Church we all journey together and struggle together, striving to become perfect, to become saints.
 

Failing to live the moral law perfectly does not negate the moral law, it just reveals that there are people who fail to live up to it. As followers of Christ we believe in forgiveness and the possibility of starting again, so much so that one who once broke the moral law could in time become its defender.  
 

Of course the disciples of Christ are not the only ones who realise they are hypocrites in some shape or form. All men and women of good will know they fail to live up to ideals while they still promote these ideals for the betterment of society and human flourishing. Indeed the only ones who will not feel the sting of conscience in this area are those who have no ideals, or those who have deluded themselves into thinking they are perfect, or those who are just bad and do not care. A society which has no ideals is one on the edge of despair; a society that cannot embrace the idea that people can change their lives and improve is already in despair.
 

Why these thoughts? Well, the recent revelation that Cardinal Keith O’Brien has admitted he committed the sins he was accused of. The media have been circling and accusing him of hypocrisy: as he opposes the gay agenda now, they see him as a hypocrite given his own moral failures. Yes, he may well be – and as such he now joins the rest of the world. The media’s solution? Discard Christian teaching, get rid of celibacy and assent to the gay agenda. In other words, throw the baby out with the bathwater and embrace wild abandon: the solution of a society in despair.
 

But we as Christians say: no, we won’t. Not even this will distract us from the Gospel and the teaching of the Church – we just have another example of a sinner in our midst and, we hope, of another who will find Divine Mercy in his struggle. On this I would recommend Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith’s article in the Catholic Herald. Are we Catholics disappointed with Cardinal O’Brien? Yes we are, bitterly – he let us all down. He has reparation to do. Will we reject him? No, we won’t: he is still our brother and we pray for him. That does not mean we reject those he hurt.  Certainly not, we pray for them too, pray for their healing and God’s blessing on them.  He will have to face the new Holy Father and answer for what he has done to them, and rightly so.
 

However, if our journalists are looking for other Christians who fell, well I’ll give them a few examples:
 

St Augustine lived an immoral life, had a mistress and illegitimate child, was a member of a heretical sect and treated his mother badly: he was a bishop.
 

St Mary Magdalen was possessed by seven devils – Lord knows what she did to deserve that! She was chosen by Jesus to announce the Resurrection.  Dodgy decision on Christ's part?  Or is it a case be believes in forgiveness?
 

St Hippolytus was an anti-pope, he was proud and a rebel. He died a martyr with the very Pope he opposed, they were reconciled.
 

Here’s a bad Pope for you – stop the press! St Peter, the first – he denied Christ. And it was said he may even have considered abandoning his See during a time of persecution. He was also married and some say he may have left his wife to proclaim the Gospel.
 

St Simon the Apostle was a terrorist and conspired to overthrow a legitimate government. He was a bishop too.
 

Blessed Bartolo Longo was a Satanist – there’s a story there, boys. He founded a shrine in honour of Our Lady – now there’s hypocrisy!
 

St Pelagia was a debauched actress who even tried to lead a bishop into sin. He converted her and she became a hermit – but people saw her as holy and pious, but with a past!  Is there an expose there?
 

And another of our Catholic heroes: a murderer – Jacques Fesch who killed a policeman in the course of a failed robbery. He became a mystic on death row and many think he may well be canonised one day.
 

And here’s another Catholic hero, though not as well known as he should be: Oscar Wilde. He struggled with his sexuality, but sought to embrace the Catholic faith believing that her teachings would cure him of his orientation. He finally had the courage to enter the Church on his deathbed leaving behind his lifestyle and finding peace before he died. And the Church embraced him – another sinner to join the billions of us already in it, and another who saw the need for mercy.
 

　

So if the press are looking for Catholics with a past to bring down the Church, then they have plenty to choose from.  Any one of the above could be accused of hypocrisy.  Yet in spite of all these sinners, the Church is still here; why?  Because God believes in mercy - he sent his Son as the price of that mercy, and he pours it out on all and offers us a new life, a new beginning and an eternal destiny.  And that gives us great hope! A hope that is absent in much of our society.  We will not abandon the Church, or her teachings, because they speak of hope, holiness and eternal life: they guarantee that when we fall, the Lord will pick us up again and our brothers and sisters will wipe the dust off us and help us along the way.  We may have reparation to do, sometimes very serious reparation, and it must be done, but we can do it with humility trusting in God's forgiveness.

 

And so when people say we are hypocrites, we smile and agree, we throw our eyes to heaven and ask for mercy, and truly try to do better in future, with God's help.  If I may quote Oscar: "Every Saint has a past, and every sinner has a future" - it may come as a shock to many, but we Catholics actually believe that, not in spite of the moral law as is, but because of it.

Yipee! We're Getting Married In The Morning???

This papal election is turning out to be very bizarre.  As we mark the last few days of Pope Benedict's pontificate and we prepare for what will be a tearful farewell, the media circus is running circles around our cardinals with all sorts of stories.   We have allegations flying - the latest claiming the head of Cardinal Keith O'Brien; we have the gay ring blackmailing curia article in  La Repubblica and then the statement from the Holy See condemning unverifiable articles.  One has to wonder what is going on? 

 

Is is a case that the media are trying to revive the old European monarchies's perceived veto over an election?  Is it trying to kibosh the whole election?  Or is it the Holy Spirit doing a spring clean before the cardinals enter into the Sistine Chapel?   Well, when it comes to conclaves the Holy Spirit tends to muscle in a bit more than usual, so let's pray that whatever is happening, the Lord will guide things.

 

I am sad to see Cardinal O'Brien resign.  I was very fond of him.  He is the most heroic defender of human life and marriage on these islands, and he certainly earned the red he wore as a Prince of the Church.   I know he had to sign a profession of faith before he was made a cardinal: he had some funny ideas.  However since donning the hat he has proved himself worthy of it. 

 

In recent days he has expressed his opinion on celibacy, rightly pointing out that it is a discipline not a dogma. He is entitled to his view and it is one that does not rock the foundation of the Church.  Could the Pope change the discipline in the Latin Rite?  Yes he could.  Will he?  Probably not, history and practice reveals that celibacy is best as the norm and married priests as an exception.  There are many reasons for this, but one of the main ones is availability.  

 

Actually I think that many of those who are calling for married priests now would regret such a change if it happened: they would find that when it came to ministry they would (correctly) come second to the wife and family.  Priests would not be there 24/7 as we are now - and we would need to be paid more than we are now in order to support a family.  Despite what many believe, most of us priests are paid a salary which, given the hours we work, is well below the average industrial wage.  And let's face it, we would need a major wage increase to support the big families we'll have - there will no contraception!  So those who want married priests - dig deeper on Sunday mornings! 

 

Oh yes, one more point: if the Pope did change the rule it would make no difference to serving priests - the tradition would be implemented, so a man would have to be married before becoming a deacon.  And should Mrs Priest die, Father would then be celibate...for life.  And, correct me if I am wrong, I think that in the tradition (as observed in the Eastern Rites and in the Orthodox Church) if Father dies, Mrs Priest would also be unable to remarry.  And yes, married priests could not become bishops.  So if the Pope does change the discipline, it will not be case of joyful priests running to the Knock Marriage Bureau to find an eligible spinster. 

 

Regarding the accusations against Cardinal O'Brien, Fr Longenecker has an interesting article on his blog.   

Round Up

What an eventful few days we have all had.  As the struggle against Obama continues in the US, Cardinal Dolan continues to rally the troops against the HHS mandate - faithful Catholics are not going to give up on this one despite the attempts of those Catholics who follow Obama to explain (erroneously) that conscience and freedom of religion are not being infringed. 

I see the White House has told the bishops to abandon orthodox Christian moral teaching in favour of the sort of stuff America magazine peddles.  So there you have it - the Obama administration seems to think that freedom of religion allows the government to tell a particular Church what stance it should take on moral issues: "follow the line of your members who dissent from the magisterium"  I think the First Amendment to the American Constitution forbids such a rebuke.

Meanwhile on this side of the pond, another fine Cardinal is defending the faith, this time in Scotland.  Congratulations to Cardinal Keith O'Brien who has taken on the Cameron administration in the UK.  Cameron and co are committing themselves to introducing full "gay marriage", the Cardinal has reminded them of the natural law and Christian teaching. 

I must say it is rather ironic - Cameron was fulsome in his praise of Christianity recently, and how important it was for Britain and how he is committed to supporting it, he sends Baroness Warsi over to the Pope to reiterate the same message, and now here he is taking a few steps backward.  Was it just all talk?  Another sound byte from a politician who wants to build up his contacts and supporters for the next election? 

On this little island one of our political parties has voted to adopt the same policy as Cameron. Fianna Fail, once considered a party which respected the Christian roots of our country, are now going to support "gay marriage" and adoption.  Given that the grassroots support for this party is Christian and traditional, this policy will alienate many of them. 

Of course this party introduced the Civil Partnership bill a couple of years ago, including penalties for registrars and those who provide wedding services who refused to facilitate these partnership - not only is there is no conscience clause, those who stick to their conscience will find themselves in prison with a huge fine to pay. So much for democracy. 

Fianna Fail was all but wiped out in the last election having ruled the country for three consecutive terms - the financial collapse occurred during their watch.  They need to rebuild, and perhaps this adoption of the gay agenda is an attempt to garner support from more liberal minded citizens.  So be it, but they may well alienate their grassroots supporters, which they deserve if they are taking this path to folly.  I hope our bishops will follow the example of Cardinals Dolan and O'Brien and speak out against this regression in Irish politics, and begin to take on the radical agenda which has been distorting the social fabric of Ireland.  Time for the Catholic Church in Ireland to get out of the trenches.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.  Despite the overwhelming historical evidence, much of it compiled by Jewish historians and writers, the old calumny against the Ven. Pope Pius XII continues to be made, and is taken as truth.   This time a Jewish rabbi is rehashing the old lies. This is like the old chestnut wheeled out by the usual suspects who accuse Pope Benedict, and before him Blessed John Paul II, of murdering millions of Africans because of the Church's teaching on contraception - an accusation that defies common sense.  It seems people prefer the lie to the truth, its more convenient and allows them to nurture their prejudice of Catholicism.

The Fr Guarnizo incident in Washington has taken another turn.  After he refused a lesbian Holy Communion at her mother's funeral, he was reprimanded and an apology sent to the woman from the auxiliary bishop of Washington. It turns out that the priest did not disgrace the woman, he refused her quietly so no one knew, and he had had already met her and her "lover" before the funeral.  At that meeting he told her of the Church's teaching and canon 915 which expressly requires a priest to refuse the Eucharist to those in such situations.  The priest fulfilled the pastoral requirements.  The lady chose to defy the Church's teaching in public.  The matter was not as simple as it seemed at first.  It seems, he is the one who is in the right.

Fr Longenecker has an excellent article on the coming persecution: he hits the nail on the head: there will be no blood on the streets - it will all happen in courtrooms, with legislation - with penal laws, basically. Ireland knows all about penal laws - the best way to crush Catholic opposition is to wear it out with laws and legal challenges.

And now, news about new Causes - this is getting to be a monthly feature.  This month we in Discalced Carmel are rejoicing as two of our friars are being put forward as candidates for canonisation.  Fr Marcello of the Immaculata, who died in 1984, was an Italian friar who lived in Ferrara and was renowned for his ministry in the confessional.  Fr Maurizio of the Child Jesus, who died in 1997, was also Italian, but ministered in the Holy Land on Mount Carmel.

Other new Causes: Mgr Guissani of Communion and Liberation, whom I mentioned last week.  Fr Edward Flanagan, founder of Boy's Town in the US.  Fr Flanagan was born in Ireland, but emigrated to the US when he was eight - a future Irish Saint we hope.  And two lay people: Marcjanna Grzanka, a Polish woman who died in 1941, and Nino Baglieri, a layman who was also a Volunteer of Don Bosco, who died in 2007: he was a suffering soul who became a model and advisor for many.