Is my love like that of Jesus, Son of God, the Messiah, our Savior, a perfect, sinless, truly human man and fully divine? I don’t even come close! Without meaning to be glib—at all—loving someone does not mean we like them. With some people, I go back and forth between the two—like and/or love--and it can be a multitude of times with the same person! Feelings, as we know, can even change over time. Superficial? I don’t think so—maybe honest. So, how is it that we can we possibly love as Jesus loved?

 

One way is to try to live Jesus in relationships—family-work-school, by trying to live Jesus in acceptance and mercy and forgiveness. Tough stuff, alright, as life teaches us. However, in the other part of the Lord’s words --to strive to love like him, is how we will be recognized as belonging to him. Who of us doesn’t want to belong to Jesus? Belonging is a natural longing. We long for the love of God. However, we do not live detached from the world, but are touched by it and face its challenges daily. We try to be a sign of Christ in a world that is tumultuous and often feels like a foreign land. Sometimes schizophrenic—one foot trying to get to the other side and the other stuck here in the messes that can happen.

 

We are in a mess now. Some are refusing to be identified with Jesus in the Roman Catholic Church.

 

Though we face confusion, anger, fear, ambiguity, struggle and challenge to our faith, we still dwell and share life with the divine. Our Church is increasing not decreasing, despite the sins and crimes of some in the Church’s past and those in the present.

 

The Gospel and being Catholic is not a popularity contest. The fact is, if we are faithful to the Gospel and our Church teachings we may repel people; our history will bear this out by the death of our Founder and the innumerable martyrs who have died for the

Gospel and for human rights through the ages. Nevertheless, the miracles Jesus worked in his lifetime, the Acts of the Apostles tells us, are continuing in the life of our Church through us. That is what attracts people to us, as they once were attracted to Jesus.

 

However, we can be attracted to temptations that encourage us to ignore Jesus Christ, our way, truth, and life, some priests and Church leaders have engaged in destructive behaviors resulting from illness, or perhaps believing they are too powerful or immune from judgment. We should take action to speak out against the crimes of persons in and out of the Church especially the crime of abuse, and demand that people recognize their weaknesses, take ownership of their sins and addictions, and help heal those who have suffered. This is a time in our Church that we need to speak up against anyone who conceals the truth or rationalizes criminal acts. We need confession, penance, and eventually reconciliation through forgiveness. Above all it is we Catholics that are called to accomplish the work of Jesus in our Church and world—who else but us.   We cannot throw ourselves a pity party, nor should we encourage a witch-hunt syndrome.   I wear my collar with pride and hope and in public.

 

I will not cower, or succumb but endure, persevere and speak out and I pray for your courage and honesty to do the same. If you have been abused by clergy I hope you do speak out, if you witness a real impropriety or worse speak up, so that we can continue the work of the Holy Spirit to cleanse, renew and continue to grow.   However, if your experience of this Church and this house of God has helped you grow in holiness I pray you proclaim that and witness it to those who seek to destroy us. 

 

Speak out for the good that Catholic priests, bishops, cardinals, deacons, the Popes, and religious and laity have done for two thousand years and continue to do. We may lose heart from time to time, but I believe in our Church, that Christ and the Holy Spirit are working now as they always have. Changes are necessary, some more immediate like our policies and procedures to ensure and maintain a safe environment for minors and adults, and under close scrutiny of professionals. 

 

This is the time that we need to band together for the greater good our Church continues to do and not be overcome by evil through our silence—our lack of defending and promoting the great good Catholics, priests and laity continue to do daily in our Church, community, schools, and world to those who love to bash us. As faithful people, we can help standup for the good of the Catholic Church to condemn immoral and unethical behaviors and remain focused on the teachings of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church and religion is incomparable to any other in the accomplishment of good, aid, mission, outreach and education. However, silence will not educate, silence will not bring about reform, and silence will not lead people to renewed faith and healing.   We are the ones called to bring hope to a Church challenged.  

 

“Christ has no body now but yours; no hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world; yours are the feet with which he walks to do good; Yours are the hands with which he blesses the entire world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours” -- Saint Teresa of Avila

 

 

*Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA)

Catholic University, Washington DC

Putting social science research at the service of the Church since 1964.

 

© CARA 2009 The sources for this information include The Official Catholic Directory (OCD), the Vatican's Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae (ASE). For the U.S, the numbers reported here include only figures for those 195 dioceses or eparchies who belong to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and all U.S. military personnel stationed overseas.