Once again, we see headlines about the horrendous abuse of young people by priests and the cover-up by bishops. What on earth are we in the pews supposed to do in response to these revelations? They are disheartening to the point of possibly shaking the very foundations of our faith.
Some blame this crisis on the long-established custom of celibacy itself, some on the acceptance of homosexuals into American seminaries, and some on our refusal to heed the prophetic prescriptions of “Humanae Vitae.” Many have their black-and-white theories and their black-and-white answers. I just don’t know.
How do we in the pews respond, realizing that thousands of Catholic children’s lives were terrorized in Pennsylvania alone? How do we reconcile this news with something other than “the Church is full of humans and humanity is flawed”? Moralistic platitudes just don’t get it anymore.
A great benefit to me of late has been a book by Catholic theologian Cardinal Avery Dulles, “Models of the Church.” In it Cardinal Dulles relates the story of the blind men trying to describe an elephant by speaking of its individual parts. (The ears are like a fan; the trunk is like a hose, etc.) He takes the collective Church and describes its various spiritual components: the Institutional Church, the Church as Mystical Body, the Church as Herald, the Church as Servant, and the Church as Sacrament.
The Institutional Church has to do with Church structure: with teaching, sanctifying and governing. The Church as Mystical Body has to do with our unity as the People of God, our communion in fellowship and our sharing of grace through the Holy Spirit. The Church as Herald is the Church witnessing the Gospel in worship and in action, in the proclamation of our salvation through Jesus Christ. The Servant Church is the Church of faith, hope and charity as witnessed in our service to the “least of these” Christ spoke of. The Church as Sacrament is the Church that transforms us through grace as a testament to God’s enduring love and mercy.
Each model has its strengths and weaknesses but when brought together, like a diamond, they reveal the light of truth beautifully. Because I cannot fathom Holy Mother Church unable or unwilling to dispense Her grace sacramentally; because I cannot keep from seeing Her serve the sick and the poor, the lonely and the oppressed, as She does throughout the world; because the Word of God is expressed in our liturgies and our catechesis; because families are converting to Catholicism in record numbers across Asia and Africa, I am inspired by the mystical unity I have witnessed since childhood.
The only model left wanting – left wounded by scandal – is the Institutional Church. Some of our leaders have failed us miserably; that part is simple. Our wariness is, unfortunately, earned. Yet we are a hierarchical community, for Jesus presented the keys to Peter and that will not change. But it is, in part, the Institutional Church that has left us frustrated, enraged and bewildered.
It is imperative for me to turn to those other models of the Church Cardinal Dulles outlined with a desperation that beckons Our Lord to come be with us – people in the pews wrestling with doubt and anger, most assuredly the victims of these heinous crimes and, yes, the perpetrators as well. We ask Him to animate us as members of a Mystical Body, of which He is the head; to enlighten us in the faces of those to whom we reach out in charity; to fill us with understanding and resolve with His Word upon our lips each day; to be present with us and in us in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
Holy Mother Church is a complex reality, but Her arms embrace us wherever we are, even when we detest the failures of the Institutional Church and some of its most powerful members. She is present in every facet of the diamond, even when some of its lights are dimmed by the fallen humanity within Her reach, even while the Institution, now more than ever, under the watchful eye of the laity, limps back to Her in contrition. And in this multifaceted image of Her, we pray that perpetrators may experience justice, victims receive divine comfort and strength in God’s love, and our restlessness be understood.
Fred Gallagher is an author and editor-in-chief with Gastonia-based Good Will Publishers Inc.