A "Thick" Catholic in a "Thinning" Church

We are indebted to David Carlin for this helpful "thick/thin religion" binary. He was buried last week, age 87, in Rhode Island, where he taught sociology/philosophy in community college, wrote, and remained active in Democrat state politics well into this century. He is among the last  authentically pro-life, active Democrats. That species became extinct in the 1970s but Ray Flynn of Boston is still alive; Sargent Shriver and Bob Casey Sr. have both passed. He wrote with clarity, insight, passion. He was, like Fleckinstein (who aspires to emulate him), a thick Catholic in a thinning Church.

Eternal Rest grant unto him O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him, may his souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in Peace!

A thick religion is sharply different from the broader society: deep roots, sharp edges, clear identity. Examples: Amish, Orthodox Jews, Catholic Worker. Thin religion is one that blends into the broader culture without sharp differences. Examples: Reform Judaism, mainline liberal Protestantism, the freemasons in the USA. 

Carlin recalls the thicker Catholicism of our postwar childhood/youth. We Catholics, increasingly accepted into the broader society in the ecumenical postwar euphoria, still retained our identity: schools, meatless Fridays, sacramental practices, etc. In the 1960s, however, a four powerful historical developments coalesced to undermine this clear, thick identity.

1. The fabulously prosperous economy, in contrast to the preceding World War and great Depression fostered a confidence, a materialism, a secularism increasingly indifferent to the supernatural.

2. Catholics were fully accepted into society, including the upper echelons and better schools. They moved from urban ghettos to suburbs. They accommodated into bourgeois society.

3. The Vatican Council deliberately engaged modernity in a positive, credulous, arguably uncritical attitude just as society was, at the elite levels, turning dark.

4. The Cultural Revolution exploded in the late 1960s with its sexual liberation, attack on tradition, and reconstruction of the isolated, genderless Individual.

Pope Paul VI

Humanae Vitae prophetically, defiantly rearticulated the thick, Catholic view of sexuality as procreative and sacred. It definitively divided the Church: thick vs. thin. The rejection of this teaching within the Church opened the doors to all that followed: abortion, pornography, divorce, homosexuality, transgenderism, and a misogyny disguised as feminism. The Church of the 1970s fell into polarization, confusion, and a pronounced "thinning" in academia and much of the hierarchy/priesthood. 

John Paul and Benedict

The dual pontificate was a firm, profound, sophisticated and nuanced articulation of a thick Catholicism that embraced what is best in modernity but renounced the bad. Their teaching and hermeneutic of the Council had immense influence, often outside of prestigious academic and Church circles. It conspired with spontaneous eruptions of thicker Catholicism: lay renewal movements, Latin Mass, populist devotions to Mary, the Divine Mercy and others.

Francis and Leo

This second dual pontificate can be understood as a  "thinning" of Catholicism to appeal to those who are offended by it. There is no clear change of dogma. But there is a shift in emphasis, a downplaying of the sexual teaching, for example, and a focus on things congenial to mainstream cultural progressivism.

Temptation of Thick Religion to Become a Sect

Thicker religions tend to become sectarian in the negative sense:  anxious in a dangerous world. defensive,  judgmental against those on the outside, incapable of seeing the Good-True-Beautiful beyond their own borders. Ecumenism and (small c) catholicity are weakened. 

Pastoral Impulse

Catholicism is urgent to share, to embrace the Good wherever it is found, and to charm others. The pastoral impulse is to meet the other where he/she is; to present what is most appealing; to downplay what offends.  In this sense, the apostolic style of Francis and Leo is deeply Catholic in its outreach to those distant. Our bishops and priests reflect a long spectrum in regard to the balance between a thickness that preserves our faith and an appropriate thinning in outreach to the distant. The perfect balance, of course, found in wise, holy souls is loyalty to the faith along with pastoral sensitivity.

Foundations of Thick Catholicism

1. Primacy of Prior Revelation. The foundation of our faith is an earlier, definitive and final revelation of the Divine here on earth. That revelation is preserved by a continuous, historical Church with a pattern of worship, life, authority, teaching and tradition. All change and development is organically from within the given Revelation: we do not look to relevancy, fashion, science, psychology or politics for definition.

2. Extravagance of the Miraculous, the Sacred, the Supernatural. Creation is enchanted, infused everywhere with the Divine, from the original Creation, the Fall and the Redemption, we live with: angels, saints, demons; miracles; healings; virgin birth; transubstantiation; absolution of sins; levitation; bilocation; incorruption; exorcism; prophesy; stigmata; relics; heaven, hell and purgatory.

3. Gravity of Evil. The Dark Kingdom of Lucifer; original and actual sin; the seductions of "the world;" demonic activity; the weakness of the flesh; confession; exorcism; the eternity of hell.

4. Worship. The "greater thing" chosen by Mary, sister of Martha, is prayer, liturgy, and communal worship. All good action flows from this primacy of the mystical.

5. Sacredness of Sexuality, Family, Vowed Life.  In sharpest contrast to our contraceptive culture, Catholicism cherishes a cult around marriage/family and the religious life. Both of these are inexplicable to the broader culture.

6. Poverty. In a society addicted to affluence, a thick Catholicism values poverty: in the religious life and in other forms such as the Catholic Worker.

7. Politics is Diminished. Life in family, Church and immediate communities is valued so that political ideology is reduced in importance. The thick Catholic will have political views and vote, but there is a relative detachment generally and an aversion to a sacred allegiance to any party, policy or ideology.

Characteristics of a Thin Catholicism

Obviously, a thin Catholicism is the opposite of the above. 

-The past is viewed with suspicion as ignorant, phobic, oppressive as hope is placed in a present and future of technological, scientific, educational, psychological enlightenment. 

-The material universe is viewed in reductively scientific terms, secular and disenchanted. 

-Evil is metaphysically null and void; it is reconceived as psychological dysfunction and political oppression. 

-Worship is replaced by meditation, therapy, and culture. 

-Sexuality becomes companionship and recreation rather than the gift of self in a sacred vow. 

-Poverty is viewed only as affliction. 

-Politics becomes a new religion.

Catholicisms: Thick and Thin 

Happily, the Church is always a tension between competing dynamics: the return to the sources (thickness) and movement to engage and share with others (thinness). 

The thickest Catholicism is surely the Catholic Worker as classically articulated by Day and Maurin. First, it is orthodox and therefore  defiant of the Sexual Revolution. Secondly, it profoundly embraces the poor and poverty itself, in imitation of St. Francis and so many saints. Last, ideologically it is anarchistic and pacifist. This last is not, to my mind, an enrichment of the Catholic faith, but it surely makes it even more thick culturally. 

A competitor would be the Neocatchumenal Way with its intensity around worship, the Word and community as well its large families, alternative Catholic counter-culture and many priestly vocations. 

Other groups and movements are thick/thin in complicated combinations. For example, Charismatic Covenant Communities became fiercely countercultural in regard to gender and family life, but sometimes embrace other aspects of mainstream middle class culture. The same can be seen with the Latin Mass groups. Communion and Liberation is more expressive of the positivity and eagerness to engage of the Vatican Council and therefore less thick but not thin in a pejorative way.

The Church of Francis/Leo is urgent to communicate with those distant but slow to defend much that is most precious in Catholicism. This is troubling for us thick Catholics. It presents a challenge. We are called to witness, in life and word, to the Truth received. This is a significant mission. Above all, we need to do this in a posture of interior serenity, confidence, generosity, humility, positivity and charity. To the degree we ourselves surrender to the Truth revealed and received, we will in turn charm and attract our brothers and sisters to Christ and his Church.

Spiritual Exercises

This is not the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Every other Thursday morning, it is my joy to offer a "spiritual care session" on the psychiatric floor of Jersey Shore Medical Center, where my wife and I are volunteer chaplains. 

I introduce myself to about 12 (out of a census of 25 or so) who come voluntarily. I especially explain our residence for low-income women in Jersey City. As many in the group are familiar with homelessness this is a good start.

I note that if I were a physical trainer, I might do exercises (stretching, weight resistance, walk in place, etc.) that might be helpful to everyone, regardless of body type (large/small, male/female, young/old). And so, we will consider spiritual exercises that are helpful for all of us, regardless of religion or lack thereof, because we all have a human spirit.

1. Gratitude.  I ask what is one thing for which they are grateful about being there on that hospital floor.  Then they share a a specific thing about their childhood for which they are grateful.  I  a small bottle of water and several accept and say "thank you."  I point out that in those few seconds of gratitude, accepting and thanking, they are not in depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy. They nod. We discuss the nature of mental attention: we focus on one thing at a time, as with vision, as everything else fades into the background. 

An Oprah Winfrey episode of many years ago: a series of celebrities testified that their lives changed drastically when they developed a habit every night before sleep of listing 5 things of the day for which they were grateful. They witnessed to decrease in anxiety, depression, anger, jealousy; increase in peace, joy, freedom, generosity, agency. 

They are invited to quietly count on their 10 fingers 10 things in their life for which they are grateful. Giving thanks:  the path to peace, joy, freedom.

2. Powerlessness and Surrender. This is straight from the 12 steps of AA: (1)"Admitted we were powerless over _________(alcohol or other) and that our lives had become unmanageable." Each of us has one or more "dragons"...addiction, emotional affliction, compulsive habit...which is about 100 times more powerful than our will power. They react with interest that I had attended EA meetings (Emotions Anonymous) in which participants shared powerlessness over anger, depression, anxiety, jealousy and other. (2) "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity." Invitation to surrender. To cease the fight. To look for help from "higher power" of whatever name. " Higher power" that is not myself but is powerful, kind, merciful.

A runner in the Rockies crashed into a Grizzly Bear who started to tear the man apart. He recalled that a punch to the nose of a bear would shock him so he tried that. It only excited the bear to become more violent. He surrendered. He went limp and fell to the ground. A rustling sound nearby startled the bear who ran away. The man survived, crediting an angel with his rescue. In any case, he was wise to give up the fight, surrender.

Similarly, a swimmer caught in a rip tide is NOT to swim against the tide, which will lead to immediate fatigue and drowning. Rather, "go with the flow" so as to conserve stamina, attempt to swim parallel with beach and wave for help. Again: don't fight the tide, go with it, and call for help.

Skid class for driver of auto: the impulse in a skid is to brake strongly and steer out of the skid. Wrong! The locked tires will continue straight in the skid. Rather: accept the skid, steer directly (however counter-intuitive this is) into the skid while gently pumping brakes to regain traction and only then steer out of the skid. Again: not direct combat but surrender and cooperate with a "higher power."

3. Network. Most in the group are benefiting from the supportive environment of professionals and fellow-sufferers. So, they are invited to consider the network of support outside the hospital: who makes you feel happy? With whom can you be truly honest? Who makes you a better person? And how can you strengthen and build that network: call a friend or family member, get back to temple/church/support group? Social worker or counselor? 

4. Give or Ask for Forgiveness.  

The film Straight Story is a true account of Alvin Straight, in his 70s and poor health, who learns his brother, with whom he has not spoken in 10 years, has suffered a stroke. He decides to go to see him hundreds of  miles away in Wisconsin and does so on a John Deere lawnmower tractor which moves about 3 miles an hour. He drives slowly from Iowa on a kind of spiritual pilgrimage, with eventful, touching encounters along the way.  Upon arrival, his brother beckons him to a rocking chair next to him. They sit quietly, without words. Then the brother asks: "Alvin, did you drive here on that lawn mower?" Alvin nods yes. Tears stream down his brothers face. End of movie. Tremendous work of art!

My friend Coleen, a  passionately spiritual woman, went to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ about 20 times, with different people, recalling her sins. She called the kid she had bullied brutally in 7-8th grade. After catchup talk she said: "I was cruel to you; I am so sorry; I ask your forgiveness." He, now married, with children, in his 40s dismissed it: "We were just kids. Don't worry." She persisted; he dismissed again. A third time, quietly, solemnly she said: " I know I hurt you deeply. Please forgive me." Silence on phone. Then sobs. Then heartbrokenly he says: "I could never understand why you hated me so much!"

We discuss how difficult it is to say those words: "I was wrong. Forgive me." 

And so, the invitation here is to ask forgiveness. Or to give forgiveness.

I hesitated to present this. This is a psych ward. There are deep traumas and wounds. It would be cruel to issue a moral imperative with an implied condemnation. But I have found that offered in a light manner, in the form of stories, as an option, not an obligation, it has (so far) been well received.

Sometimes these sessions get interesting, for example, if someone acts out in a manic fashion. Normally there is a compulsive talker or interrupter.  Additionally, people come and go as they need to get meds, meet with professional, or even lose interest and want to take a walk. But there is a raw, manifest, even desperate hunger and interest manifest. To meet with them and discuss this stuff is awe-inspiring. It is the high point of my week.

The Great Catholic Counter-Liberation 1968-2025

Catholicism: Attacks and Counteroffensives 

Among the greatest attacks upon the Church we distinguish those from the outside, those that divided us and those from the inside.

 From the outside: 1. The barbarian invasions of the ancient Roman Catholic world. 2. The Islamic devastation of Christian civilization across the Middle East and Northern Africa which reached up into Spain and was repelled by the Reconquista, at Lepanto and other battles. This war continues around the globe today. 3. The Enlightenment-inspired revolutionary movements from the French Revolution up until the Mexican persecution of the Church and the Spanish Civil War. 4. Communism, Soviet and Chinese.

Those that divided us: 1. The East-West schism. 2.Protestant Reformation.

Those from the inside: Arianism. Iconoclasm. Other heresies. 

Arguably worse than these is the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. It was an attack from an exterior enemy. But it also penetrated, like a viral infection, into the Church itself in the form of theological progressivism. It has the Church institutionally united but theologically divided.  

In the history of the Church, real apostolic synods have decisively guided the Church. Nicea renounced Arianism; Nicaea eliminated iconoclasm. Trent contradicted the Reformation: clearly, authoritatively, efficaciously, finally. Trent triggered a robust, revived Catholicism: Ignatius and the Jesuits, Philip Neri, Charles Borromeo, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, Francis DeSales, Vincent DePaul, the missionary orders all over the globe, the entirety of Baroque culture. 

Vatican II

By a misfortune of chronology, Vatican Council II predated by a few years the explosion of the Cultural Revolution. So it was not a response to that attack. It was not a preparation for it. Unfortunately, it weakened the Church in its ability to fight this attack. It lowered the Catholic immune system, just as a bacterial infection was about to attack. It embraced an openness, a positivity, a credulity just when that world was turning dark.

It was an authoritative act of the Church, surely inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was many things:

-A refocusing of the Church on its Evangelical center: the person/event of Jesus Christ.

-A return to the sources of the early Church.

-A reconciliation with what is good/true/beautiful in modernity.

-An ecumenical reconciliation with the Churches and world religions (especially Judaism).

-A quintessential expression of the post-War Church and the various movements thriving in it (ecumenism, scripture, lay leadership, etc.)

-The culmination, the final closure of the Tridentine Church. It was a splendid conclusion to a historical era. It was not the defining statement for a new Church.

Curiously, it failed to address the battles the Church would wage in the coming decades. With regard to both Islam and Communism it advocated mutuality in respect and dialogue and avoided candid witness to the violence that continues from these adversaries. More significantly, its positivity towards contemporary culture left it unarmed for the assault about to be mounted. A future historian looking at the documents and then at the travails of the Church that followed would have to note the dissonance.

What followed the Council was the collapse of the institutional Church from within and continued persecution from Communism, Islam and Cultural Progressivism. 

If the Reformation elicited from the Tridentine Church an explosion of energy, is it possible that the Cultural Revolution did the same for the Church of our time? A Catholic Counter-Liberation?

Catholic Counter-Liberation

Yes, we have in our time just such a counter-liberation. The problem with the Vatican II documents is that their positivity gives encouragement to the progressive affirmation that a new Church was initiated by that event. The so-called "Spirit of Vatican II" was a vulnerability, a openness to the viciously anti-Catholic virus of the sexual revolution, an impulse to accommodate to, to surrender to that assault. And so, we look beyond the Council for other dynamics that provide a correct hermeneutic for it and directly confront the sexual-cultural revolution.

Let's go back to 1968.

- The Cultural Revolution is exploding. 

- The thriving institutional Catholicism of the past 23 years is about to collapse catastrophically. Mainstream Catholic leadership and theology is clueless.

- I myself am a mild-mannered, introverted student spending endless hours in the Fleckinstein Philosophy Reading room, Maryknoll College Seminary, with the uber-Catholicism of Etienne Gilson, Jacques Maritain and Ivan Illich. 

- Catholic charismatic renewal is spreading from its birth in Duquesne University in 1967 to Clark/Martin in Ann Arbor, to Notre Dame and then beyond. 

-The disciples of Monsignor Luigi Giussani (previously  encouraged by Archbishop Montini of Milan) form Communion and Liberation in response to the radical student rebellions.  They adopt that name signaling that genuine liberation lies in communion with Christ in his Church. 

-Amidst that same Italian/global unrest, Chiara Lubich founds the Focolare Gen Movement for young people 15-30 years old. 

- Kiko and Carmen arrive in Rome to spread their Neocatechumenal Way beyond Spain. Giuseppe Gennarini converts from leftwing radicalism and becomes the apostle of this "way" to the USA. 

- Pope Paul VI, tutored by the brilliant Polish Cardinal Wojtyla, is about to issue Humanae Vitae, the defining authoritative statement that divided the conjugal mystics from the political activists. (SO MUCH is happening in Italy!) 

- Initial conversations begin among Ratzinger, Balthasar, Boyer, DeLubac and others regarding the Communio journal to be founded in 1972. 

- Ratzinger himself, observing the violence of the student protests, retains his theological grounding but repositions himself from Vatican II progressive to culture war conservative and publishes his influential Introduction to Christianity. 

- Cardinal Wojtyla initiates the beatification process for Sister Faustina of the Divine Mercy as he develops his catechesis on sexuality, covertly wages war with hegemonic Communism, and becomes famous for his support of the Jews among anti-Semitic student protests.

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta expands her work around the globe as she enters her extended dark night of the soul. We see that 1968 is the year the Cultural Revolution exploded across the West; even as the Great Counter Liberation was percolating quietly, humbly, anonymously, hopefully.

The primary dynamics and agents of the Great Catholic Counter Liberation include:

1. John Paul and Benedict. Their output, authoritative and scholarly, lucidly defines the Great Counter Liberation, as Trent did for the earlier Church.

2. Von Balthasar. His theology, unparalleled in depth and breath, brilliantly compliments that of John Paul and Benedict.

3. Charismatic Renewal. A powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit; bringing ecumenical communion between Catholicism, Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism; and a fresh communion with the supernatural to a Catholicism whose mainstream was tending strongly to the progressive and secular.

4. Lay Renewal Movements. Neocatechumenal Way, Focolare, Communion and Liberation and others.

5. Evangelical-Catholic Culture War Alliance. Unified Christians against Cultural Liberalism even as it risked intimacy with rightwing, Republican ideology.

6. Divine Mercy Devotion. Encouraged by John Paul and articulated in his masterful Dives in Misericordia, this articulated a powerful message of God's compassion but always in tension with divine truth, justice and wrath against sin.

7. The Latin Mass. Pope Benedict especially appreciated the value of maintaining practice of this rite in a healthy diversity.

8. New, Strong Catholic Colleges. 20 such schools (another 5 provisionally) are recognized for strong Catholic identity in contrast to the marked liberalization across most of higher education: Franciscan, Benedictine, Ave Maria, Dallas, Catholic University, Christendom, and others.

9. Homeschooling. Since the pandemic, the number of students homeschooled has been stable at 4 million, 10% of the population, up from 3-4% previously. A major motive is religious education with the widespread radicalization of the public schools and collapse of many parochial schools. Anecdotal evidence indicates good fruit.

10. New, Small, Orthodox Religious Orders. Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Community of St. John, Sisters of Life and several new Dominican orders of sisters are vigorously orthodox in contrast to mainstream orders in swift decline.

11. Martyrs, Especially across the Communist and Islamist Worlds. Mainstream, liberal media gives little attention to the very large number of martyrs across the globe. In the economy of the Church, however, we know that "blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

12. Enduring Catholic Practices: Worship, Service of the Poor, Family Life. Overall, of course, more important than all these significant developments, is the steady, based, humble practice of our Catholic faith by countless families, parishes, priests, brothers, nuns all united around the Eucharist, within the Communion of Saints, in confession of sins and aspirational holiness, fidelity to our legacy, service of the poor and suffering, and loyalty to state of life.

What is the Great Counter Liberation?

-The affirmation that genuine liberation of the human person and community is found in communion with the person/event of Jesus Christ in his Church.

-Articulation of core, perennial Catholic values in a fresh, contemporary vernacular.

-Vigorous, militant resistance against cultural liberalism as: rupture of sexuality from the spousal union, deconstruction of gender, genocide of the helpless, disconnect from authority-revelation-tradition, denial of the supernatural, exaggerated trust in science, adulatory elevation of the isolated-sovereign-Self.

-A conjugal mysticism that finds in Christ's spousal love for his bridal Church the hermeneutical key to sexuality, gender, family, sacramental life, priesthood and religious life.

-Eucharistic, Marian, aspirational of holiness, chaste, faithful to vows and state of life, docile to the hierarchical Church, close to the poor, detached from political ideologies, Philo-Semitic, ecumenical.

If counter-reformation was the interpretive key to Catholicism after Trent, counter-liberation as explained above is key to that after Vatican II. Similar to Baroque Catholicism, it is defined by opposition, contradiction: not of Protestantism (with which it largely reconciled in Vatican II), but against cultural liberalism including its penetration of the Church as theological progressivism. 

In contrast to Baroque Catholicism which prevailed up to the Council,  Counter-Liberation:

1. Not only reconciles with the Reformation, but restores a balance to Catholicism with a fresh evangelical focus on Christ and an enhanced grasp of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

2. Is a sophisticated, intellectual engagement with modernity, discerning the good from the bad, especially in the brilliant intellects of John Paul, Benedict, Balthasar and others.

3. It ponders more deeply, in response to the Cultural Revolution, the Mystery of spousal communion: that of Christ with the Church, within marriage/family, and at the core of the Catholic cult of worship, sacrament, priesthood and religious life.

4. It engages confidently, assertively, always in truth and love, with global adversaries including communism, Islamism, cultural liberalism, and various disordered political ideologies.

It is a singular blessing to be Catholic in the time of the Great Counter Liberation.

We, the Church Militant on earth, are always at war. Always under attack, from the world, the flesh and the devil. Always under attack by our adversaries. But more importantly, always on the offensive. We are assured by our Savior that the gates of hell will not prevail. Our eventual victory is assured. But we do play the long game. We are assertive, confident, zealous, fearless...with John Paul, Benedict, Luigi, Kiko and Carmen, Mother Teresa, those who have gone before us and who march with us now.

Dueling Catholicisms: John Paul/Benedict vs. Francis/Leo

The Durbin affair was a clear disclosure of the divide within our Church. Cardinal Cupich planned to prominently honor the senator for his work on behalf of immigrants despite his longtime, fervent advocacy of legal abortion. Durbin's bishop Thomas Paprocki was joined by nine in strongly protesting this as a blatant violation of the episcopal policy to not honor pro-abortion leaders. Of the 441 active and retired bishops, none came to the support of Cupich. That makes 2% of our bishops who defended the agreed upon policy. We see that the default of our episcopacy is to avoid conflict.

Durban cannot receive communion in his own parish or diocese of Springfield, but in the Archdiocese of Chicago next door he is feted as a hero. Clearly we are dealing here with two different religions: Catholic Thick and Catholic Lite.

Most significant was the response of Pope Leo. With a candor and transparency more typical of his predecessor, he responded that "if you are against abortion but indifferent to immigrants you are not prolife." This off-the-cuff, non-authoritative response was telling: clearly the deportation of  immigrants is more troubling to him than the destruction of the unborn.

It is now clear that  Francis and Leo share a theological vision that contrasts sharply with that offered by John Paul and Benedict. Before contrasting the two, lets see what all four popes have in common.

Fervent Evangelical Catholics

Each is a man of prayer, clearly close to the person of Jesus Christ, and zealous in the mission to share this faith with the world. They all love the Church. They are complex personalities who combine aspects that might be considered progressive and conservative. 

They differ primarily in their responses to the cultural revolution that swept the West in the 1960s. John Paul and Benedict articulated a clear, strong contradiction of sexual liberalism; Francis and Leo are accommodating and conciliatory, seeking to downplay the conflict. A second difference is that the more recent popes present a political, global agenda as integral to Catholicism. The prior pontiffs do not disagree with the values in this political vision but resist giving them such prominence as they see more clearly the limits of papal competence in political policy and the inevitability of diversity in ideology among Catholics in prudential matters. The two are not in absolute contradiction of each other. As Catholics, we profess allegiance to every pope. But the inconsistencies and incompatibilities, blatant in the Durbin affair and other issues, are evident and require a decision from the thinking Catholic: Which vision do I follow? Most serious thinkers fall into one school or the other: to fail to decide is to remain indecisive, confused and ambivalent.

What follows will consider the heart of each vision, here described as "conjugal mysticism" and "social justice activism," and then highlight major differences.

Conjugal Mysticism

At the very start of his papacy, John Paul presented a long "catechesis on the human body" (later known as "theology of the body") that decisively answered the sexual revolution as it deeply developed Catholic teaching on the human person, body, gender, sexuality, marriage and family. He highlighted masculinity and femininity as God's creation and as mutuality in self-gift between the spouses and together to family and the broader community. In continuity with Catholic tradition, he brought illumination from contemporary thinking, especially phenomenology, to unveil the sacredness of sexuality and marriage. This deeper penetration into the Mystery of sexuality also illuminated the "spousal" nature of Catholic liturgical/sacramental life. Pondering the scriptural/Pauline view of Christ as Bridegroom of the Bridal Church, light was thrown upon the masculine role of the priesthood, the feminine-virginal identity of the Church, the primacy of the Marian over the Petrine dimensions of the Church, the bridal nature of professed virginity and more. With a novel freshness, classic Catholic principles around fidelity to vows and state of life, personal chastity, marital and religious stability were given new life and perspective. This teaching, in my view, was the most significant development in Catholic theology in the 20th century. It is not an abstract philosophy, but practical and concrete, especially inspiring for those of us who struggle with chastity.

Ratzinger-and-then-Benedict worked closely with John Paul so that their teaching can be seen as a unity. He combined brilliance in scholarship, erudition in scripture/tradition, a philosophical personalism similar to John Paul's with an inspired catechetical touch. Theirs can be considered one papacy.

Differences Between John Paul and Benedict

Along with the unity, we can see that two such original thinkers did differ in emphasis on certain matters.

Benedict was more positive and supportive of the Latin Mass which he elevated. He loved that tradition. John Paul, to my knowledge, did not strongly address the issue one way or the other. We know that Leo apparently will continue the repression of the rite begun by Francis.

Ecumenically, John Paul collaborated with the Islamic countries at the UN conferences in Cairo and Bejing to fight the abortion imperialism of American and Western sexual liberalism. He also participated in the Assis ecumenical event which appeared to join Christianity/Judaism/Islam in prayer together.

Benedict was not comfortable with the relaxed theological grounding of that ecumenical event. Additionally, early in his papacy he delivered the (in)famous Regensburg lecture in which he defended the Catholic synthesis of faith and reason as he critiqued the West for a reason without faith and Islam for a faith cut off from reason. This was, in my view, a brilliant presentation which exemplified his theological clarity and depth. But it provoked violence across the globe from Muslim crowds. So we see a difference in their relationship with Islam. It seems obvious that both reacted to real realities in that religion, the bright side and the dark side.

Social Justice Activism

Neither Francis nor Leo intend to change Church teaching on sexuality. Rather, they want to avoid the topic. Early in his pontificate, Leo hosted James Martin S.J., thus continuing his predecessor's close collaboration. Martin does not explicitly contradict Catholic teaching. Rather, he ignores it. He implicitly devalues it. His gay-affirmation crusade intends, of course, to welcome those who feel rejected by the Church. In doing so, he devalues the sacred significance of sexuality, including the gravity of sins against chastity. In effect, he declares the spousal meaning of sexuality (fruitful, exclusive, faithful, free, male/female) as insignificant.  In gospel of gay affirmation, homosexual practice is reconfigured from a sin to be confessed to an expression of wholesome affection. This requires, obviously, a resolute avoidance of the evident indignity and pathology of the specific acts. If these acts are benign, then the Church is indeed homophobic, hateful and condemnatory. If they are disordered, than Martin, Francis and Leo are supporting patterns of sin. And so we have the blessing of homosexual unions which affirms the goodness, even of the physical dimension.

The heart of Francis/Leo Catholicism is care for the suffering, the violated, the poor, not just in traditional works of mercy practiced by Mother Theresa and so many saints, but in social policy. They articulate a global, political vision: welcoming of immigrants, green policy for the environment, prohibition of the death penalty, redistribution of wealth. A few years ago Cardinal Joe Tobin of NJ, close friend of both popes, identified Francis as the political protagonist against antagonist Donald Trump. 

The problem here is that they swerve out of their lane, as authoritative on faith and morals, and exercise a "clericalism" that presumes authority about complex, prudential matters. Social policy is properly the expertise of political processes and leaders, assisted by scientists, theorists, activists, and others. The basic moral vision is properly the concern of the pope. But when the pope involves with concrete policy (like border walls, etc.) he depletes his authority, polarizes the Church and alienates those who come to different practical conclusions about the best policies to follow.

Difference Between Francis and Leo

Leo has consistently said he will continue the policies of his predecessor. He is man of his word.

But the difference in temperament is startling. Francis was impulsive, indiscrete, intentionally provocative and disruptive. He was viscerally hateful of the Latin Mass, "clericalist" priests, the USA Evangelical-Catholic coalition against abortion, and "rigid" traditionalism. 

Leo is restrained, modest, steady, institutional, moderate, and looking to reconcile and stabilize the Church. In the same week he met with Fr. Martin he met with Cardinal Burke and allowed a Latin mass in St. Peter's. 

Style has about it already a substance. This is why I have hopes for this papacy. My hope is that he will listen to the voices that Francis repressed; the voices of many devout Catholics; the voices of John Paul,  Benedict, Augustine and others. My hope is that he will bring peace to the Church by hearing what is true in the views of those opposed to Francis.

Key Issues of Difference

Chinese Church.  While the agreement of the Vatican with the Communist state remains secretive, it is clear that Francis surrendered control of the Church to the government. This contrasts sharply with the war John Paul waged and finally won against Soviet Communism. This will surely rank as the most disastrous, shameful policy of Pope Francis. We wait to see how Leo will proceed.

Sexuality. Francis destroyed the John Paul Institute for the Family in Rome. This had institutionalized the magisterial legacy of John Paul and Benedict. Leo said he will continue the Francis direction. He avoided laying out a theological vision but intends it to be a more practical assist to family life. He shares an anti-intellectualism with Francis: an indifference  or aversion to the deep philosophical legacy of that school.

The Latin Mass.  Indications are that Leo will continue the repression of this rite. His meeting with Burke and allowance of the rite in St. Peter's signal that he will be less heavy handed and more open to dialogue with that important movement in the Church.

Synodality.   Influential participants in Vatican II, John Paul and Benedict understood "synod" to be a gathering of bishops to exercise their apostolic authority. Leo follows Francis' novel contrivance of "synod" as an open, democratic, dialogic process. It is an unprecedented, alternate source of Church authority which includes even those who reject the Catholic legacy. Vulnerable to manipulation by progressive activists, it excludes many voices who are loyal to the Church, including those who avoid it as a big mistake.

Dogmatization of Political Policy.  The elevation of leftist, Western ideology into Catholic dogma is best exemplified in the death penalty. Perhaps our widest catechetical error is that "the Church is against the death penalty." John Paul and Benedict both strenuously opposed it for prudential reasons. They argued, for example, that contemporary prisons are so good that we do not need capital punishment to protect society. By this logic, they upheld the traditional teaching that use of lethal force for protection of society is the duty of the state when necessary. They maintained the issue as prudential, about which Catholics can disagree. It is not inherently/always evil (like adultery, abortion, rape) but dependent upon circumstances (like warfare, theft (of bread to feed starving) or lying (to gestapo about Jews in attic.)) They knew the limits of their finite, practical opinion; they realized they had no authority to unilaterally change an ancient teaching. What I know of American prisons makes me skeptical. And I am sure many other countries are worse. Neither they nor Francis consulted with the world's bishops or produced a scholarly, authoritative study considering the classic aims of retribution: deterrence, protection, rehabilitation and retribution.  Impulsively, dictatorially Francis ruled the practice as "inadmissible as a violation of the dignity and inviolability of the human person." He presents here a moral intuition that is taken to be self-evident but is not part of our tradition. It is a rupture with a consistent practice.  It is supported by no historical legacy, no episcopal consensus, no authoritative argument. Rather, Francis, with most of the secular ("no afterlife") progressive West does not like the thing.

Will Our Unity Hold?

The German Church seems to be moving towards schism. But on the whole, I see no danger of a catastrophic global divide. We have lived with this divide for 60 years. Powerful dynamics, interior to Catholicism, hold us together.  The sources of our union are dual: truth and love. The truths in dispute are all hills upon which we are willing to die. But that dedication to truth is infused by, as it infuses, love of the brother and sister. The exigency to witness to truth coexists with the urgency for unity. 

Catholic leadership at its best retains a generosity, a tolerance for difference, a reverence even for the adversary. Francis was weak on this: he emotionally attacked those with whom he disagreed. Leo by contrast, from the start, shows a deep intention to maintain unity and listen to all sides. This is a good thing! The response of the American episcopacy to the Durbin controversy also shows this valuation of unity.

Going Forward

The pronounced divide in our Church is not normal. But it is not unusual. Our Church is not a sect, with clearly defined, protective boundaries setting us apart. Rather, we mingle in the broader society; we seek to influence it; but we are also unavoidably influenced by it. And so, a tension between accommodation and resistance is unavoidable. 

In the long game, thick, countercultural Catholicism is far more promising than the thinner version, which adapts to the surrounding world. Consider, for example: which is more likely to move our youth to priestly and religious vocations...conjugal mysticism or social justice activism? Clearly, one passionate about the immigrants, global warming or economic inequality will more likely want to be an activist, a politician, a policy expert. Which will draw our young to have large families: the ethos of chastity and fertility or that of contraception and gay-affirmation? The questions answer themselves.

John Paul and Benedict were world class theologians of the calibre of our Church doctors. Their teachings will be forming seminarians and students of theology far into the future. It was a sadness that Francis rejected their vision. We hope that the Catholic intuitions of Leo will overcome the superficial theological heritage he received from his predecessor.

 

 

Sin of Omission (2): Praying for My Enemies

"Fredo, you're my older brother and I love you, but don't ever take sides with anyone against the family with anyone, ever, again."  Michael Corleone to brother Fredo in Godfather.

 I confess: I do not much pray for my enemies. 

Well, I don't have many enemies. Will Rogers famously said "I never met a man I didn't like." I don't go quite that far, but pretty close. My wife says I like people more than they like me and I think they like me more than they do. She may be right. But this is a good problem to have. I have no intention to correct it.

My enemies are intellectual: Marx, Darwin, Nietzsche, Freud. They are dead. I would do well to pray for their souls.

In this diverse American society, I have always been keenly aware of my cultural-religious tribe: Catholic. We are in competition with other tribes: mainline WASP Protestants, Evangelicals-Fundamentalists, Jews both secular and orthodox, Black Evangelicals and so forth. But raised in the harmonious, ecumenical post-war period, I see these more as competitors or benign adversaries, not enemies, like in a wholesome recreational athletic league. 

And so, I do not have a personal animus against those from other tribes: Clintons, Trumps, Obamas, Bushes, and so forth. They are what they are; they don't know better.

Rather, the enemy I despise is the Catholic who betrays our family and our values: politicians like the Bidens, Kennedys, Pelosis, Cuomos, and such who crusade for abortion, force Catholic agencies to place adoptee children with gay couples, force the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for contraception, force our daughters to compete with biological boys. 

Worse still are the Church leaders...theologians, priests, bishops...who betray us in the Culture War by blessing gay unions, tolerating abortion, abandoning our deposit of faith to accommodate fashion: Cardinals like Fernandez, Cupich, McElroy, Parolin and others. 

These are to me what Fredo was to Michael Corleone. 

It is important that I pray for them...for a number of reasons.

First of all, for my own soul. That I grow in charity; and not surrender to contempt, resentment, hatred.

Secondly, to enhance my own witness to Truth since I will be far more effective when I speak from a heart of serenity, love and openness. 

Lastly, for the good of the Church. By speaking the truth always in love, out of prayer, humbly and open-mindedly, I contribute to the unity of the Church.

Yes...praying for my political-theological enemies within the Church is a salutary exercise: for my own heart, soul and intellect...and for the good of the Church.