Keep Perspective

There is one good reason to be a member of the Catholic Church, and that reason is that the Catholic Church is the Church which was established by Jesus Christ and acts with the authority which Christ has bestowed on her to bring people to Him.  Love of her artwork, her architecture and the beauty of her rituals are not reasons to be a member of the Catholic Church.

It is true that these things can and do elevate the mind to God and should not be scorned.  But if one should put so much focus on the beauty that they forget the purpose of the Church, then the attachment to these things can actually be harmful.

Now we need to remember the maxim abusus non tollit usum (Abuse does not take away [right] use).  The fact that some put excessive focus on these things does not mean they are worthless and should be discarded.  Rather it means that when the aesthetics of the Church are downplayed, a person should ask why this is.

Watching the past two and a half weeks since Pope Francis was elected, there have been a certain section of the Catholic blogosphere who has been scandalized by his actions.  It might seem asinine that some people are worried about the fact that the Pope isn't wearing the red shoes and some other traditional robes, but they are. Some have even accused him of doing things in Argentina (like washing the feet of certain outcasts) out of pride(!).

I think these are quite clearly warning signs that some people are missing the point of what the Church is existing for.

The Church is the sacrament Christ has made to bring His salvation to the world – and His Real Presence to the world in the Eucharist.  Pope Francis sees some of the trappings of the office as perhaps obscuring the message of salvation and so he forgoes these trappings to make the message more clear.

Now some people may disagree with how he handles these things.  Fair enough.  There were times when I cringed at how some of Pope Francis' predecessors did or stated things.  We don't have to like all the ways a Pope uses to express himself in teaching the faith.  But if a person does not like some of the means the Pope might use to teach the faith, that person still has to have a loving acceptance of the authority of the Pope and assume he is acting out of good will instead of judging rashly.

I do not write this to judge any individual.  Rather in the last few hours before the Easter Vigil, I ask readers to keep perspective and not to forget what the Church is for when the Pope acts in an unexpected way.

Keep Perspective

There is one good reason to be a member of the Catholic Church, and that reason is that the Catholic Church is the Church which was established by Jesus Christ and acts with the authority which Christ has bestowed on her to bring people to Him.  Love of her artwork, her architecture and the beauty of her rituals are not reasons to be a member of the Catholic Church.

It is true that these things can and do elevate the mind to God and should not be scorned.  But if one should put so much focus on the beauty that they forget the purpose of the Church, then the attachment to these things can actually be harmful.

Now we need to remember the maxim abusus non tollit usum (Abuse does not take away [right] use).  The fact that some put excessive focus on these things does not mean they are worthless and should be discarded.  Rather it means that when the aesthetics of the Church are downplayed, a person should ask why this is.

Watching the past two and a half weeks since Pope Francis was elected, there have been a certain section of the Catholic blogosphere who has been scandalized by his actions.  It might seem asinine that some people are worried about the fact that the Pope isn't wearing the red shoes and some other traditional robes, but they are. Some have even accused him of doing things in Argentina (like washing the feet of certain outcasts) out of pride(!).

I think these are quite clearly warning signs that some people are missing the point of what the Church is existing for.

The Church is the sacrament Christ has made to bring His salvation to the world – and His Real Presence to the world in the Eucharist.  Pope Francis sees some of the trappings of the office as perhaps obscuring the message of salvation and so he forgoes these trappings to make the message more clear.

Now some people may disagree with how he handles these things.  Fair enough.  There were times when I cringed at how some of Pope Francis' predecessors did or stated things.  We don't have to like all the ways a Pope uses to express himself in teaching the faith.  But if a person does not like some of the means the Pope might use to teach the faith, that person still has to have a loving acceptance of the authority of the Pope and assume he is acting out of good will instead of judging rashly.

I do not write this to judge any individual.  Rather in the last few hours before the Easter Vigil, I ask readers to keep perspective and not to forget what the Church is for when the Pope acts in an unexpected way.

Pope Francis and Rash Judgment

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.²⁷⁸ He becomes guilty:

- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;

- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;²⁷⁹

- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.²⁸⁰

The news has come out that two of the individuals whose feet he washed at the youth prison happened to be female, and one of them a Muslim.  Traditional Catholics were horrified. 

I usually dread these kind of stories… not because I think Pope Francis did wrong (See here for Jimmy Akin's good explanation as to why the Pope did not), but because invariably somebody is going to get all up in arms about how the Pope is a heretic or somehow committing a terrible sin and it is so tiresome to have to explain the faith to someone who should already know better.

The long and the short of it is the Pope is the supreme legislator of the Church and does have the authority to make decisions on how the Papal ceremonies are to be carried out.  Since the Pope did not make a change in Catholic Dogma or Doctrine nor change the Church teaching on faith and morals, he has not gone out of bounds in any way or sinned.

Sure, it might have been less startling if he had announced the change first, but he was not obligated to do so.

What Pope Francis seems to have done is seek to use Christ's example to show how he, as the Vicar of Christ, seeks to follow his Master's instructions – as the master, Christ showed how the Church is to be the servant.  Pope Francis seems to have decided to bear witness to how the Church is at the service of all – including felons and among those felons, including female Muslims.

There was no perversion of the Washing of the Feet by what He did.

Because there was no wrong done, and because we are required to look at the Pope's actions with charity and not assuming any moral fault on his part.

Otherwise there will be a scandal of Holy Thursday – and we will be the ones guilty of it.

Pope Francis and Rash Judgment

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.²⁷⁸ He becomes guilty:

- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;

- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;²⁷⁹

- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.²⁸⁰

The news has come out that two of the individuals whose feet he washed at the youth prison happened to be female, and one of them a Muslim.  Traditional Catholics were horrified. 

I usually dread these kind of stories… not because I think Pope Francis did wrong (See here for Jimmy Akin's good explanation as to why the Pope did not), but because invariably somebody is going to get all up in arms about how the Pope is a heretic or somehow committing a terrible sin and it is so tiresome to have to explain the faith to someone who should already know better.

The long and the short of it is the Pope is the supreme legislator of the Church and does have the authority to make decisions on how the Papal ceremonies are to be carried out.  Since the Pope did not make a change in Catholic Dogma or Doctrine nor change the Church teaching on faith and morals, he has not gone out of bounds in any way or sinned.

Sure, it might have been less startling if he had announced the change first, but he was not obligated to do so.

What Pope Francis seems to have done is seek to use Christ's example to show how he, as the Vicar of Christ, seeks to follow his Master's instructions – as the master, Christ showed how the Church is to be the servant.  Pope Francis seems to have decided to bear witness to how the Church is at the service of all – including felons and among those felons, including female Muslims.

There was no perversion of the Washing of the Feet by what He did.

Because there was no wrong done, and because we are required to look at the Pope's actions with charity and not assuming any moral fault on his part.

Otherwise there will be a scandal of Holy Thursday – and we will be the ones guilty of it.

Reflections on Dualistic (Either-Or) Thinking

One of the problems with American thinking is that it tends to be dualistic – either X or Y – when it comes to criticism.  If one criticizes X it is assumed that one supports Y and vice versa.  That is a problem in America where as of late it seems that neither X nor Y is in the right and both must be opposed.  So, for example, Americans are given the argument of: Either pro-"gay marriage" or "homophobic" and opposition to one is automatically seen as endorsement of the other.

This is why one sees the Matthew Sheppard case invoked as a justification of so-called "gay marriage" while opponents of this are vilified as supporting his barbaric murder.  The assumption is if one does not support "gay marriage" one must be homophobic.  But if one rejects both homophobia and "gay marriage," then the accusation is false.

Unfortunately, this dualistic thinking seems to show up in people who observe the Church as well, where a thing can be both-and instead of either-or.  Praise Pope Francis and his simplicity, for example, and it tends to come off as a rebuke of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI and his more formal liturgies – and vice versa.  It seems that not many people consider the possibility of both Popes doing what was right before God with different accents.  Neither one contradicted Church teaching nor lived in a way which demonstrated opposition to Christ and His Church.

Either-Or thinking can be fallacy if (among other things):

1. Neither Option is true (neither A nor B)
2. Both options are compatible (Both A and B)
3. There are more unconsidered options (I choose Option C)

In other words, we have to look at what is asked and consider whether A and B are contradictory (if one is true, the other must be false) and whether A and B are the only options to choose from (choose from only A or B).

This is a problem with how the political and media elites view the Church today.  They consider a certain policy to be essential for the good of mankind.  Thus any opposition to this policy must be considered hostile towards the good of mankind.  Thus the venom spewed against the Church over opposition to contraception, abortion and the like.

But the Church considers the good of man to extend beyond life on Earth and must look at our existence on Earth in light of our existence after death.  If certain behaviors will harm our life after death, it is reasonable she might oppose a behavior which may seem beneficial in the short term but harmful in terms of our ultimate goal.

Now some may object that this is imposing beliefs on a person who does not believe life extends beyond death.  But when one thinks about it, such an argument is actually an attempt by the person who does not believe life extends beyond death to impose their beliefs on the person who does.

If it is wrong to impose beliefs on others, then the person who attacks Christianity as "bigoted" is guilty of imposing their beliefs on others.  Why?  Because they argue Either-Or in such a way that one must be contradictory to the other.  If one argues "either you [tolerate views you disagree with] or you're [a bigot]" then under the argument they make, they must either tolerate the Christianity they dislike or accept the label of bigot.

Since they argue the either-or, they are caught up in the trap they make for the Christian.

Christianity, on the other hand, does not argue by the either-or fallacy (though some Christians do).  The Church recognizes that sin is contrary to following Christ and so every sin must be condemned as wrong.  But the Church also recognizes that Christ commanded that we go out to seek out the lost and tell them of the salvation Christ brings.  The individual sought out may accept or reject the message of salvation, but we're forbidden to just write off a person as being beyond redemption, and certainly the Christian who goes out to bring the Good News to people must consider his or her own behavior in presenting the Truth of Jesus Christ.

In other words, jerks exist among all groups of people – even among Christians.

So, we need to recognize that there is objective truth which we must live in accordance with to know, love and serve God.  Unfortunately, we need to be aware of the fact that some rejection of Christianity is the result of some Christians presenting the Christian message in a way that offends.  God knows the heart of the person and knows the motives for rejection of those who will not follow what He commands.  His judgments will take these things into account.

But despite the fact that some Christians are jerks in presenting the teaching of Christ, does not change the objective truth of His teaching of how we are called to live.

It would be an either-or fallacy to assume "Either [all Christians are nice] or [Christianity is false].

Reflections on Dualistic (Either-Or) Thinking

One of the problems with American thinking is that it tends to be dualistic – either X or Y – when it comes to criticism.  If one criticizes X it is assumed that one supports Y and vice versa.  That is a problem in America where as of late it seems that neither X nor Y is in the right and both must be opposed.  So, for example, Americans are given the argument of: Either pro-"gay marriage" or "homophobic" and opposition to one is automatically seen as endorsement of the other.

This is why one sees the Matthew Sheppard case invoked as a justification of so-called "gay marriage" while opponents of this are vilified as supporting his barbaric murder.  The assumption is if one does not support "gay marriage" one must be homophobic.  But if one rejects both homophobia and "gay marriage," then the accusation is false.

Unfortunately, this dualistic thinking seems to show up in people who observe the Church as well, where a thing can be both-and instead of either-or.  Praise Pope Francis and his simplicity, for example, and it tends to come off as a rebuke of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI and his more formal liturgies – and vice versa.  It seems that not many people consider the possibility of both Popes doing what was right before God with different accents.  Neither one contradicted Church teaching nor lived in a way which demonstrated opposition to Christ and His Church.

Either-Or thinking can be fallacy if (among other things):

1. Neither Option is true (neither A nor B)
2. Both options are compatible (Both A and B)
3. There are more unconsidered options (I choose Option C)

In other words, we have to look at what is asked and consider whether A and B are contradictory (if one is true, the other must be false) and whether A and B are the only options to choose from (choose from only A or B).

This is a problem with how the political and media elites view the Church today.  They consider a certain policy to be essential for the good of mankind.  Thus any opposition to this policy must be considered hostile towards the good of mankind.  Thus the venom spewed against the Church over opposition to contraception, abortion and the like.

But the Church considers the good of man to extend beyond life on Earth and must look at our existence on Earth in light of our existence after death.  If certain behaviors will harm our life after death, it is reasonable she might oppose a behavior which may seem beneficial in the short term but harmful in terms of our ultimate goal.

Now some may object that this is imposing beliefs on a person who does not believe life extends beyond death.  But when one thinks about it, such an argument is actually an attempt by the person who does not believe life extends beyond death to impose their beliefs on the person who does.

If it is wrong to impose beliefs on others, then the person who attacks Christianity as "bigoted" is guilty of imposing their beliefs on others.  Why?  Because they argue Either-Or in such a way that one must be contradictory to the other.  If one argues "either you [tolerate views you disagree with] or you're [a bigot]" then under the argument they make, they must either tolerate the Christianity they dislike or accept the label of bigot.

Since they argue the either-or, they are caught up in the trap they make for the Christian.

Christianity, on the other hand, does not argue by the either-or fallacy (though some Christians do).  The Church recognizes that sin is contrary to following Christ and so every sin must be condemned as wrong.  But the Church also recognizes that Christ commanded that we go out to seek out the lost and tell them of the salvation Christ brings.  The individual sought out may accept or reject the message of salvation, but we're forbidden to just write off a person as being beyond redemption, and certainly the Christian who goes out to bring the Good News to people must consider his or her own behavior in presenting the Truth of Jesus Christ.

In other words, jerks exist among all groups of people – even among Christians.

So, we need to recognize that there is objective truth which we must live in accordance with to know, love and serve God.  Unfortunately, we need to be aware of the fact that some rejection of Christianity is the result of some Christians presenting the Christian message in a way that offends.  God knows the heart of the person and knows the motives for rejection of those who will not follow what He commands.  His judgments will take these things into account.

But despite the fact that some Christians are jerks in presenting the teaching of Christ, does not change the objective truth of His teaching of how we are called to live.

It would be an either-or fallacy to assume "Either [all Christians are nice] or [Christianity is false].

He'll Be a Great Pope… Provided He Does Exactly What We Want

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