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So you’ve completed the RCIA program, been confirmed
(possibly baptized, if you weren’t before), and have even got your first
rosary, bottle of Holy Water, and collection envelopes. Congratulations, and benedicamus Domino! You’ve joined the
Catholic Church! Like the song in The
Music Man says, “So what the heck, you’re welcome; glad to have you with
us, even though we may not ever mention it again.”
It’s theoretically possible that you were comatose for the
last twenty years and, like Rip Van Winkle, just woke up before you began the
conversion process. Or, you could be young enough to not remember the scandals
of the “Long Lent” of 2002 (and haven’t
seen Spotlight yet) — was it
really that long ago? In any event, I’ll trust you decided that the people of
the Church don’t have to be perfect in order for the Church to teach the
fullness of Christ’s truth. Many former Protestants and non-Christians convinced
themselves of the truth of the Church’s doctrines, through self-directed study,
even before they registered for the classes.
If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need the Church to begin
with. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew
9:12-13).
Catholic Factionalism
So now you’re here. And you’re beginning to notice that we
spend almost as much time arguing with each other as we do with non-Catholics.
Or, you notice they do things differently at St. Francis Xavier than they do at
your home parish of Our Lady of Council Bluffs (yes, there is such a parish); for instance, you stand to greet your neighbor
before Mass, but you realize nobody said to do this, and your neighbor is
looking at your hand like it’s a dead carp on the front stoop. Or you may meet
two Knights of Columbus arguing over Bernie Sanders’ merits as a potential
President, the one damning him as a “socialist”, the other nigh unto a
card-carrying Socialist himself.
Doesn’t look much like the “society with a single religious
feeling, a single unity of discipline, and a single bond of hope” Tertullian
wrote of at the end of the second century, does it? If the Church were a
family, a therapist might call it dysfunctional. Didn’t St. Paul condemn
factionalism in his first letter to the Corinthians (1
Corinthians 1:10-13)?
Certainly. Again, if all it took to wreak a change in human
behavior were a citation from Scripture, we wouldn’t need a Church, let alone
one so full of fractious people. Contrary to popular belief, sheep aren’t
easily led; with the right shepherd and a couple of herd dogs, the critters
will still do as they darn well please.
The Three Flavors of Latin-rite Catholicism
Although there’s some overlap, Latin-rite Catholics come in
three basic flavors: traditionalist,
orthodox (with a small “o”), and liberal. There’s also some overlap in secular
political stances, with traditionalists and some orthodox being conservative,
other orthodox being moderates or libertarians, and liberals largely
progressive.
Traditionalists
The heart of the traditionalist
segment is the Extraordinary Rite, or Tridentine Latin Mass. Some will go miles
out of their way to attend a Latin Mass rather than the Ordinary Form (aka Novus
Ordo, or Mass of Paul VI), with the Novus Ordo in Latin being a second choice —
yes, the Novus Ordo can be and is sometimes celebrated in Latin! — and will
attend a NO Mass only if other options are unavailable or too impractical.
Traditionalists are (mostly) faithful to the magisterium;
many, however, aren’t fond of Pope Francis, and worry that he’s leading the Church
in the wrong direction. (Some weren’t fond of Pope St. John Paul II, either.) Many
are critical of Vatican II, especially because of the changes that were made in
its name, and of some popes’ social-justice encyclicals. Some sympathize with
the Society of St. Pius X, a group which rejected the Council. However, the
traditionalists’ love for the beauty and the richness of the pre-Vatican II
traditions keep those treasures alive for the rest of us.
Orthodox
The small-o orthodox
Catholics also value traditional practices; some may have attended Latin Masses
at some point. However, most are content to go to Novus Ordo Masses, so long as
they’re celebrated with reverence and respect; most accepted, and some
applauded, the most recent English translation of the Latin Missal when it was
introduced in Advent 2011. They have a slightly higher level of tolerance for
innovation, putting up with guitar-led songs and sometimes adopting the orans position during the Our Father,
but raising a protest or fleeing to another parish at the first sign of
liturgical puppets.
Most orthodox Catholics love Pope Francis and are quick to
defend him against traditionalist critics. However, most also love(d) Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI, and agree that Francis isn’t as careful or as nuanced as
his predecessors. They, too, are (mostly) faithful to the Magisterium, though some
do sometimes argue with traditionalists — and each other — over documents and
doctrines, particularly those concerning social justice.
Liberals
Liberal Catholics
could also be called “Catholic Buts”, for their habit of introducing their
opinions on certain issues with “I’m (a devout) Catholic, but ….” They tend to attend Mass less frequently than other
Catholics, sometimes appearing in the pews only at Christmas and Easter (“C-and-E
Catholics”), and to forgo sending their kids to CCD or Catholic schools,
especially if they’ve married outside the Faith. Many have never seen or participated
in a Latin Mass, and don’t particularly care if they never do; many don’t go to
Confession from one end of the year to the other, even if they’ve committed a
mortal sin. They have a much larger tolerance for liturgical innovation, even
liturgical abuse; they might even applaud if Father allowed a “woman priest” to
concelebrate Mass with him, or if the processional and recessional were danced.
The most notable trait of liberal Catholics, though, is that
they reject many Catholic doctrines while still self-identifying as Catholic;
many view their dissent as loyal attempts to reform the Church. Most liberals
love Pope Francis, and didn’t like Benedict or St. John Paul. Some, however, have
become disillusioned with Francis, as he’s clearly not going to get rid of the doctrines they dislike, or call for a
Vatican Council III to do so.
Where Do You Fit In?
“Where do I fit in this?” you may ask yourself.
My response is, “Don’t try to pigeonhole yourself. At least,
not yet.” First, try to find out more;
listen to what each side has to say, and learn more about traditional
practices, even going to a Latin Mass. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, as well as any
other resource for understanding Church teachings. Eventually, as you make your decisions about the internal issues
and the traditions, you may find yourself gravitating more toward a particular
circle.
Second, whichever group you gravitate towards, your politics should follow your religion,
not vice-versa. We belong to God before we belong to any nation; we belong
to the Church before we belong to any party. Especially in America, it’s
hard to keep your politics from influencing your reading of Church
doctrine. Remember, though, that if the Church teaches a certain activity to be
inherently or manifestly evil, that teaching is to be treated as objectively true, not simply the Vatican’s
subjective opinion. Any support you give to that activity, even with the best
of motives, could be considered formal cooperation
in evil, and therefore a mortal sin.
(In many cases, election time will usually find you faced
with choices between candidates who both/all support moral evils. You have two
choices: 1) Write in a candidate; 2) Hold your nose and pull the lever/press
the button/fill out the card. Well, you could always avoid voting, too; but
that surrenders your participation in the democratic process, which isn’t a sin
but would be a shame.)
Third, remember that you
go to Mass to worship the Lord and receive his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
in the Holy Eucharist. You’re not there to sit in judgment on the
celebrant, or the choir, or your fellow worshippers. That’s not to say you
should let liturgical abuses and irregularities go unremarked, or that you can’t
“parish shop” for the right fit (it drives pastors crazy, but sometimes that’s
the only way you can register your dissatisfaction with sufficient strength).
But don’t march out of the church in a righteous huff, or make a nuisance of
yourself with loud denunciations, if the priest and congregation don’t meet
your exacting standards. I say again, if you
were perfect, you wouldn’t need to go to Mass.
* * *
In sum, be faithful; be obedient; but be your own kind of Catholic. There’s plenty of room for variation
within the bounds of dogma, doctrine, and discipline. As the late Fr. Andrew
Greeley used to say (following James Joyce), “Catholic” means “Here comes
everybody!”
We’re not saints yet, but we’re working on it. Welcome home.
