The purpose of this blog has not and will not be to discuss issues like this. Those who know me know that I usually try to disavow political discussions, whether out of frustration or disdain. But I recently read a letter from a Catholic bishop that seems to me to provide a glimpse into the sort of attitude that too often poisons churches today. This is not an attack on Catholicism, churches, or the bishop himself. It is an attack on a perspective that runs counter to the vitality, in my opinion, of any communal or personal faith.
As some might be aware, Rep. Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island has been having a rather public dispute with the bishop of Providence, Thomas Tobin. The argument has to do with abortion, health care, and Kennedy's political stances as emblematic of his faith or lack thereof. Tobin basically calls Kennedy "less of a Catholic" or not at all for his stances, and apparently asked him not to take Communion, with the cooperation of the priests in his diocese.
I think I would generally have dismissed this as a stupidly simplistic and reactionary approach to complex issues, but what irked me here was the nature of Tobin's criticism of Kennedy. In a letter dated 11/12/09, Tobin responds to Kennedy's statement that, "“The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Catholic.” Tobin's reply is "that if you don’t accept the teachings of the Church your communion with the Church is flawed, or in your own words, [it] makes you “less of a Catholic.”
Tobin claims to base this on "Sacred Scripture" and then proceeds to quote the "Code of Canon Law" the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" and a statement from the church. But I won't dwell too much on the stuff of Protestant hand-wringing here.
Tobin tells Kennedy, "Your position is unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members. It absolutely diminishes your communion with the Church."
I have often struggled with the apparent substitution of the term "Catholic" for Christian that is so common in Catholic discourse. And perhaps this is all a misunderstanding. Perhaps Tobin is not attacking Tobin's faith, but merely his relationship with his community of faith. Perhaps when he calls him less Catholic, he literally means that his communion with the rest of the church is diminished, as he often says. But it is difficult to ignore the implication that his faith is also diminished in this. I do not think Tobin would distinguish between Christian and Catholic.
I wish to abstract from the point of Kennedy and Tobin's dispute, because I am not concerned with resolving the issues of abortion and its implications. I can certainly see how a certain stance on abortion could be considered as a serious flaw in the structure of one's personal belief. But I do not agree with what follows from the (inferred) conflation here between what Tobin terms Catholicism and Christianity. What, Tobin asks, does it mean to be Catholic?
"Do you accept the teachings of the Church on essential matters of faith and morals, including our stance on abortion? Do you belong to a local Catholic community, a parish? Do you attend Mass on Sundays and receive the sacraments regularly? Do you support the Church, personally, publicly, spiritually and financially?"
Tobin criticizes Kennedy, not because of what he believes, but because he fails to "accept" a teaching of the Church, taking a position that is "unacceptable to the Church and scandalous to many of our members". In essence, Kennedy's problem is that he disagreed with the church and offended many of its members.
In practical terms, this certainly would, it seems, diminish one's communion with the church and its community. But does it diminish one's faith? Tobin seems little concerned about the veracity of the church's opinion, so long as it is accepted. Perhaps this is unfair to extrapolate from one letter, and, as I said, this is not an attack on Tobin either. But I think it is fair to challenge the idea that being Christian means accepting church teachings in "docility" as the catechism suggests and adhering to a faith community. If this is what it means to be Catholic, then that is all well and good, but I cannot accept that this is the extent of what it means to be Christian, or even essentially relevent.
Kennedy may certainly be incorrect, but to challenge a religious institution's teaching or position can be conducive to the examination and understanding that one might argue essential to faith.
In short, I fully endorse the quote which provoked this letter, with one clarification:
"The fact that I disagree with the hierarchy on some issues does not make me any less of a Christian"
That's all. Now we return to our regular programming.
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