In a homily Monday at the Vatican, Pope Francis warned his fellow Catholics that holy law must not be treated as an end in itself, particularly if it bars people from participating in the church. Drawing upon the New Testament, he reminded them that the pharisees, the "doctors of the law," had been blind and deaf to the message of Jesus, unable to read what he called "the signs of the times."
"Why they did not understand?" Francis asked. "First of all, because they were closed. They were closed within their system, they had perfectly systematized the law: It was a masterpiece. Every Jew knew what they could do and what they could not do, how far they could go. It was all systematized. And they were safe there."
But "safe" is not the same thing as "right," and as Francis noted, Jesus did not teach "safe."
"And this should make us think: am I attached to my things, my ideas, [are they] closed? Or am I open to God's surprises? Am I at a standstill or am I on a journey? .... Am I able to understand the signs of the times and be faithful to the voice of the Lord that is manifested in them? We should ask ourselves these questions today and ask the Lord for a heart that loves the law - because the law belongs to God – but which also loves God's surprises and the ability to understand that this holy law is not an end in itself".
A few hours after that speech, the Vatican released a preliminary report from a synod of bishops that has sent tremors throughout the Catholic world. It explores the possibilities of the church becoming more humane and less rigid in its treatment of the divorced and of gay Catholics. Rather than condemn and criticize, the document says, "the Church turns respectfully to those who participate in her life in an incomplete and imperfect way, appreciating the positive values they contain rather than their limitations and shortcomings."
For example, without endorsing such practices, the draft speaks of recognizing "the positive aspects of civil unions and cohabitation" for the stability they provide and as a sort of half-measure toward the full church-sanctioned marriage that Catholic leaders would still seek. It speaks of a message "that denounces clearly the cultural, social and economic factors -- for example, the excessive room given to market logic -- that prevents an authentic family life."
"... the situation of the divorced who have remarried demands a careful discernment and an accompaniment full of respect, avoiding any language or behavior that might make them feel discriminated against," the draft document states. It also acknowledges that for many people, divorce "is more 'endured' than freely chosen," and that church teaching might have to be adjusted to recognize that fact.
Most controversially, it opens the door to some sort of accommodation with gay Catholics. While reiterating that gay marriage "cannot be considered on the same footing as matrimony between man and woman," it asks:
"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities? Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home. Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?"
Not surprisingly, such language set off an intense reaction, with some celebrating the new openness and others recoiling in horror. Here in Atlanta, Archbishop Wilton Gregory was among those who embraced the draft proposal:
"These men and women are the sons and daughters of the church, and yet in too many cases they have not felt welcomed or respected. Surely there are ways that we can adjust our religious language so that its frequently perceived severity will not drive away those who belong to Christ and His church."
Reading through the document and trying to parse its often opaque language, the word "charity" kept coming to mind. Not the type of charity involved in giving to the poor and needy, but the broader, deeper meaning of the word. The draft -- and it is merely a draft -- is infused with the type of charity that recognizes the imperfections of those in the human condition, and that extends love and respect to them nonetheless.
I recognize that this post is a little out of the ordinary, so maybe confession is in order. I normally avoid discussing my personal thoughts about religion, in part I was raised to see it as something deeply personal, and in part because I don't think that express statements of faith are appropriate in the largely political debates that I host here. (For example, I was not at all comfortable with President Carter's decision last week to use the pulpit for political purposes on behalf of his grandson.)
That's been my rule, but as Pope Francis suggests, maybe rules should be broken from time to time in service of a greater purpose. So in the interest of candor and honesty, here goes:
I am not Catholic, although as a child I attended a Catholic parochial school for a while and often attended Mass with my Irish Catholic grandmother. I am also not a believer, but unlike some who take that stance, I am not at all antagonistic toward religion or the religious. To the contrary, I have a deep, unshakable respect for it. I have seen religious faith play a powerful, transformative role in the lives of individuals, and I have seen it provide comfort where there would otherwise have been no comfort. I would never presume to tell them -- or even to think -- that their comfort was a false comfort.
Admittedly, I have also seen religion used as an excuse for darker motives. But over the span of human history, I think the positive impacts of religion have considerably outweighed the negative, although the negative has surely been substantial, then as now. That's because, at its best, religion calls us to reach outside ourselves and to aspire to greater things, to treat each other more kindly and to counter what the bishops' draft calls "the danger of individualism and the risk of living selfishly."**
For that reason, I think that what Pope Francis is attempting to accomplish is historically important and deeply moving, even to a nonbeliever such as myself. In its striving, it is religion attempting to elevate and unite. As the bishops' draft puts it:
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** (I've also had debates with religious friends who claim that without faith in a Greater Being and an afterlife, mankind would have no incentive to try to live a moral life. All I can say is that hasn't been my experience.)
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