« I Told You So | Main | Who’s Stupid? »
30 Pieces of Silver
by American Phoenix | November 9, 2008
It will come as no surprise to my readers that I was active in the Yes on 8 campaign. But it is the first time I have ever volunteered to work in any political campaign. This was eye opening and an indication to me as to how much work there is to do, both in the Church and in American culture.
I approached the pastor of a parish about setting up a volunteer recruitment table after Masses. (I will not identify either the church or the pastor.) This was to have been staffed by volunteers and no parish funds would have been expended on this effort. Therefore, there would be no reporting requirement either to the Franchise Tax Board or to the IRS. I set up a meeting with the pastor to make this request.
On the day of the meeting, I was ushered into the pastor’s office and told that he had already made up his mind and that the answer was “No”. I hadn’t yet said a word. I offered him the letter from the diocese giving permission for this to be done within the parish. I also offered him a copy of the statement of the California Catholic Conference on Proposition 8. He took the pieces of paper, laid them aside and explained to me that the diocese did what it did, but that the bishop lived “over there” motioning towards the cathedral, while he lived here in the parish and had to deal with the parishioners. He explained to me that he couldn’t tell people how to vote. I answered that no one was asking him to, but that he could instruct his parishioners on issues concerning faith and morals. “Of course,” he said.
I wondered when that would be. During my time in this diocese, I have never once heard a sermon on abortion, contraception, infanticide, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, or marriage from any priest. I might have heard one on immigrants … once. Some of the greatest civil rights issues of our time confront us, yet many of our priests remain silent.
What bothered me most about our exchange, was not that this pastor declined my request. What bothered me were his reasons for doing so and his open disrespect for the bishops.
A few days later I was watching some of the various internet videos about Proposition 8. In one of them, a Protestant pastor said something about how pastoring has changed over the years that stopped me right in my tracks:
The number one ingredient that causes pastors to compromise is when their desire for respectability from other persons outweighs their reverent fear of God.
It took me twenty years to appreciate the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. I have found it only to discover that so many are “present”, when their hearts are really elsewhere. In some respects, this is all too reminiscent of the dissent and destruction that I observed amongst religious orders in college and high school. This time, unlike the last, I understand that there is a spiritual battle raging and I will not disengage.
Attending Mass is difficult for me right now. Last week, I cried through the whole thing. Nevertheless, I prayed through my tears for faith, hope and charity. Like Karen, over at Some Have Hats, I go to Mass and “trust that Jesus shows up on Sundays.” Jesus, after all, has promised us that He will be there. No matter what. There is great comfort in that.
[Q]uia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te.
Topics: Catholic, Christianity, Culture of Death, Homosexuality, Politics, Religion |