The Pope's Important Call for Unity in the Church

The homily the Holy Father preached yesterday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York addresses one of the most painful problems of the Church in the United States, but also in other parts of the world, including the Philippines: polarization in the Church. The hardening of positions into ideological and mutually hostile divisions between so-called "conservatives" and "liberals" among Catholics is one of the most terrible wounds of the Church today. 

Even the categories of "conservative" and "liberal" are unhelpful. They over-simplify very complex and nuanced positions. (For example, the popular (mis)characterization of Benedict as "conservative," hardly captures the complexity and radicality of his thought.) They allow one to be easily and unfairly dismissive of those whose ideas are different from one's own, without having to go through the laborious work of dialogue, dialogue which is, in the end, an imperative of charity. 

 

When the mindset of "black and white," "us versus them" is appropriated by individuals or groups in the Church, when those who have different points of view are immediately and conveniently labeled as either "unorthodox" or "fundamentalist," dialogue becomes impossible, unity is destroyed, and scandal is created. One only need read the blogs of polarized individuals and groups. The vituperation, anger, arrogance, intolerance and blindness one often finds takes one's breath away. One wonders how the young would ever be attracted to such a Church.

That is why the Holy Father's homily is deeply significant. Just as he has courageously and honestly named the problem of sexual abuse, so he has named and confronted the terrible scourge of polarization in the Church. This is not a Pontiff who will indulge in comfortable denial for the sake of peace and bella figura ("a good image."). He names the problem plainly and clearly:

"For all of us, I think, one of the great disappointments which followed the Second Vatican Council, with its call for a greater engagement in the Church’s mission to the world, has been the experience of division between different groups, different generations, different members of the same religious family." 

He points out the challenging and difficult way forward: the path of conversion and dialogue:

"We can only move forward if we turn our gaze together to Christ! In the light of faith, we will then discover the wisdom and strength needed to open ourselves to points of view which may not necessarily conform to our own ideas or assumptions. Thus we can value the perspectives of others, be they younger or older than ourselves, and ultimately hear "what the Spirit is saying" to us and to the Church (cf. Rev 2:7). In this way, we will move together towards that true spiritual renewal desired by the Council, a renewal which can only strengthen the Church in that holiness and unity indispensable for the effective proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world."

Why is the task of healing division and fostering unity anew so vital? The Holy Father explains using the image of the stained glass windows of the Cathedral. "From the outside," he says, "those windows are dark, heavy, even dreary." But, "once one enters the church, they suddenly come alive; reflecting the light passing through them, they reveal all their splendor." So it is, the Holy Father says, with the Church: "It is only from the inside, from the experience of faith and ecclesial life, that we see the Church as she truly is: flooded with grace, resplendent in beauty, adorned by the manifold gifts of the Spirit." 

 

The problem is: how do you draw people into the Church? The Holy Father admits that "this is no easy task in a world which can tend to look at the Church, like those stained glass windows, 'from the outside': a world which deeply senses a need for spirituality, yet finds it difficult to 'enter into' the mystery of the Church."

Thus the need to overcome the ideological hostility and division in the Church, for amidst all this angry mutual excommunication and bitter condemnation, "Perhaps we have lost sight of this: in a society where the Church seems legalistic and "institutional" to many people, our most urgent challenge is to communicate the joy born of faith and the experience of God’s love."

This is a constant theme of Benedict in his many homilies and discourses. The world needs to see the joy that comes from embracing the Gospel if it is to receive the Gospel as the Word of life which responds to its deepest longings. Thus, he exhorts the seminarians and young religious present:

Act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ upon the world, and encouraging young people to discover the beauty of a life given completely to the Lord and his Church. I make this plea in a particular way to the many seminarians and young religious present. All of you have a special place in my heart. Never forget that you are called to carry on, with all the enthusiasm and joy that the Spirit has given you, a work that others have begun, a legacy that one day you too will have to pass on to a new generation. Work generously and joyfully, for he whom you serve is the Lord!
 

That we may overcome divisions in the Church through dialogue, and that together we may "communicate [to the world] the joy born of faith and the experience of God's love": this is the prayer the Holy Father's homily inspires.