Makes me sad.
It really does. I've been loath to admit it it. I found it hard to believe Fr. Martin was actually dissenting from Catholic teaching. I still grapple with that. For me Dr. Janet Smith's recent article in Catholic World Report, Overcoming Fr. Martin's dissent ... is more convincing for me than anything else written to date. Dr. Smith expresses it beautifully and with great charity.
For Catholics who have some background in theology and philosophy it is deeply disappointing when a highly educated priest uses specious arguments to advance his cause; for those whose every fiber of their Catholic being leads them to want to trust priests, bishops, and religious superiors, such instances of untrustworthiness are scandalous; for those of us who have been fighting dissent for nearly 40 years, seeing a dissenter get ecclesial support and public acclaim is demoralizing. But, mostly, it is sad in the extreme that souls could well be lost.
I find myself, as an aging Catholic warrior, experiencing déjà vu all over again. The faithful of my generation spent a lot of our lives countering the equally specious (though more sophisticated) arguments of Father Charles Curran and his ilk—those who dissented from Humanae Vitae and for decades dominated virtually every Catholic institution. We fought a fight that has enjoyed a lot of success. Because of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Saint John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor, the appointment of good bishops, the reform of seminaries and many Catholic colleges and universities, the proliferation of the “movements,” and the development of nearly countless good resources and programs, it seemed dissent was almost a thing of the past. Indeed, the younger generation, in general, is unaware of it. Thus they are even more scandalized by dissent when it does emerge.
But it is back and, to be sure, I am despondent to some extent. Though undoubtedly the damage will still be great, it helps that we are much better equipped to respond to it this time. We must not let this crisis go to waste. - Finish reading here.
As she said, "for those whose every fiber of their Catholic being leads them to want to trust priests, bishops, and religious superiors, such instances of untrustworthiness are scandalous." I want, with every fiber of my Catholic being to trust. I can't tell you how often that trust has been betrayed - but I keep on. Jesus, I trust in you!
We got through it before, we will get through it again.
I reached your conclusion sooner because of my children and grandchildren. I lost my faith for a short time after college because of the scandal of nuns and priests. So it made me vigilant for my own children. When the scandals came I told them just because someone was wearing a roman collar didn't mean he was telling the truth. Sadly, there are many today who have betrayed their sacred vows. May God have mercy on them and especially on those they scandal. Dymphna has a prayer for unfaithful priests on her blog. I prayed it just now for Fr. Martin. https://dymphnaroad.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-prayer-for-redemption-of-bad-priests.html
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed and appalled by Fr. Martin's public disobedience to the clear teaching of the Church, and by the stubbornness and disregard he shows toward those who disagree and respectfully question his view.
ReplyDeleteI still respect his God-given vocation and pray that he returns to faithfulness on this subject, though. He may be in error, but he is still our Catholic brother, and it is our duty to pray for him.
I know priests are human and imperfect. But I think God holds them to a standard a bit higher than most of us by virtue of their calling and education.
Sadly, as illustrated by Mary Ann in her comments, the days of the laity blindly trusting the clergy and religious are over. And maybe it is a good thing. The only teacher we must trust blindly is Jesus Himself. And it is not a bad thing for us to educate ourselves in apologetics throughout our lives, and to be assured that the beliefs we hold are logical and in obedience to the teachings of the Church, and to God.
God bless and protect all here - Susan, ofs
Well said, Susan. While we are still to be found among the living, there is hope for us to return to the Lord when we lose our way. I cannot begin to claim to understand why Father Martin has chosen this path, but for as long as I can, I will be asking the glorious Saint Ignatius to pray with me for Father Martin as well as for all of his little sons.
DeleteThis dissent has been brought to you by Pope Francis. "I'm Pope Francis, and I approve of this message." - Pope Francis.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, Mr. B. But Pope Francis is also our Catholic brother, and it is our duty to pray for him, too. As our good Yaya wrote above, "there is hope for us to return to the Lord when we lose our way." What a fine and good thing for us to remember! The Holy Spirit gave him to us as our pope for a reason, whether to for him to pray us to heaven, or for us to pray him to heaven. God bless you, my friend. Susan, ofs
DeleteI really like and respect Dr. Janet Smith. So grateful there are those like her; astute, with the ability to explicate the faith with charity. I've been finding myself in religious discussions more frequently as of late, with persons who are curious (good thing!) and woefully misinformed about a lot things many of us Catholics take for granted (i.e. Catechetical teachings on sexuality, private revelations like Our Lady of Guadalupe or Fatima) and they sometimes bring up Fr. Martin. For them, he "speaks to them" and makes sense. We don't understand the call to freedom through renunciation, do we? Any of us. It takes a lot of pondering (or what I call 'marinating' in the truth), deciding what's true, Who is Truth, and willing to follow. Not sure I get anywhere in these discussions (I don't seek them out; they've been finding me), but it's disheartening, too, to have to explain and defend some things that are so simple. It's true: sin makes you stupid.
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