Making the Faith Clear

Way back when . . . I was a Baptist pastor. I had read all the books; I knew the theology of Baptists. In fact, I even knew the differences between Baptists, and there are many (very many). I do not know if they still do it today, but back then it was common to hear a Baptist say, "No, I'm not one of those Baptists". There were a few basic Baptist tenets that they all held to (only a few) and then a multitude of variations depending on numerous factors.

Sadly, the Catholic Church today has come very close to a similar situation. No, there are not tons of different kinds of Catholics (yet), but we are finding it necessary at times to tell people, "No, I'm not one of those Catholics". Of course, the saddest part of the whole thing is that there are not numerous "types" of Catholics, but there has now come into existence an image of Catholicism (portrayed mostly by a number of those in the highest levels of authority) that is flat out contrary to the settled "Deposit of Faith" that was given to us by the Apostles.

For example, if someone were to condemn a certain nation for having policies to protect its citizens that are completely in accord with the Catholic faith (as seen in Thomas Aquinas, and even the modern Catechism), and if that same someone was a high level cleric in the Church, then it would make it appear to outsiders that Catholics do not hold to their own official doctrines. It would make it extra difficult when it is clear and easy to point out the cleric's error according to the Catechism. This makes the problem worse because it makes it appear as though there is disunity in the Catholic Church.

Of course, this is only a hypothetical situation, as I would never presume that one of our beloved Church authorities would ever put the faithful people into a situation where they had to defend the truth against the statements of her own leaders. That is what we are dealing with, after all. It is a matter of how well we are representing the faith before the world. We each must ask ourselves (yes, even those in the highest positions of authority) whether we are actually promoting the faith as it was once for all delivered to the Church, or just our own personal ideas and desires.

Yet, in order to speak truthfully, and let the world know that we adhere to the historic Catholic faith as handed down for the last 2000 years, and not to a modernized (and protestantized) version of the Catholic faith, we sometimes have to say, "No, I'm not one of those Catholics". Let us pray that the world will sincerely ask; that they will say, "do you agree with that?" or "is that the official teaching of the Church?" Then we can answer. Then we can tell the world the truth. Then we can make it clear that, even if some in the Catholic Church have moved away from the magisterium, we have not, and will not.