By Judie Brown
The so-called derangement syndrome, such as what the media calls those who favor political conservatism over liberalism, has become the go-to label for anyone exhibiting characteristics that contradict the social norm. And I do not mean displaying bad manners in public.
One commentator opines, “You can insert any polarizing name or issue in front of derangement syndrome and chances are there is a group it describes. But most people do not understand what is happening to the person experiencing a form of derangement syndrome.”
For our purposes, the polarizing issue is the undeniable truth of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The cause of our concern is the deafening silence of many, but not all, in the pulpit.
When the occasional Catholic bishop does speak truth, we celebrate him. For example, recently Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Chairman on Pro-Life Activities for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, declared in a statement, “We must renew our commitment to work for the legal protection of every human life.”
And in response to a statement from Pope Francis on the equality of all religions, Archbishop Charles Chaput remarked, “To suggest, even loosely, that Catholics walk a more or less similar path to God as other religions drains martyrdom of its meaning. Why give up your life for Christ when other paths may get us to the same God? Such a sacrifice would be senseless.”
Yet most bishops are silent, or at the very least uncommunicative, when it comes to the truth about the Catholic Church as the one true Church, let alone the wide range of views on the reality of Catholic life and politics. For example, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) published the memo entitled “Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion,” we were hard-pressed to find even 20 bishops who emphasized its teaching.
Today we surmise that Pope Benedict XVI must be spinning in his grave, for he once said that a “Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of a candidate’s permissive stand on abortion.”
That was in 2004, but in today’s Catholic world, such wise reminders are extremely difficult to find. In a world where, for instance, even the pope is reluctant to mention Jesus Christ or the Catholic Church when addressing participants of a recent international prayer meeting for peace, we have every reason to speak about a Catholic doctrine derangement syndrome. In fact, we wonder just how many leaders of the Church have been affected by it.
Merriam Webster defines the word Christian as “one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ.” And the Holy Father did say the word Christian three times in his speech, but he never expanded on what that really means. We are not criticizing Pope Francis for omitting the words, we are simply pointing out a problem because if there were ever a time when the Christians of this world needed to hear and be catechized and inspired by the words of Christ, now is that time.
Instead, the pope suggested that all faiths are equal, but the truth is that the Catholic Church is the one Church created by Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
“This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic.” These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. The Church does not possess them of herself; it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities.
Like so much of what Pope Francis states, we are compelled to point out that truth itself never changes. Sin is always sin and virtue is always virtue. This is not dependent on a human being’s words but on the truth of scripture.
And so in response to what we see as Catholic doctrine derangement syndrome, we quote Proverbs 21:4-5: “Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the lamp of the wicked will fail. Trying to get rich by lying is chasing a bubble over deadly snares.”