Penance, Purification and Purity: Dealing with the Sin Within the Church

When we look back at the Church in 2010 we should reflect on this need for interior purification.  Reform always begins with us, with purifying our intentions and freeing ourselves from attachments, as St. John of the Cross called them, which hinder a more perfect union with God.  How have we have become attached to ecclesial injustice, liturgical abuses, and doctrinal errors - simply because it was more comfortable to do so?   These are the enemies "born of sin within the Church." 

P>BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Catholic Online) - Looking back on the year 2010, we saw many violent attacks against the Catholic Church.  Our Catholic brothers and sisters were bombed by fundamentalist Muslims throughout the world: in Iraq, the Philippines, and in Nigeria.  Furthermore, we saw communist China interfering more deeply in Church affairs and Pope Benedict XVI publicly calling for prayers for the Church in China.
 
Yet the more serious enemy in 2010 came from within.  As Pope Benedict XVI spoke this past May, "Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies, but is born of sin within the Church."  The Holy Father was referring to the painful abuse crisis that in this latest chapter had reached terrible levels in Europe. 

Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words when he was travelling to Fatima for the anniversary of Our Lady's apparition.  He went on to say, "The Church has a deep need to learn to do penance, accept purification, and to learn to ask forgiveness," adding that "forgiveness cannot be a substitute for justice."
 
Vatican II taught that the Catholic Church is the "universal sacrament of salvation," meaning that She is both a sign and instrument of the Lord's grace simply because She is the bride of Christ.  We love Her as we love Christ Himself, recognizing that we have received life itself from Her hands.  Yet its members can stain Her purity, as we know so well.  In this way the Catholic Church is both a human and a divine institution. 
 
When we look back at the Church in 2010 we should reflect on this need for interior purification.  Reform always begins with us, with purifying our intentions and freeing ourselves from attachments, as St. John of the Cross called them, which hinder a more perfect union with God.  How have we have become attached to ecclesial injustice, liturgical abuses, and doctrinal errors - simply because it was more comfortable to do so?   These are the enemies "born of sin within the Church." 
 
The laity must examine their consciences for the ways they have opposed Church teaching, or supported Church leaders who have eased their consciences by allowing them to dissent on doctrinal matters, or remain silent in the face of grave injustices.  Our Lord warned the people about following "blind guides", because "if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit" (Matthew 15:14).
 
We who are shepherds have a unique role in purifying the flock from attachments and evil influences.  This is the way Christ set up His Church.  When Pope Benedict XVI was elected as the Vicar of Christ in 2005 he asked the faithful to pray, ""that I may not flee for fear of the wolves."  He was referring to the hireling "who sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them" (John 10:12).  

We were reminded of this reality when Bishop James Moriarty, the Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Ireland resigned in April 2010 after the details of the abuse crisis revealed that he had failed to protect his flock.  Bishop Moriarty humbly stated that he was resigning because he had "failed to challenge the prevailing culture" of secrecy in the Catholic Church in Dublin.  His example provides a powerful witness for the clergy, reminding us that at the end of our lives we "must render a strict account to God, the Supreme Judge," for "guilty silence." (Casti Connubii, 57).   
 
In his letters, St. Paul the Apostle condemns those who are "enemies of the cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18).   Carrying one's cross is the absolute necessary condition for discipleship (Matthew 16:24).  Yet there are "enemies of the cross of Christ" who remain silent and encourage others to remain silent according to human standards of prudence, because it will cause them to suffer.  The cross sometimes means standing up for truth, in the proper way and at the proper time, even when those of influence will oppose us.  St. James makes it clear: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with Christ? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4).
 
The year 2011 begins with the same violent attacks against the Catholic Church that we saw in 2010: bombings of Coptic Christians in Egypt and the arrest of Christians in Iran for converting from Islam to Christianity, the penalty for which is death.  St. Raymond de Peńafort, the holy Spanish preacher whose feast day falls during this month of January, gives us good counsel. 

In the thirteenth century he was commissioned to preach the Reconquista, the reconquering of Spain against the Moors, and his fervent charity laid a foundation for the eventual overthrow of the invaders.  St. Raymond de Peńafort drilled it into the hearts of his Spanish flock that in order to overcome their political enemies they must first conquer their spiritual enemies, and subdue sin within themselves.  Again, it is interior purification beginning with ourselves, our families, our parishes, and extending to the Church universal.  
 
Let us turn to Our Lady in this coming year with greater fervor, humbly asking that we would purify ourselves,  that we would not flee from the wolves, that we would not practice cowardice and call it prudence, and always preach the truth in charity.  

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Fr. Greg J. Markey is a priest of the Bridgeport Diocese, and Pastor of St. Mary Church in Norwalk, Connecticut. He is the youngest of 11 children, graduated from Mount Saint Mary Seminary, and was ordained in 1999.

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