Help!! I’m a dissenting Catholic

Steve Rhodes

My apologies for the delay in furthering the thoughts on examination of conscience. It has been a busy weekend. However, hopefully, you may have had a little chance to begin thinking through the importance of this spiritual exercise, and perhaps have even checked out the links to some of the examples of good, formal examinations of conscience.

If you did, it’s very possible that you may have come across something that you didn’t know was a sin, and this may have come as a bit of a surprise. Now, depending on what it was, which may have surprised you, your response would have been one of three.

1. If you have discovered something that you do not do is a sin -  you should be affirmed in not doing it.
2. You may, though, have discovered something you do is a sin. In which case you either:

                     A. Decide to make an effort to stop doing it.
                     B. Decide to carry on doing it anyway.

In a simplified form, these are the basic possibilities.

Doing it my way

It is an unfortunate reality that in the modern Church, many Catholics seem to have found themselves in the situation of 2.B. In the latter part of the 20th Century, the Church in Western Europe did a very poor job, pastorally, of teaching some of the practical aspects of Christian morality; and this, at a time when society at large was rapidly departing from the Judeo-Christian tradition in its ethical mores. Consequently, some Catholics grew up, adopting as part of their lifestyle ways of living that - while ‘just like everyone else’ - were contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church. Often, they did this without really realising it. When, later on, some of these discover that what they are doing is sinful, the thought of changing the pattern of a lifetime is too much to handle, and so they decided to carry on anyway.

I have full sympathy with honest people who are in this situation. They were let down by pastors in the Church who were too full of the new ideas of the age which swept through the Church in the post-60s period. Bad ideas have victims, and these are the victims. Nevertheless, I must insist that if we discover something in our life is contrary to God’s law, as revealed in Christ Jesus and handed on through the Church, then it is spiritual suicide to simply ignore it and carry on regardless.

The Church is our only source of knowledge as to who Jesus is and what He taught. When our Lord ascended into heaven, He left no written instructions, only a community of disciples, led by 11 remaining Apostles, with Peter as the designated head (cf. inter alia Luke 22.32). The reason that you or I today can become disciples of Jesus Christ, is because that original community handed the faith on across the world and down through the centuries. But for this, we have no access to the teaching of Christ. If the Church makes mistakes, then we have no certainty about anything in the Christian religion.

The New Testament came later. Scholars debate how much later, but certainly not for some years after our Lord’s Ascension. Even then, the books that are included in the New Testament were determined by the Church -  a number of those floating around at this period were excluded. Thus, the Scriptures rest on the authority of the Church. If the Church makes mistakes, then the New Testament may contain error.

The central doctrines of Christianity were defined on the authority of the Church, through Church Councils. The dogmas of the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the Humanity of Christ, the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Motherhood of Mary, the Sacraments etc. etc, etc, all rest the certainty that the Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, prevents the Church from making mistakes about these things. If He doesn’t, then we can be certain about none of these things.

Which leads me to main point. To reject a teaching of the Church about faith and morals is a very serious thing, because it essentially means I am rejecting the only source of knowledge I have of Jesus Christ; which effectively makes it impossible to be a follower of His. In effect, I am saying that I know His teaching better than the Church - but on what is that based? The Church teaches nothing without looking back to the ancient teachings of the Faith, her 2,000 year tradition of theology worked on by some of the finest minds in human history, rooted in mystical union with her Saviour. What makes me believe that I know better, that my way is better?

• Some people may say that they accept the teachings on matters of faith - but it is simply the moral teachings that they cannot accept. However, the Church’s moral teaching is often far more deeply established in the ancient JudeO-Christian revelation than some of the more ‘recent’ teachings, such as the Divinity of Jesus Christ (defined as a Dogma in A.D. 325)

A Catholic Alternative to Dissent

Dissent doesn’t make logical sense of our faith. It hollows out our connection to the Church and leads us down our own path, rather than the path along which Jesus calls us. Nevertheless, the challenge of finding oneself struggling with a particular moral teaching of the Church is real, and in many cases painful. What follows are the key steps for an honest Catholic, who wants to face up to that painful challenge.

1. Do not ignore it. It can be very tempting simply to forget about an inconsistency which exists in our moral lives. I just carry on. However, it will wear away my faith in the end. As Fulton Sheen put it: “if you do not live what you believe, you end up believing what you live.” This is not an honest way of living - and it is not the way that Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life, desires for us.
2. Speak to someone about it. The Catholic tradition has a long history of spiritual direction, seeking guidance from an experienced Christian for help in the spiritual life. The genius of this practice is that putting our struggle into words shines the light of truth and integrity upon the inner struggles of our souls. It is the Devil, the father of lies, who wants us to keep these things bottled up. If I am struggling to understand a Church teaching or how it applies to my life, it is crucial to seek out a good priest, religious or experienced, mature Catholic and ask them for their help. They’ll be delighted.
3. Form your mind. The modern world has very successfully formed all of us with a certain amount of liberal ideology. Thus, when the something in Church teaching rubs up against that ideology, it can be easy to have a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction that ‘I cannot accept that’. However, as Christians we are called to have “the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2.5), and whatever else He may be, there is literally no evidence that He is a 21st Century western liberal. As I said before, the Church teaches nothing without reasoning it out at length, based on authoritative sources. If I am struggling with a particular teaching, an important question is -  do I really understand why the Church teaches this? If I don’t I am not making an informed decision.
4. Pray about it... a lot. The experience of doubting a Church teaching is a painful experience. Yet, it can also be a spiritually fruitful experience, if we will let it be graced. If I am struggling with whether something constitutes a sin in my life, this has clear bearing on my relationship with God. Problems in relationships need to be talked through and worked through. If both parties do this, though, the relationship comes out stronger. God is willing... am I? 

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