In this article, I continue my reflections on what I believe are a number of fallacies underlying strategies Bishops and others in leadership positions appear to be eagerly adopting in responding to the crisis of faith and membership presently affecting the Church.
Fallacy #2: A Special Collection Can Resolve the Problem
There are simply certain times when throwing money at a problem simply will not help.
The problem is rather than expend time praying for guidance, seeking the wisdom of collective counsel and putting in a effort to explore the factors causing a problem, Bishops and others in Catholic leadership are very much prone to create offices or programs requiring huge bankrolls and never-ending annual appeals.
Here are some problems the Church is facing that no amount of money will resolve.
1) The Loss of Confidence in the Clergy
The relationship between the faithful and the Clergy is a sacred, intimate bond which, once broken, is oftentimes beyond reconciliation. Once trust has been violated, healing will require a depth of repentance, forgiveness and healing beyond the capacity of any effort requiring finances can provide.
What is needed is radical honesty and a willingness on the part of those who failed to admit their mistakes or misdeeds and accept responsibility for them. But subjecting themselves to a full accounting will not in itself be enough. There must be a commitment toward better communication between the Clergy and the faithful entrusted to their care.
This loss of confidence in the Clergy is the most important crisis in the Church today, the cause of such a serious decline in people’s practice of the Faith, reception of the Sacraments (especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation), an abandonment of the moral teachings of the Church as well as the Apostolic authority with which they are proclaimed.
The Ordained must stop pretending that they are called to and have somehow achieved a sanctity which beyond that of the faithful which gives them the authority to lead and guide those whom they serve. Rather, the Clergy must always confess that they are sinners whom the Lord has called to serve fellow sinners. People need to understand that their Pastors are as human and frail as they, in need of the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy.
Only when the Clergy are honest enough to be humbled by their own sinfulness, will they be capable of the compassion which the Lord calls them to shower upon the members of the communities they are called to serve.
2) Virtue Can’t Be Bought and Paid For
Getting good at something is largely a matter of practice. Retreats, seminars, studies are no substitute. Of course you can spend money on books, on classes, on workshops, and catechetical CDs and videos, conferences and conventions, (and, admittedly.d all those things may be of some help), but what they cannot give is faith and they can never bring about personal virute.
Spirituality will never be an acquired virtue, if believers do not put in the time and effort to develop the habit of prayer and the exercise of goodness to which the Gospel calls the believer to pursue.
So often, those in positions and leadership within the Church are very eager to provide their pedigree of theological formation, the list of prestigious universities and colleges they attended, the conferences they led, the volumes of treatises they have penned as a testament of their virtue and spiritual acumen.
Equally as often, these very same individuals with such long histories of scholarship and recognition lack the most fundamental empathy which allows them to be effective ministers of the love and forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Whom they are called to represent.
3) The Emergence of Blind Guides
There are always hucksters pretending to be one sort of spiritual guide or another.
These charlatans (sadly the list is long and shameful), are very willing to encourage followers (at a cost, mind you) for the privilege of showing those they deem lost and misguided the true path to sanctity and personal tranquility.
There are also people ready to suggest that donating money to worthy causes makes you a better person.
Of course, one can be sure that none of their claims are true.
Jesus did not institute a commune or cult, headed by self-proclaimed visionaries or gurus. Rather, he instituted a community wherein those who responded to the gentle and persuasive whispers of faith might find support and sustenance by way of the Word and the Sacraments.
4) Money Will Never Prevent Suffering or Hardship
It's very reasonable to spend money in advance of a natural disaster, to make yourself more prepared. A well-supplied pantry can really help you through something like a blizzard or a flood or an earthquake. The right tools and right supplies can turn a disaster into an inconvenience — or even an adventure. Money can also help some after a disaster is over. But no amount of money will prevent human suffering, be it in the form of personal choices or natural disasters.
5) Money Will Never Achieve Peace
Finally, and again to my point, throwing money at problems will not solve them — nor will it produce world peace, end hunger (or death, or disease).
We live in a world wounded and broken by sin. In that chaos, we are subject to the decisions and choices of others, good or bad.
No amount of financial reserve can protect us from the cosmic and human disorder which flows from the rampant exercise of man’s free will in opposition to the Will of the Creator.
Bad things can and will happen to good people, let alone rich people.
As Bishops and Church leaders are prone to forget these fundamental realities, they should take a moment and ask themselves some questions before deciding to appeal to the faithful for more and more financial resource.
1) Will the appeal be a one-time request or will the appeal become a permanent fixture?
It is fairly simply to make a cost-benefit analysis and decide if the resources being requested are worth the effects which are anticipated and whether or not the community itself can afford it.
2) Will the Money Solve the Problem?
If money will not solve the problem, then there's no point in raising or spending it.
Of course, what makes it hard to answer this question is getting a clear understanding of the problem.
To come to the right decision, it is necessary to get to the root of the problem which is often a moral cause beyond the power of financial resource to resolve. So many hardships — terminal illness, failed relationship, midlife crisis — fail this question. That result is often heartbreaking, but it doesn't change the fact that whole categories of problems — medical problems, personal problems, political problems, social problems — often cannot be solved with money.
3) What is the expected return on the investment?
This third question becomes important when the cost of solving a problem with money is so large as to be a major factor in a budget — or especially if it will significantly impact the diocese’s or parish’s financial stability and security.
No comments:
Post a Comment