Rekindling the light of God’s love by searching inward
In an April 13 contributed column in the Dayton Daily News, Jim Brooks highlights the scope of declining religious congregations, specifically those plaguing the Gem City’s once-thriving Catholic population. Unfortunately for readers, there is little substance to his proposed solution. Brooks’ call for a range of organizational changes without any dogmatic introspection is akin to repainting a ship about to run aground rather than changing course.
Jim does the Church a disservice in being so quick to dismiss a discussion of the root causes that have led to declining religious followers. I disagree with his assertion that these causes are “too numerous, complex, and controversial to explain” in his writing. The root cause is simple: The hypocrisy of mainstream Christianity can no longer be ignored or tolerated.
There are now three distinct groups of Christians: those who see this hypocrisy and fight against it; those who are blind to it; and those who have lost all hope that the Church will ever be cleansed. It is this third group, those who have lost hope, that are leaving the Church in ever greater numbers.
The administrative machinations Mr. Brooks proposes will not bring hope to those who have lost it. More outreach will not win hearts and minds so long as the hand that reaches out is covered in venom.
I say all of this as a devout Catholic myself. This upcoming August we will be sending our daughter to Kindergarten at one of the remaining local Catholic schools, and I hope they will continue in the faith. I am not one of those who has lost the Faith in the Church, but neither am I one who is blind to its shortcomings.
Like many progressive-minded Catholics, I often feel a surge of joy when I think about Pope Francis and his compassionate sermons. Unfortunately, this is quickly tempered with the notion that most Christians do not share his attitudes.
Silence speaks volumes, and while the Pope waxes poetic on compassion and stewardship, most Christian lecterns in America remain silent on that which Jesus died for.
Christ championed caring for the sick, yet we remain the only industrialized nation without universal healthcare.
Jesus called for sheltering the homeless, but universal income and housing subsidies are demonized.
The Bible advocates for fair wages, yet the minimum wage is a sentence to poverty.
Christ commanded us to love God and to love thy neighbor, but love is not what I see for the foreign or downtrodden. I see no love for God in the way we abuse his Earthly Creation.
I would argue that saving the Church and halting the decline of religious adherents will come not through reaching outward but through searching inward. Find the light of Christ within our congregations and nurture it. Chase away the shadows of hypocrisy and allow the Holy Spirit to shine.
You will not feed this flame by choking it, you must allow God’s full expression of love to shine unhindered . ...
The Church must embrace the diverse spectrum of God’s creation: Black or white, gay or prone to delusional conspiracies. God’s light is here.
The Church must embrace change if it is to survive . ...
Heed the words of Jesus and look to the children for a vision of God’s love and compassion. Their tolerance, social activism, and rebellious rejection of a broken society should be embraced and celebrated as a great source of joy. God’s light is here.