From the Pit of Destruction to the Grace of Redemption

From his recent experience at several forums on the church crisis, and from the celebration of the Sacred Triduum, Fr. Griffith offers a comprehensive reflection on the church crisis through the lens of Biblical and Catholic theology, in this article titled, "From the Pit of Destruction to the Grace of Redemption: Biblical and Theological Foundations for the Renewal of the Catholic Church."

Writing in a recent piece for Commonweal, Rita Ferrone, quoting Pope Francis, reminds us that our response to the abuse crisis must contain the flavor of the Gospel. Ferrone and others have rightly exhorted fellow Catholics that Scripture and solid theology must be the reference point and foundation for the work of exploring our present crisis, as well as for offering a path forward to greater integrity and healing. Understandably, Catholics have talked much in the last number of months about scandal, abuse, cover-up, clericalism, the role of the laity, and the need for greater transparency and accountability in the Church. I have taken part in a number of vital conversations among concerned and thoughtful Catholics in parish settings and in academic settings in San Antonio, Minneapolis and Washington D.C. I have found these forums to be enlightening, truth-filled, inspiring, and manifesting a strong consensus as to the roots of our present crisis as well as the necessary dimensions of successful renewal.

Many Catholics believe and many commentators have expressed that the Catholic Church is in the midst of a deep crisis, the effects of which are manifold, serious, and potentially lasting. The unprecedented action of Pope Francis to call the presidents of the Church’s episcopal conferences to Rome this past February is one sign among many of the seriousness of our present moment. Theologians and others have exhorted us to mine the depths of biblical and Catholic theology to help us grapple with the injustices that have been unearthed, the harm experienced by victim-survivors, and the peripheral harm experienced by many Catholics. As Catholics and others throughout the world watched in disbelief as Notre Dame Cathedral was quickly engulfed by a raging fire, the mental and emotional link to the condition of the Catholic Church was made by many. In the wake of this present crisis, the state of the Catholic Church is not unlike the charred remains of Notre Dame: roof collapsed; the height and beauty of the grand structure diminished, but the walls and interior still intact - awaiting a major renovation and the hope of a new future. To be sure, the same care, diligence, and expertise that will be used to rebuild Notre Dame must also be employed in rebuilding the life of the Catholic Church.

A Eucharistic Life - Biblical and Catholic theology can provide the means for facing the depth of our sin, the harm caused by the failures of leadership, and the wisdom needed for renewal in the Catholic Church. Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum, especially the theology they express, present both challenging truth and sure guidance as we seek to move from darkness to light. Holy Thursday is rich in symbolism and meaning and provides Christians three characteristics indispensable to a Eucharistic life: remembrance; service; and grace. Just as the ancient Israelites are commanded to offer the Passover feast as a perpetual institution commemorating God’s saving action, on Holy Thursday, Catholics celebrate Christ’s command to celebrate the Pascha of Christ with the Eucharistic feast. Both the Passover and the Eucharist disclose the mystery of anamnesis – the sacred remembrance of these saving acts of God on our behalf. The Gospel for Holy Thursday foreshadows Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross and also demonstrates the type of humble service to which He commands us to follow. In the Eucharist, we receive both the model of our Christian life of service and the very means, in the presence of Christ, to live out our high calling. This is precisely where some Church leaders have failed in our present crisis. They have not remembered the words and deeds of Jesus that seek to form our collective conscience as Christ’s body and they have not entered into a ministry of humble service, especially regarding those wounded by the Church. Authentic renewal of the Catholic Church will require Church leaders and all Catholics to commit to a Eucharistic life.  
        
Which Thief are We?  In addition to our commitment to live a Eucharistic life of humble service, ecclesial renewal will require sincere repentance and a resolute determination to amend our ways. Beginning on Palm Sunday and in the Liturgy of the Hours for Holy Week, we meet the two thieves who are crucified alongside Christ. Unlike Christ, they are guilty of their crimes. They have stolen things of great value and are facing the punishment that was given for these crimes at the time of Christ. The different response of the two thieves to the crucified Jesus is striking. One thief reviles and scoffs at Jesus and the other turns to him and pleads for mercy. This reminds us of the stark divergence of the two ways expressed often in Hebrew Scripture and in the Gospels. There is the way of God and the path apart from God. One path leads to goodness and light and the other path leads to sin and darkness. The repentant thief, in a moment of great consequence, implicitly acknowledges his sin and turns in faith to the only one who can save him – Jesus, the Lord of life. The other thief continues to scoff, not recognizing the gift of mercy and salvation just beside him.

The Catholic Church is currently being crucified. Like the two thieves alongside Christ, we are not innocent. Our crucifixion is of our own making. The deep crisis the Church is facing has grown and is now full-blown – a sickness borne of an ecclesial culture that has not reflected the humility and goodness of God – especially with regard to those deeply harmed by the scourge of clergy abuse and its attendant cover-up. To be sure, our present crisis is not the fault of the media nor the ambient culture in which the Church is incarnate. No, this is our crisis and it must be owned fully by Catholics if we are to find a path to redemption and new life. So, which thief are we? Like the crucified thieves, the Catholic Church, principally through its clergy who have abused minors and through the failures of its leaders, has stolen much from victim-survivors and from the Catholic faithful. From victim-survivors, the Church has stolen innocence, health, justice, and, in some cases, hope, faith and life itself. In this way, the Church has acted as the unrepentant thief in response to their harm – filled with pride and reviling and scoffing at the very presence of Christ within the innocent and vulnerable harmed by the Church. The Catholic faithful have also suffered great loss as a result of the present scandal: the loss of the trust in its leaders; the loss of energy that comes from exhaustion; the loss of hope for true reform; and the loss of the credibility to proclaim the Gospel and advocate for justice.

So, which thief are we? In response to those who have been harmed and our choice to protect abusing priests and the reputation of the Church over the well being of our most vulnerable members, we have embodied the unrepentant thief. The Church crucified with Christ still has a choice – a choice to turn away from sin, to turn toward those who have been harmed, and to seek the mercy of God. We know by faith that in God there is always hope, hope for redemption and new life. It would seem that the repentant thief believed all was lost when he was put upon the cross on that cold day. He knew he was guilty and knew what the outcome would be. No doubt, he had seen the agony of others crucified before and their ignominious end. It happened that day that God himself was beside him and crucified with him. Out of the cold darkness, a ray of hope. What if he really is the Son of God – what if he can save me? So, in a moment of desperation, pleading hope, or even faith, he turns to the one beside him and says: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) In the Catholic tradition, we have named the repentant thief, St. Dismas and believe that on Good Friday more than two millennia ago, God redeemed him. Like Dismas, the Church crucified has the freedom to turn to God and beg God’s mercy.

The Path to Redemption - The way back for the Church is set forth consistently in Scripture. It involves clearly acknowledging our sins, repenting of our sins, humbly asking for God’s mercy, and seeking to walk justly with God. There is no other way to reconciliation and renewal. The plain fact is that the institutional Church and its leadership have often failed to follow this clear path back to God. Rather than acknowledge our sins, we hid them. Rather than repent of our sins, we often blamed others and avoided responsibility and accountability. Rather than acting with humility and seeking God’s mercy, we acted with pride and sought to protect the visible and institutional Church at all costs – even at the cost of further harming victim-survivors; thus also inhibiting the good of the Church. Rather than walk with God in justice, we violated justice at every turn. Tom Johnson, Ombudsman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, describes the Church’s actions regarding victim-survivors as an inversion of the moral order.

Catholic social teaching confirms this judgment. Historically, in the nature of its response to victim-survivors, the Catholic Church has violated most of its principles of Catholic social teaching. In many instances, Church leaders have not manifested solidarity with victim-survivors nor a preferential concern for the their well-being and healing. Additionally, many Church leaders saw authority as something to be preserved at all costs, rather than as a servant of our ecclesial good. Catholic social teaching, if we heed its wisdom, provides both a sharp rebuke of past actions of Church leaders as well as a path forward toward ecclesial renewal. 

The path to redemption would seem to have two concrete steps – seeking God’s mercy and following God’s guiding Spirit in amending our ways; known in the Catholic tradition as a firm purpose of amendment. Lay Catholics and victim-survivors have been understandably angry and frustrated by the lack of evidence of a firm purpose of amendment on the part of Church leadership. In each of these steps – mercy and amendment - we must follow God’s lead and God’s gracious initiative. Self-redemption in matters of faith is not possible; God alone is our redeemer. In the Good Friday service, I was struck by the last collect to the Solemn Intercessions: “…may the prayers of those who cry out in any tribulation come before you, that all may rejoice, because in their hour of need your mercy was at hand.” The Catholic Church is in a time of tribulation and we must cry out to the Lord for his mercy in our time of need. Regarding this first step, there has been much action in the way of penitential liturgies and pledges of true contrition. But, for many victim-survivors and Catholics, true contrition will be measured through action – steps to change the culture that allowed for the abuse and cover-up to occur. So how do we go about amending our ways along a path back to God? How do we foster, as the anti-abuse summit in Rome called for, greater responsibility, accountability, and transparency in our Catholic communion?

Collective Wisdom - The gatherings of laity and clergy I have attended over the past several months have brought forth strong consensus on a number of areas that need focus if we are to amend our ways and walk justly with God. These gatherings have marshaled and manifested an abundance of faith and reason for the renewal of the Church. The focus areas of consensus, which I highlight briefly below, need to be prayerfully discerned for the good of the Church and our ecclesial renewal.

First, every aspect of the crisis – especially its root causes - needs to be carefully and thoroughly studied. Everything, in terms of a possible causes and contributing factors, needs to be on the table. An honest and exacting “all of the above” examination of the culture of the Church is required. There is a need for comprehensive research and data and a need for Catholic universities to step up and offer expertise and resources to help acquire the wisdom relevant for renewal.

Second, it would be best if Church leadership commissioned non-Catholic experts for the comprehensive and thoroughgoing study that is critical to the renewal of the Church. When I worked in the chancery of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, I referred to an omnipresent “chancery Legionnaires” that was not perceptible to many, and which affected the air of our culture - often creating pathology and leading to harm. A study undertaken by non-Catholic experts would be more likely to detect these cultural phenomena that are harmful to the good of the Church.

Third, the many Catholics in these recent gatherings have expressed their sadness at the increasing ecclesial polarization – noting that far too many use the crisis to wound and divide, without committing to charity required of faith, nor the presumption of good will on the part of their fellow Catholics.

Fourth, many Catholics have pointed to the harm of a clericalist culture, which many believe is pervasive in the Church. Pope Francis has decried clericalism throughout his papacy and located some of the roots of the present crisis in the spiritual realm – particularly in the failure to envision the office of bishop and priest as one, primarily, of humble service.

Fifth, and relatedly, there needs be a more robust and integral role for the laity in helping shape the culture and renewal of the Church, especially in applying their relevant expertise and in helping formulate best practices that foster greater transparency and accountability.

Sixth, and not least in importance, the response to the crisis of clergy abuse and cover-up has to be victim-survivor centered. Archbishop Coleridge recently referred to the need for a “Copernican revolution” in our response to victim-survivors. Barbara Thorp and Tom Johnson, who have each done extensive outreach to victims, have strongly advocated for a victim-survivor centered response. Additionally, Cardinal Cupich and Archbishop Scicluna also advocated for a victim-centered path forward in their respective post-summit interviews.

Finally, seminary formation is mentioned by many as a source of concern, particularly as it relates to the perpetuation of a clericalist culture in the priesthood. There was strong consensus among many at these gatherings that a servant-leader model of priesthood is much needed for the health and mission of the Church.

Restoration and Renewal in Christ - Moving now from the collective wisdom of God’s people to biblical faith, two images from the Easter season give me hope for the redemption and renewal of the Church. It is a hope entirely rooted in God’s gracious mercy. During the past two years, I have been working in the area of restorative justice – in parish settings and in a new law school course I co-teach. Restorative justice is a way of addressing harm and promoting accountability and healing, by inviting those who have been directly and peripherally harmed, to be heard. The image that has come often to mind in the midst of this work is inspired by an ancient homily for Holy Saturday which describes Christ’s descent into the netherworld to raise up all who are cast down so they can experience resurrection and new life. I was struck by the words of the collect after the reading from Ezekiel at the Easter Vigil: “…may the whole world know and see that what was cast down is raised up, what has become old is made new, and all things are restored to integrity through Christ…” The risen Christ seeks to raise his Church from the pit of destruction to experience the grace of redemption and new life.

During the Easter season we also encounter the moving exchange between the risen Christ and Peter on the seashore. Much like Dismas on the cross, Peter is wounded and ashamed by his own grave sin and meets the one who holds the power of forgiveness and redemption. Like Dismas, Peter’s repentance is sincere and Christ in his gracious mercy offers him a path back to God. I can imagine the Church, broken and bowed down like Peter, on that same shore encountering the risen Christ. What might Christ say to his Church? Do you love me - amend your ways; Do you love me - heal the broken hearted; Do you love me - amend your ways. In each of these biblical images, the God of goodness and life takes the initiative and offers us restoration and new life.

The Catholic Church is on the cross and in the pit of destruction, having denied the very one who is our Lord. There is always a path back to God – a path rooted in hope. Will we grasp the outstretched hand of the risen Christ as he seeks to raise us from the pit of destruction to the grace of redemption? 

Fr. Daniel Griffith, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was ordained in 2002. Fr. Griffith serves as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Minneapolis and as the Wenger Family Fellow of Law at the St. Thomas School of Law where he teaches courses in Catholic Social Teaching, Jurisprudence and Restorative Justice.