Voice of Dissenters
Dale O'Leary
According the New York Times, May 31, 2002, a group called Voice of the Faithful has been formed in Wellesley MA and claims to have 10,000 members in 40 states and 21 countries.
The Voice of the Faithful presents itself as coalition of laity and religious, progressives and conservatives. A visit to the group's website Voice of the Faithful reveals that a group is using the crisis to forward a long-standing objective of Catholic dissenters ˆthe democratization of the Catholic Church.
According to the biographic information Dr. Jim Muller, the group‚s founder, is "a devout catholic, medical researcher, and accomplished peace movement activist" has been a Catholic his entire life. Dr. Muller attended Joan of Arc grade school and Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended Notre Dame for College and Georgetown for Graduate Studies in Russian History."He is a medical doctor "one of 3 American Co-founders of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). Many of the lessons learned in developing that movement are being utilized to aid the growth of VOTF."
Muller explains his vision in a slide show posted on the website, in which he identifies the "underlying cause"of the problem of "pedophilic priests"and "institutional cover-up"as "Centralized Power, with No Voice of the Faithful"The solution: executive, legislative, and judicial power within the church exercised by clergy in conjunction with the liberal and conservative laity. A schematic of the "changed church"shows the new power structure which includes a "Constitution for Voice."Nowhere on the website was there an explanation of exactly how this would work. Muller did include a schematic of "The Checks and Balances of the United States Government." Perhaps he looks forward to the day when the Church reconstitutes itself as a representative democracy.
Voice of the Faithful covets power. The problem is they don‚t understand power. Several Greek words in the New Testament are translated in the English text as "power‰: Kratos (kratos) refers to brute strength; Dunamis (dunamis) to spiritual power, often the power to work miracles; and Exousia (exousia) refers to delegated authority. Exousia appears 101 times sometimes translated as power, sometimes as authority. It always refers to power delegated through a hierarchical structure.
The key to understanding exousia is found in the story of the Centurion who says "I am a man under authority (exousia)."The Centurion understood that his authority over his men did not come not from his personal charisma or his ability to physically coerce obedience, but from the fact that he was part of a hierarchical structure which had the emperor as its head and put the entire weight of the Roman Empire behind his orders. The Centurion recognized that same kind of authority in Jesus.
If dissenters are interested in the dunamis/power of the spirit to work signs and wonders which comes to believers -- male and female, lay and clergy -- as a gift of the Holy Spirit, let them ask and they shall receive from the Father who is generous in his gifts.
But if they want exousia/power/authority they must be told that such power comes only to obedient servants who are part of a God-ordained hierarchical structure. And since obedience and hierarchy are, for most dissenters, anathema, true exousia/power/authority will never be theirs.
Dissenters reject the Biblical concept of power. Those covet "power"in the Church because they want to change the teachings of the Church. For them power would give them the right to determine the content of Catholic moral theology and to impose it on others. They want the power to decide what is right and what is wrong, what the Church shall teach about faith and morals, and how those teachings shall be implemented.
Unfortunately, today we face a situation in which dissenters have gained positions within the hierarchy and church leadership. They have not been able to change the teachings of the Church, but they have caused confusion and suffering. When a person in a position of authority refuses to obey the authority over him ˆ in this case the clear teachings of the Church and Holy Father -- but demands obedience of those under him, he becomes a tyrant. If he uses his position to undermine the source of authority, he is a saboteur.
Voice of the Faithful wishes itself to be seen as a coalition of liberal and conservative Catholics who, once a "democratic"Church has been established, would share power. According to Muller‚s schematic, the laity would strengthen the Church by providing insight on "understanding sexuality", "representative democracy,"and the "equality of women."Would this mean that there would be a vote on whether homosexuals could marry, contraception was okay, women could be ordained, and pastors should be elected?
Conservative Catholics frustrated by the failures of the bishops in a number of areas may be tempted to join this movement, but they will be wasting their energy. The Church needs holy, faithful bishops, holy faithful priests, and holy faithful laity. Giving the laity a voice in the determination of Church teaching would not produce obedience to the truth which the Church is commissioned by God to guard and transmit.
Let us be clear, the teachings of the Catholic Church on sexuality, marriage, and life cannot and will not be changed. Women cannot be ordained Catholic priests. While the rule on celibacy could be modified, it will not be; indeed the controversy is leading to a renewed defense of celibacy in the Roman Rite.
The Voice of the Faithful will fail to achieve its stated objective. The Catholic Church will not be reconstituted as a representative democracy. The activities of the Voice will, however, cause increased alienation within the laity, diminish support for the truth the Church teaches, and provide fodder for New York Times and Boston Globe reporters. ,P. Posted 7:52 AM by John Mallon
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