Are the lay faithful powerless?

Few things threaten the integrity of one’s sense of human dignity than the times and seasons when we feel we are powerless. At these times, when we feel we are at the mercy of forces beyond our control, whether sickness and disease, or the caprice of misfortune, the loss of a sense of agency can quickly lead us to a sense of interior crisis. It is crucial in those times to take stock of those things which can be managed, what can be relied upon, and yes, to emphasize yet again, those things for which we can be grateful. Many of us, myself included, have seen at close range the ravages of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, the long goodbyes which dehumanize our loved ones with fear before they seemingly annihilate them with disease. Yet we also know the power of care and of true accompaniment which affirms their inherent dignity. Yes, there are many things in this vale of tears which we cannot control, and many sufferings which seem to be non-negotiables. However, our reactions to these sufferings do largely define us, and if we are given the grace to accompany others in their journey through these Viae Dolorosae, we too can gain important insights into the meaning of love and life. Sometimes, I truly do believe that it is a reward given to those who walk through these crucibles to even peer beyond the veil of death itself, to encounter the numinous in a way that defies explanation. Angels accompanied Our Lord in his Passion, as they accompanied Saint Paul in Prison, and Elijah in his flight from Ahaz. The eyes of heaven are not blind to the contest of the valiant.

One of the oft-neglected problems today, which no one seems to want to talk about, is the powerlessness felt by the vast majority of the Church. By that I mean the lay faithful. It’s a funny thing to mention, in the sense that these are the lay faithful who are the least likely to talk about power at all. Liberals love to talk about power, and power differentials; men against women, ‘whites’ against ‘blacks’, ‘cisgenders’ against ‘transgenders’ and a seeming list of opposing teams which multiplies over time. We hear the tiresome refrains about how this group or that group needs more representation or less representation in institutional leadership, as if institutional leadership was identical to power, let alone authority. Ironically, the more an institution insists upon the power of its own leadership, the less it tends to possess. As usual, they do not understand the difference between authority, power, and legitimacy. Power is primary to them, because it is the ability to impose one’s will, whether that is valid or invalid.

Conservatives do not typically ask these questions, or at least, not in that order. They tend to seek legitimacy, then authority, and then they expect, by virtue of these two, that they will attain power to then execute their vision. Because of this, the lay faithful I am talking about naturally have deference to the apostolic and sacramental constitution of the Church. In my mind, it seems understandable then that in the post-Vatican II period, they have largely busied themselves with the academic, apologetic and catechetical defense of the Church. They have sought to defend, hand on and ‘legitimize’, at least in the eyes of some, the Deposit of Faith as handed down, against an unprecedented tidal wave of Modernism. Until the election of Benedict XVI, one could have said that they largely succeeded in their mission. Yet legitimacy and authority without the exercise of power is like the passage of law without enforcement of that law. A lot of bad actors and bad teachings got a pass in the past sixty years, and as a result, were able to grow into the monstrosities we see today. The seeds of heresy now blossomed into the wormwood of schism.

Today, the lay faithful not only has to deal with discouragement at home, they also have to deal with it in the Catholic media. Like the Priests, there was once a time we could at least look to Rome for encouragement. Those times are over. Traditionis Custodis was a document of unprecedented vindictiveness and cruelty which cut off a spiritual oasis for thousands of Catholics, whose only desire was to escape the madness that they saw in their local Churches. I am not a traditionalist, but I am a man of Tradition. I am also a man of humanity and with a heart, and I was appalled that any pastor with care for souls would believe it was in the spiritual interest of people to simply eviscerate, with a stroke of a pen, the firm liturgical expression of anyone whose stated desire was to render fitting and reverent adoration to the Undivided and Holy Trinity. To return to my thesis question: “Are the lay faithful powerless?”

It certainly feels that way. After years of scandal, heresy and liturgical abuse, the best the average lay Catholic can do is to move themselves and their family, essentially ‘church shopping’, to a place where the Priest is a decent preacher, and the worship is reverent. There, they must hope and pray that the envy of the other Priests and of the Ordinary does that fall like a sword of Damocles upon that parish and that Priest, because that can, and does, happen. Pope Francis and his allies talk a great deal about lay involvement in Church affairs. Some Bishops with great fanfare include lay people in Diocesan ‘Pastoral Councils’ and the like. Yet these are hand-selected, curated appointees. They will make no waves, and are sure to be unremarkable in anything.

Helpless and desperate people tend to do desperate things. But some of these things can be quite beautiful and extraordinary. Think, for instance, of Mother Angelica’s EWTN, which the American Bishops loathed and tried to shut down, before making peace with it. Her network is probably the single greatest initiative of Catholic Evangelization seen in the past half century. On the other hand, there is ‘alternative Catholic media’, whose name is legion. As much as the information they provide constitutes a public service, and I believe they mean well, the dangerous zelus amaritudinis of which St. Benedict warned is very much in play, and very much a danger to the faith of many. Saint Paul does say that we most expose the deeds of darkness, it is true. Yet Christ is also clear in the Gospel about how we deal with these matters, doing so privately at first. Finally, we must always remember that the dangers of detraction, libel and calumny are real, and St. Thomas calls them akin to murder. They are extremely serious.

So it seems we have three ways in the past few decades for lay people to go in response to a bad ecclesial situation. They are not mutually exclusive: 1) Try to move an find shelter elsewhere. 2) If angry, channel the anger through denouncing the bad behavior of compromised clerical and lay leaders. 3) Start creative new initiatives which bypass existing institutions while remaining respectful to them. It seems to me that number three will always be the best option for every spiritual and practical reason. Everyone needs to have a sense of agency. It is good to tell people to pray, but people also need something to do. Truthfully, I really do believe that the current institutional Church is going to collapse within our lifetimes, and we do not need to do much to help in that regard. In the words of Virgil when beholding some of the souls of the damned, sometimes our best reaction is simply to give them a glance of pity, and to continue to walk on our way.

One topic I have for another day, which I hope to present within the next month, is about the unresolved ecclesiology in Vatican II. There are two unresolved issues I want to highlight. First, there is the unresolved issue of the potestas of the Priesthood of the Baptized. No one questions that the Ordained have Potestas Sacra or “Sacred Power” by virtue of Holy Orders, and that does not just mean the power to confect the Sacraments. That also means to govern the Church. If we are serious about the Priesthood of the Baptized, there must be form of potestas that they also have, which means that no, they are not powerless in the governance of the Church, that they too have a say in how things can be done. Does that mean we return to electing Bishops by acclamation, like it used to be done back in Apostolic times? Who knows. But I think it may need to be looked at. Right now, the entire Church bureaucracy exists for one thing: to serve Bishops, to protect Bishops, to cover for Bishops, to promote the interest of Bishops. A lot of this has to do with our current stage of development of ecclesiology, and just like at the Reformation, we may be brought kicking and screaming to the next development in our understanding of who we are and how we do things.

The second unresolved issue is what I would like to call a “Theology of the Mystical Body”, to make a pun off St. John Paul II’s work. Just as the ‘Battle of the Sexes’, the divide between man and woman, is a ruse of the devil, so too is any divide between the clergy and the laity. Man and woman are meant to exist in mutual love and in sacred covenant, most fittingly in marriage, but even outside that, in mutual respect and admiration for the gifts that both bring to our common humanity. The Ordained and the Lay Faithful are also meant to exist in mutual love and support, in deep love and respect for one another. In my own life, I have been so blessed by the deep and joyful friendships I have shared with lay collaborators, people with whom I have shared the joys and sorrows of life and discipleship. At the risk of sounding saccharine, our friendships have made me more and more a Priest and confirmed me by their prayers and faith. In too many places, deep distrust and animosity exists between the clergy and the laity, and often times this is the fault of both. St. John Paul II and yes, even Pope Francis, have rightly decried the “clericalization” of the laity, but also when the clergy have devalued their own sacred vocation, in ways both big and small.

This, too, is part of how the lay faithful can feel less ‘powerless’ in the face of such discouragement and dysfunction. Remember, your place, your battlefield, is not in the Church: it’s in the world. As much as it pains me to say, but we Priests, (lamentabile dictu!) we bear the primary responsibility for the condition of our sanctuaries. It is deeply sad that things are so bad that your attention feels pulled to those places. But at the same time, that too also seems, at least in part, to be a distraction. Every Christian must follow their vocation, as best he can, as locally as he can. The things beyond our control are only bound to create in us anger and trepidation.

Meanwhile, the next time you feel hopeless, powerless, afraid, or discouraged, go and play with your children if you have them, kiss your spouse if you have one, say your Rosary if you can, and remember that if we are here at this time, it is precisely for this time, and for no other. Also, accept that eternal peace is not our lot here, but in another, far better place. For none of us is truly powerless at a time like this, but like the Prophet Isaiah, we must be prepared, before we can become that polished arrow in the quiver of Our God (Isaiah 49:2).