I give up.
At least for today, I do. When the nuns (and the Pope) are less Catholic than a random football player, you have to wonder what the point is of having a Church in the first place.
When I converted to Catholicism, I never considered becoming a Protestant, not because I found the theology of Catholicism ideologically more appealing to me than one of the various Protestant churches, but because I respected that the Church was grounded (imperfectly) in the wisdom of the ages.
My worry about Protestantism is that it is constantly fragmenting, with Church doctrines often influenced by contemporary ideological movements. The path from Martin Luther to drag queen minister is an odd one, but it boils down to too much reliance of people’s consciences and too little on serious interpretation and reflection. Not all Protestants are attached to the “If it feels good, do it” ideology, but I preferred the solidity of Catholicism and genuine conservatism–not political, but rather the reliance on an intellectual tradition that goes back millennia.
Yeah, well, we can toss that idea out the window.
“We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good,” says Pope Francis. https://t.co/MmLPBhWVU2 pic.twitter.com/7Be2GrKrdB
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 19, 2024
Over the past few days, I have watched an interview with our Pope in which he apparently endorsed the idea that human beings are inherently good rather than fallen and in need of grace. Now, the Benedictine Sisters who run Mount St. Scholastica have denounced Harrison Butker for being too traditional.
From @TheAthletic: The Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica spoke out against Harrison Butker’s controversial graduation speech at Benedictine College, saying they “reject a narrow definition of what it means to be Catholic.” https://t.co/suu0Ff1Rzh pic.twitter.com/hjGl3B9Z2c
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 21, 2024
The nuns are literally less Catholic than the atheist Bill Maher, who admitted he saw nothing wrong or at least offensive in what Butker said in his commencement speech.
NEW: Show host Bill Maher defends Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker who is facing massive backlash for defending traditional values.
Maher also blasted college kids for being offended by Butker encouraging women to stay home while “demonstrating for Hamas.”
“I don’t see what the… pic.twitter.com/OY0VxRKPzE
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 18, 2024
There is nothing new about liberal nuns reinterpreting Catholic doctrine; for that matter, Martin Luther was a monk, so dissent is hardly something new and shocking in the history of the Church. In two millennia a lot can happen, after all–and in our hyperspeed age ten years can seem like two millennia.
But this? It’s just weird. Butker never said women shouldn’t have careers; he simply said that being a wife and mother is the highest vocation for women and being a husband the highest vocation for men. This is not controversial in Catholicism, although it does sort of ignore the religious orders as vocations. But I doubt if he had encouraged women in the audience to become celibate nuns it would have gone over any better.
In a statement released Friday, the sisters of Mount St. Scholastica said they “do not believe that Harrison Butker’s comments in his 2024 Benedictine College commencement address represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested.
“Instead of promoting unity in our church, our nation, and the world, his comments seem to have fostered division. … We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God’s people, including the many women whom we have taught and influenced during the past 160 years. These women have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given gifts in leadership, scholarship, and their careers.”
The Benedictine Sisters are a founding institution and sponsor of Benedictine College, according to the Mount St. Scholastica website.
Now, there is a Catholic prohibition about causing scandal, which is incitement of division within the Church. But generally speaking, that means preaching divisive teachings that undermine Catholic doctrine, not saying anodyne things that accord with the Church’s teaching while offending people who hate the Church.
Opposing abortion ‘fosters division,” too, but the Church encourages us to bravely speak up when people are being led into sin. These days, encouraging people not to riot, occupy buildings, or support the police will get some people riled up. Saying divisive things is what the Church does often enough.
One of Butker’s offenses was referring to “Pride” as a deadly sin. Perhaps the nuns can check up on their catechism, because it is right there as a deadly sin. Before one confesses, we examine our consciences, and acts of pride are sins we must confess.
I confess to being an imperfect Catholic and insufficiently committed to my religion; I am a sinner, as we all are. Even Popes and nuns are, as evidenced by their own needs for confessors.
I don’t want to be too harsh, but golly. Can’t we have a Pope and nuns who are a bit more Catholic?