Where
the Faithful Have No Voice
Everyone assumes
that when an organization is founded to promote an idea
or cause, its members will remain faithful to it. Thus,
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) would
never sponsor a fox hunt and the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) would certainly
never lobby for segregation.
Imagine the shock of an
audience when Faithful St. Louis (an offshoot of Voice
of the Faithful [VOTF]) shut off the microphones during
the question and answer period of a March 22 conference
titled, “See! I Make All Things New! Shared Authority
and Co-Responsibility in our Church.”
As one who attended the
conference I could not help but think: "Why would
an organization formed to give the laity a voice and democratize
the Church not want to listen to the concerns of a large
sector of the faithful? Do they really mean what they
say, or do they have an agenda?"
Arriving at the conference
hall I found some answers looking at the tell-tale signs
of fringe liberalism that were apparent. Several cars
in the parking lot were loaded with bumper stickers reading,
“If you want peace, work for justice” and
“No Jesus, No Peace: Know Jesus, Know peace.”
The
keynote speaker was Father Richard McBrien of Notre Dame.
Of all those who do not represent the average Catholic
he would have to rank high on the list. His book Catholicism
was censured by the National Council of Catholic Bishops.
He questions papal infallibility and even the Blessed
Mother's perpetual virginity. He rallied the audience
of 300 with the unorthodox verbiage for which he is known.
Mimicking VOTF's slogan, “You can keep the Faith,
but it is time to change this Church!” he was received
with rapturous applause.
The next speaker, Ann Garrido
from St. Francis Xavier Parish thanked Fr. McBrien for
challenging a home-bodied, change-resistant St. Louis
audience to push for Church restructuring.
Musheer Robinson of St.
Augustine Parish then declared that the good of the early
Church came not from the Apostles, but from Africa. His
inflammatory speech, which would have been well received
at a 1960s Black Panther rally, railed against the
Church's supposed history of black oppression including
the white representation of African saints.
Survivor Network of those
Abused by Priests (SNAP) Executive Director, David Clohessy
gave the last speech of the day. He claimed that SNAP
is not pushing for Church reform and has no agenda other
than to support victims, an affirmation that his presence
at the conference belied.
After such a barrage of
speeches, it was only natural that there would be questions.
First in line was TFP member Norman Fulkerson, who pointedly
asked Fr. McBrien to elaborate on his theory that the
Body of Christ is made up of all people and not just Catholics.
“Were any other religions founded by Christ?”
he asked.
Fr. McBrien’s Irish
blood began to boil and while visually shaken had to respond
in the negative. When Mr. Fulkerson attempted to follow
up on his question, Faithful St. Louis’ response
was to cut the power to his microphone.
When the power was restored,
I also had the opportunity to ask a question. Having heard
former SNAP New England Director Phil Saviano belittle
the sacraments, calling them magic, I asked Mr. Clohessy
if that sort of thinking was typical of SNAP representatives.
Mr. Clohessy’s only response was to affirm that
SNAP has no desire to affect Church reform, their only
purpose is to support victims. When I pointed out that
Phil Saviano’s talk was directed to a VOTF group,
whose purpose is to effect Church reform, he had no response.
I also addressed Fr. McBrien’s speech. In the beginning
of his speech, he emphasized the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, saying that all must be sensitive to His action
and not be afraid to follow it. He also said that the
faithful must lose their attachment to the second millennium
of the Church and reattach themselves with first millennial
Catholicism. My questions were, "Where was the Holy
Spirit during the second millennium? Did He not also inspire
His Church then?”
Shaken once again, Fr.
McBrien’s response was to change the subject and
address the reasonableness of VOTF goals.
The next few questions
were more passive and less orthodox. A Cuban man of liberal
bent approached the microphone. He described all the leftist
activities he had aided throughout the years, which included
participation in leftist guerilla activities in El Salvador.
More honest to his liberalism than the organizers were
to their's, he then castigated Faithful St. Louis for
cutting the power to the microphone. “If we are
who we say we are, we have to let everyone speak,”
he shouted.
The
Master of Ceremonies conveniently decided that the time
for questions and answers was over. The Cuban gentleman
stood up again and shouted, “You must allow the
rest of these people to speak. This is what we are all
about ...letting people speak. Even if we have to stay
here until midnight, we have to let everyone speak!”
Hoping to ask a question,
TFP supporter Mark Serafino leaned forward only to find
that the microphone had been turned off once again. At
this, the Cuban began repeating his request that all be
heard, this time to the applause of half the audience.
The other half of the audience
voiced their objection to letting everyone speak. Pandemonium
broke out and the MC could barely be heard over the din
of arguing "voices of the faithful" that filled
the auditorium.
The
experience was an eye-opener for me. It seems you really
cannot judge a book by its cover, or an organization by
its name. How can a pressure group within the Church say
they are for Church democracy and giving everyone a voice,and
at the same time censor those who want to speak?
I was also impressed at
how vulnerable liberal Catholics are. When orthodox Catholics
proclaim their Faith in the face of adversity they can
be very effective. At the Faithful St. Louis conference
we were but a handful of faithful with an understanding
of a few fundamental Catholic truths. Although greatly
outnumbered, the organizers definitely felt intimidated.
As for VOTF, if it is the mainstream group it says it
is, they should stop attacking the hierarchical structure
of the Church. They should at least invite speakers that
reflect the teachings of the Church.
And
if they are going to call themselves, Voice
of the Faithful, they should keep the
microphones on.
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