Getting a perspective

It’s been a tough year. Much more than a year, actually. And not just the abuse scandal that has wounded the church, as serious as that is.

Those of you who are paying attention know that there also have been countless skirmishes with popular culture over long-held church teachings and beliefs, mostly over life issues, but others as well. Such skirmishes—and even outright battles—will certainly continue as the church’s God-given concept of civility and behavior separates further from today’s culture.

There’s more, too: even within the church, groups all along the spectrum endlessly chastise each other for either sticking too closely to church rules or for straying too far from them. It’s sort of an adult version of “My Father can beat up your Father.” (Except, of course, the kids are brothers, twins, even.)

People are angered over relatively minor changes in Mass, or gripe that we haven’t exclusively returned to Latin (which, as more than one person has reminded me, is the language Jesus said Mass in. Honest.).

This stuff crosses our desks every day. All in all, it can get pretty distracting.

Then I went to a funeral celebrating death and got a better perspective on life.

The funeral was for a priest friend, though who it was for wasn’t as important as what it was.

The liturgy was soaring, the music powerful (neither “popular” nor traditional) and flowed from Scripture. The homily did more than recount the blessings of the deceased, it reminded us of that which, rather than dividing, unites us: an unending relationship with God.

For an hour or so, there were no intramural squabbles, no sniping from the left or the right, only the core sense of a celebration in the presence of God.

That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Being human, we find it easier sometimes to grouse than praise, to nitpick than agree, to challenge differences than celebrate unity.

Acknowledging the reality of dying, which of course gets closer every day, is a unique opportunity to recognize anew how faith can transform the living.

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If you haven’t already marked your calendars to enjoy some good words, good fun and Good News, do it now: The Catholic Festival of Faith, something new for the Archdiocese of Chicago, kicks off at Navy Pier Oct. 30-Nov 2.

Come to think of it, the festival is an opportunity to accomplish exactly what I was just talking about: coming together in celebration of faith’s core values. There will be talks and exhibits and celebrations and liturgies and loads more.

For information on the Catholic Festival of Faith, see Pages 7-8 in this issue of The Catholic New World, or visit www.catholicfest.org.

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Finally, preservation groups and some city officials have been lambasting the Archdiocese of Chicago for its decision to tear down the decaying St. Gelasius Church in Woodlawn. For the most part, if all you pay attention to are the secular media, that’s what you would have heard the most: bad old Catholic Church, tearing down an abandoned inner-city church worthy of landmark status.

Never minding that it could take $1 million or more to restore the building to a safe condition—which preservationists want the archdiocese to cover—even though the church was closed because its worshipping community had dwindled.

However, The Chicago Sun-Times, in a Sept. 4 editorial, “No cross for archdiocese to bear,” acknowledged that it understands: putting such a financial burden on the archdiocese “isn’t right.” The editorial continued: “Let those who would hold back the wrecking ball hold forth with the needed million.”

Of course, if you were paying attention to The Catholic New World’s last issue, you would have read Bishop Joseph Perry’s column making pretty much the same point.

Tom Sheridan
Editor and General Manager

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