Why the Problems at the USCCB Should Not Deter You From Returning to the Church

In response to my articles at NRB regarding the USCCB and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, I have been getting a lot of great feedback, most commonly from practicing Catholics who share my concern about massive amounts of money going to organizations that have questionable practices. Most of the feedback is from cradle Catholics. Some are converts who feel very frustrated that, after having found the Faith, they learn that far too many, even among the hierarchy, share neither our zeal nor our commitment to the propagation of true doctrine which we know, through the experience of our conversions, has freed us from the unfathomably heavy weight of confusion and doubt that tormented us before we found the Faith. Also, I have heard from some who have left the Church and who are now thinking of returning because they see Catholics rejoicing in the Faith and standing up for justice and truth. These people are clearly still hesitant to return. I am willing to talk to each of you personally, if necessary, but perhaps there are some not inclined to contact me, so I would like to outline here a few reasons why I believe these issues, though quite serious, should in no way deter you from returning to the Catholic Faith.

First, I want to note that mine is by no means a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. There are a great number of louder and more eloquent voices out there defending the Faith. A few of them are Catholic Culture, Catholic Exchange, Catholic Advocate, Catholic League, and Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV. For basics on the Catholic Faith, you should visit Catholic.com and for a good dose of real Catholic spiritual enlightenment, you cannot beat EWTN. Don't miss individual Catholics sharing their take on things, too, like The Anchoress, Patrick Madrid, Leila Miller, and countless others. Father Z is one among many blogging priests working hard to feed us sheep and Scripture Catholic is an excellent resource offering the Scriptural basis for Catholic teaching.

Secondly, in regard to errors of bishops, it is always good to remember the example of St. Peter from Scripture. After St. Peter was called by Jesus Christ Himself, and even after Jesus told St. Peter that he would deny Him three times (a point St. Peter disputed), St. Peter did deny Jesus three times. This was not the end of the story, though. St. Peter then went on to lead the Church as the first pope. So, even if the bishops were to go off the very deep end and publicly deny that they know Jesus, as St. Peter did, it does not change who they are and what their role is in the Church. If they come to understand their mistakes, they may become as great as St. Peter was, even willing to go to a cross as St. Peter did.

Third, this problem at the USCCB is primarily a lay-driven problem. The CCHD, for instance, is run by lay persons. Michale Voris has pointed out the background on that clearly. Ten bishops have already suspended CCHD in their dioceses and the more we shout from the rooftops, the more bishops will follow suit.

Fourth, it is indeed not a very difficult thing for many to mistake Marxism with Christianity. There are subtle similarities that fool people. As you may know, Satan disguises himself as an angel of light full of empty promises. That is what Marxism does to many people. Though we know it to be grave error, subjectively, they quite often very sincerely believe they are being Christian. It is ignorance we are fighting here, not malice. When we understand this, it is far easier to feel genuine love and concern for those in darkness, not hatred which would only serve to impede the work of Christ.

Fifth, regardless of how corrupt the bishops may or may not be, the bishops as individual persons are not what unite us. What unites us is the truth we find in Christ and the sacraments which our priests and bishops are custodians of no matter their holiness or lack of it. If you have been baptized properly, you have the Sacrament of Baptism sealing you with an indelible mark as belonging to Jesus Christ. All the sacraments are "outward, visible signs of an inward, invisible grace" which is from God. God has established the sacraments in order to bring us close to Him, and the great thing is, no matter how awful a priest or bishop may be as a person, we may still receive these sacraments through them. Though I have called out Bishop Olmsted for his funding of community organizing, I would have no problem taking one of my children to him for the Sacrament of Confirmation or any other sacrament because, no matter what Bishop Olmsted may do, he is still a priest and a bishop from whom we can fully receive the sacraments. I love him greatly for his service to the Church in this regard and, because of my love for him, I am pained by the necessity of pointing out his mistake. No man is without sin and, when it all boils down, God is the only One Who can judge the depth of a man's sin anyway. In another respect, Bishop Olmsted has been a great defender of the Faith as he publicly affirmed that Sr. Margaret McBride had automatically excommunicated herself when she approved an abortion in a Phoenix hospital. In that, he is a hero of the Faith. I would imagine that his action in making that statement pained him as much as it pains me to point out the problems with CCHD in his diocese and others. We all need the sacraments to have the fullness of God's life in our own and the bishops are there for us always to provide the sacraments. In this, we must thank God for them and rejoice.

Again, I would be most happy to discuss these issues privately with anyone who wishes to. Send me an email and I'll get back with you as soon as possible.

In the meantime, let's all share a prayer to St. Michael for the good of our beautiful Church.