Finding Catholic Identity in Christian Unity: A Response to Fr. Lewon
Fr. Brian Carpenter
Originally posted on 1/24/2010

I would like to thank Fr. Michal Lewon for his reflections last week on the week for Christian Unity. As I read his article describing his sincere desire to enter into ecumenical dialogue (dialogue between various Christian churches) with our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters, I was overcome by the notion of how important it is for Catholics to be firmly rooted in their own identity. Fr. Lewon's article highlighted this in his interactions with his own Chancery office.

To be clear, this is not an attack on Fr. Lewon, whom I consider a friend, nor on his knowledge of the faith. In fact, we should applaud Fr. Lewon for working within the guidelines set forth by his own Archdiocese rather than ignoring the policy as if to say, "I know better than Holy Mother Church." That being said, what his article highlights is that Catholics cannot truly enter into dialogue with anyone, whether it be other Christians, other faiths, or even the secular world (e.g. the general American culture), without being firmly rooted in Catholicism. To further clarify, one must be firmly rooted in the teachings and history that make up our great Catholic Tradition.

This is not to suggest that it is reasonable or even possible to expect every Catholic to know every document that the Church has ever produced in the past 2000 years. But, Catholics should be knowledgeable as to the basic tenants of their faith, as well as the reasons (or arguments) behind the Church's teachings, especially on matters of dogma, and on issues where the Church's stance conflicts with notions held by the secular world.

So often, it seems that Catholics have lost their identity. They have instead adopted a secular mentality, and Catholicism is merely something they hold to, not as Truth per se, but as a type of ornamentation used to decorate their secular mentality. For example, this mentality is seen when people expect the Church to be a democracy, and become upset when they learn that it is not. It is also seen when people decide that being nice (and here they choose to define what it means to be nice) takes precedent over living according to Truth. By adopting the secular mentality, Catholics have not engaged the modern world, as Vatican II mandates. Rather, what they have done is to become like the secular world.

The issue at large, of course, is that when you become like the secular world, you lose your ability to transform the secular world. Thus, what often ensues is that people become trapped - they become so invested in the secular agenda that they, often unknowingly, abandon their mission to be a prophetic witness to the Gospel over and against the secular culture. In their blindness, they confuse the secular agenda for the Gospel.

Fr. Lewon's article demonstrates the fact that we need to understand our own heritage. I am quite certain that in talking with ministers from other ecclesial communities, Fr. Lewon was under a great deal of pressure to hold the secular party line which would say something to the effect that because we are all Christians, we should all be able to preach anywhere. But, Fr. Lewon is to be commended - because rather than entering into a tirade over his initial disappointment with the ruling from his Archdiocesan Chancery Office, he decided to explore the teachings of the Church. He did not arrogantly assume he was right and the Church was wrong. Instead he sought out the Church's rationale in order to be a better formed and informed priest.

Interestingly enough, what he found was not that the Church was trying to disrespect his ecumenical endeavors by establishing an artificial roadblock. Nor did he find that this ruling simply came from a bunch of men who had no concept of the "real world." No, what he found was that the Church recognized that there were doctrinal differences between Catholics and certain ecclesial communities. Due to the differences in theological teachings (for example, faith in the real (substantial) presence of Christ in the Eucharist), it would be inappropriate for a person to preach at a liturgical service with which they hold significant theological differences. The function of preaching in the liturgy is to proclaim the relevance of the scriptures in living out a Catholic life, something a person who objected to basic tenants of the Catholic faith (be they moral or sacramental) could not accomplish.

Fr. Lewon's experience demonstrates the necessity of exploring our identity as Catholics. Many people in his situation may not have bothered to explore the teachings of the Church, but instead, simply placed themselves above Church teaching. It would have been very easy for Fr. Lewon to take a subjective approach whereby he decided that his enthusiasm for promoting Christian unity (a noble thing to be certain) was the sole criterion for judging the best way to interact with ministers of other faith traditions. But Fr. Lewon humbled himself, and decided to research the Church's teaching so that he could better serve the Church. In so doing, any future ecumenical endeavors in which he engages will be more fruitful, because, armed with a deeper understanding of Church teachings, he will be able to bring about a unity that occurs, not on a superficial level, but on a meaningful level. Or, phrased another way, he will be better able to represent Catholicism when engaging with other communities. He will have a stronger sense of his Catholic identity.

I commend Fr. Lewon for his willingness to set aside his initial personal preferences and to instead seek out the reason behind Church teachings that initially stuck him with discord. His model is one that would benefit numerous other Catholics with whom Church teachings strike an initial discord.