ONE IS (not) THE LONLIEST NUMBER THAT YOU'LL EVER DO

It would be interesting to know if the possible schismatic parish in the Diocese of Cleveland is news outside of our Ohio. Anybody hearing about it out there?

In a nutshell, Historic Saint Peter was one of about 50 parishes in the Diocese of Cleveland that were closed as part of the diocesan downsizing. The pastor and many/most of the people of this parish decided to rent space and start their own parish with the expressed disapproval of our bishop. Negotiations are supposed to take place to see what can be done to heal this rift between the Church and this parish before a formal schism takes place.

In the morning the paper tells the latest chapter in this drama. There is no shortage of people with strong opinions on the matter. It puts me in mind of what it must be like to be related to someone famous who, for one reason or another, is stealing all the headlines at the moment. As you read the article it becomes abundantly clear that many people with very strong opinions do not really understand what is going on. Few know what is happening behind closed doors, almost none are versed in Catholicity but only in their version of being “fair,” or “nice.”

There is on the one hand Jesus’ mission: “That they may all be one.” In the Catholic Church this has very specific meaning. In our theology/ecclesiology it is one of the four marks of the True Church. We say it every weekend, “We believe in ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, and APOSTOLIC church. Other ecclesial communities say the same thing but mean something different by it when they say it. In part at least, what we mean when we say that we are one is that we are one in leadership, united to a pastor, who is united to a bishop, who is united to the pope,. The Catholic Church never claimed to be a democracy. Indeed it most certainly is not (though I would argue that true democracy takes place best within her doors.) There is a lot of “top down” governing. When you have a great pastor, a bishop whom you love, a pope that you admire, it is great. When you do not, it is not so great. One of favorite quotes is from Mary Doria Russell’s “The Sparrow.” “It’s hard to be obedient when you suspect your superiors are asses.”

Be that as it may, it is in our unity that we find our very definition – our call from Christ. So somebody writes the editor and complains that the Church is being rather unfair because they won’t allow people to pray when and where they want without permission from the bishop. To begin with, this is a straw man. You can do as you please for the most part. I can have a house mass without the bishop’s permission. What is happening here though is that a new parish is being set up with its own board, its own building, celebrating sacraments, detaching itself from the bishop and the rest of the diocese. That is what is of concern. Unity is being ruptured and that cannot be left unaddressed. It strikes to the heart of what it is to be Catholic. We would have to redefine ourselves. One simply cannot say, “I am not a part of this diocese, but I am still Catholic.” It would be like saying, “This shape is round, but it is still a square!”

On the other hand I do feel for the people of the parish. They may feel that they have been unfairly treated. They may see the actions of the diocese as sinful and counterproductive to the mission of Christ. They may have felt a need to act now since, once destroyed, the reconstruction of the parish could never take place and their mission lost forever. There is certainly passion here and a desire for good. What does one do if one feels that what is taking place in the Church is sinful? Lie down and be run over? No! You act! One cannot be excommunicated from the Church if one is standing up against sin and tyranny anymore than one can be forgiven if one is not penitent.

So how does one weigh what is going on here? Which side is not acting in the best interest of Christ’s mission? Let us place first principles first. Would those from the parish still be able to receive the Eucharist if the parish closed? Well, yes – most of them drive past many parishes before arriving at St. Peter. Putting anger, hurt, distrust, egos, and desires aside, is unity in Christ better preserved by breaking away from the diocese or in the sacrificing of one parish, even if you feel it patently wrong, for the greater good of the Church?

This is not the first time this has happened in this diocese actually. One of the parishes closed in this latest round of closing was a tiny, little parish that popped up out of nowhere. It was supposed to be a cultural center and shrine that all of a sudden became a parish. The bishop at the time allowed it to continue.

There is of course some Traditionalists Churches in these parts – those who never accepted the reforms of Vatican II. They also broke off and began their own parishes with their own priests who left the Catholic Church. Now their priests are getting old. Where will they be in a few more years? There will be no priests from the diocese to fill the role. They may advertise nationally and find an unhappy priest who left the Church and wants to celebrate what we call the extraordinary form – or who might come from some independent, schismatic seminary – if the minister is willing to move to Ohio to take care of a small congregation – and hope that the ordination and the subsequent sacraments are valid. Or they may be left homeless with no one and no sacraments – one of the risks one takes when one no longer defines one the way Catholics traditionally define it.