On August 1st the St. Louis Review published the following editorial, five days after they said tehy would not put the We Are One Signature ad in the paper.
August 1, 2008 Bishop Hermann: 'I thought you should know' Obedience is still a virtue
by Bishop Robert Hermann, Archdiocesan Administrator
Some 35 years ago we brought in a brilliant Baptist theologian to give a two-day retreat for 15 nondenominational ministers and four Catholic priests. This scholar and professor knew much of the Greek version of St. John?s Gospel by heart. One of the topics he chose to address was Christian unity.
Reflecting on Christ?s prayer in Chapter 17 of St. John?s Gospel, "that all may be one," he said: "I believe that if this prayer for unity is going to be realized it will be realized through the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has retained the charism of unity. Protestantism will never experience unity until it deals with the very principle which is endemic to Protestantism, and that is, ?If you disagree, separate.? The Catholic Church is like a wise mother. Whenever a new charism arises within it, it creates a religious order and keeps it in the Church."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, in No. 144, that the word "obey" comes from the Latin "obaudire," to hear or to listen to. Therefore the obedience of faith means "to submit freely to the Word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself." Christ also told us that the truth will set you free. People who obey out of faith are joyful people. Christ has led the way. He was obedient unto death. Because of the joy set before him he willingly endured the cross. He submitted to the Father?s will.
What dissenters to Catholic teaching do not realize is that their disobedience causes them to be angry at themselves for being angry at the Church. They mistakenly believe that they will be happy if the Church obeys their demands. They think that the problem is on the outside of themselves, rather than within themselves.
Scripture tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice.
What they also do not realize is that they do not lose their peace over someone else's sin but only over their own.
Because they are flattered that some others believe in the same cause as they do, they mistakenly believe that they are forming a community. There is nothing more ephemeral than the unity of dissenters. Dissent begets dissent. That is why Christianity is splintered.
As I take a look at my own life, some of the things that I would have preferred to do as a priest would not have worked out. On the other hand, everything that my superiors asked me to do has brought me incredible satisfaction, peace, joy and fulfillment. It is more fun "to listen to the Word" than to rebel against it. It is more freeing to embrace the teachings of the Church and let those teachings transform me than it is to ask the Church to change those teachings so that my will be done. At this stage I do not intend to change the formula.
Below are responses that we recieved although none of them have been published in the St. Louis Review
Editor August 3, 2008
The St. Louis Review
20 Archbishop May Drive
St. Louis MO 63119
Dear Editor:
Bishop Hermann’s recent column in the Review ('I thought you should know'Obedience is still a virtue) gave me much food for thought. As a Catholic who holds dissenting views to certain teachings of the Church, I find his assumptions about my feelings and my state of mind to be rather far off base.
Bishop Hermann assumes that I am angry at myself for being angry with my Church. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am proud of my actions which are aimed at bringing forth real justice for all of God’s children. When I take action to affirm the dignity of women, gays, lesbians, the divorced, and others alienated by current Church doctrine, I sleep very well at night knowing that I am furthering the call of the Gospel to comfort those imprisoned by hatred or misunderstanding.
Bishop Hermann cites scripture which tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. Yet I find myself called to be obedient to Jesus in the Gospels, the Jesus who railed against the rules and laws which bound the Scribes and the Pharisees to lives of “obedience”; the Jesus who compels us to love everyone and to wash the feet of our brothers and sisters; the Jesus who never spoke a word about women’s ordination, or gays and lesbians, or exclusion from sacraments; the Jesus who welcomed all to His table.
Bishop Hermann assumes that I have lost my peace over the sins of another. Again, he is wrong. I live in the serenity of knowing that I bring peace and hope of inclusion to those who have had the door of our Church slammed angrily in their faces.
Bishop Hermann finally asserts that there is no unity among those who work for peace and justice in dissent of Church teaching, and that dissent begets dissent. What I have experienced, on the other hand, are the real love, inclusion, and acceptance which Jesus promised to all who follow Him. Dissent does not beget dissent. Dissent begets hope, critical thought, deep reflection, and profound compassion.
The next time Bishop Hermann presumes to speak for me, perhaps he should spend some time with those of us who are united in our similar views and whose deepest hope is to heal a Church which at times seems so uninviting and cold. After that, he might do well to remember those holy men and women who in times past risked their standing in the Church to point out a better way, holy men and women who are now recognized as Saints. Perhaps then he will not be so quick to presume that just because we dissent we lack “satisfaction, peace, joy and fulfillment”.
In Jesus’ love,
Joe Moramarco
"I read Bishop Herman’s article in the Review with great interest and reverence. For me, however, it fell short. Raised Catholic, I have been taught to follow the Church’s teaching . By submitting freely to the Word I also have been taught to develop a private, personal relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Mary and a litany of Saints. Admittedly, I am in love with the Church and I am in love with God. I depend deeply on my very real relationship with both, especially my vibrant love with Jesus. My life is altered by the heartstrings Jesus has pulled. But now, as a lifelong Catholic dedicated to following the call of God and Jesus Christ, I find myself at a crossroads. Supposedly, when the call I hear in my personal relationship with God collides with the teachings of the Church I am to follow the primacy of my conscience, freely given to me as a gift from God. Doing so, as long as it is not negligent or hurtful, should keep me from fear of losing my love relationship with either the Church or God. Recent excommunications, interdicts and penalties within the Catholic community, however, lead me to believe that Catholics with personal relationships with Jesus could wind up as instruments of God, caught in the middle depending on what God calls them to do. I am confused. Perhaps a formula could help. When I feel caught in the middle, for the sake of unity, do I ignore the Church or do I ignore God ?"
-Suzanne
August 1, 2008
Dear Editor
I am delighted that “everything that my (Bishop Hermannn) superiors asked me to do has brought me incredible satisfaction, peace, joy and fulfillment.” I wish this were always the case for everyone. Unfortunately it is not. The church is always adjusting to the times. If it did not we would all be full members of the Jewish faith, Joan of Arc would remain a heretic, slavery would be right and just, the earth would be the center of the solar system, and marriage would not be an impediment to the priesthood. “The church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in light of the gospel.” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World #4)
Obedience is first and foremost listening to the Word of God. Listening even when it conflicts with ecclesiastical authority "Over the Pope as the expression of the binding claim of ecclesiastical authority, there still stands one's own conscience, which must be obeyed before all else, if necessary even against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority." Pope Benedict XVI, written when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, in the commentary section of the Doctrine of Vatican II, volume V, page 134.
The people who speak out at times of change may be at peace and be angry, even as Jesus was angry. These are not conflicting emotions. Speaking out during times of change requires hope. “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.”(Augustine of Hippo)
I believe we are in a time of change. I have prayed long and hard and struggled over these times. I am at peace with my actions, although it does require enormous amounts of courage to proceed, for my church rejects my God-given gifts and most of my friends do not understand forbearance. So do not dismiss me as a child who has not informed her conscience or blame me for the splintering of our beloved Church. Look instead, to your own heart and ask if you have bothered to listen to those who differ form you. I am afraid they have run away in larger numbers than you care to imagine.
In Humility and Love,
Marie Andrews
As a member of Call to Action, I am very discouraged by your refusal to publish the ad that was submitted. Instead of publication, we got another patriarchal lecture on obedience.
We had a parish mission on evangelization this week. My conclusion is that as long as the patriarchal church places the emphasis on maintaining order and control instead of opening up and serving the needs of the people of God, all efforts at evangelization are in vain. Wake up it is 2008, not 1008.
Joseph Mahon
Young Harris, GA
To the editor, I am dismayed that your newspaper will not allow freedom of expression, as illustrated by your refusal to run an advertisement by the Catholic Action Network. Mature Catholics are aware that the word 'obedience' means "to listen." Millions of us ARE listening to the small, still voice of God, encouraging justice in the world. Our inner lives are doing quite well, as demonstrated by the courage it takes to speak out.
Thank you,
Jean Junis Iowa City, Iowa
Dear Editor,
I am writing to respond to Bishop Robert Hermann's August 1, 2008 column regarding obedience. May I point out that within his own column is contained the reason that this newspaper should not have rejected Catholic Action Network's advertisement petition in support of Sr. Louise Lears. The word in question is "obedience." Bishop Hermann reminds us that the Latin origin of the word "obedience," is "to hear" or "to listen." Such an understanding should help to distinguish the meaning of the word "obedience" from insistence upon complying with the exclusion of 50% of the population from its possible call to ordained ministry. "Obedience" does not, nor should not, always mean "unquestioning compliance."
Sincerely in Christ,
Gretchen R. Chateau
Letter to the Editor
Re: I thought You Should Know
I agree that "the truth shall set you free". The problem is that the truth is often obscured by us due to our human nature, not by "the truth guaranteed by God". We "dissenters" of the Catholic teaching (at least the ones I know) are not angry with ourselves, but with the church hierarchy. Christ, as demonstrated numerous times in scripture, got angry, not at himself, but with those around him for not seeing, not following the "will of the Father". So, anger is not the issue and in fact is very Christ-like... it is justified. Many of us, too, feel justified. We pray about it, think about it and most of all dialogue about it just as Christ did. He did not, as far as I know, ever NOT listen to his people. He in fact sought them out!
When you write a response to something that has not been shared with the entire community, you appear to be angry at the faithful... and thus segregating you from the community.
I do not believe that Jesus would "kick us out of his community", as has been done in your diocese. You have abandoned your people by doing so, either directly or indirectly.
We continue to be obedient to the Father, even as we "sacrifice" at your hands, your human will, not God's will.
Bill Sarge
Was Jesus wrong to not obey the Church leaders that questioned his message? We challenge the authority of the Church to be obedient to the Spirit that guides us, and to emulate our Savior. The bishops would do well to do the same."
Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Donnelly
As a Canadian Catholic trained in theology who spent her life teaching religious studies in Catholic high schools up here, I just want you to know that we are dealing with the same issues, all of which I believe have to do with the lack of democratic accountability in the Church. I also know from our failed efforts to organize the laity up here, that only in America is there a democratic depth in the culture that can effect this kind of change in the Church. It will take a broad coalition of progressive groups of course, and an appropriate leadership.
There are many of us counting on you and your efforts., and grateful for your continued perseverance.
Linda Arbour
To the Editor:
I realize that each diocese is run like a fiefdom, but it is all too apparent Sister Louise Lears does not deserve the treatment she is getting.
Can you tell me the name of a single priest who is cut off from communion because he raped a child? How many members of La Cosa Nostra are denied communion?
Yet, Sr. Louise, a good and faithful servant of the church, is punished because she, in good conscience, attended the ordinations of Roman Catholic women--women, like her, who wish only to serve God's people. She might as well go ahead and get ordained. Bet she'll have far more support than Bishop Hermann!!!
Rea Howarth