THE CATHOLIC
Dermott J. Mullan
The distinction between sickness and health is
usually apparent. But it is not always so. Sometimes outward appearances of
health are deceptive, and people who seem to be well may actually be seriously
ill. For example, shortly after the atomic bomb fell in
In the present article, I submit
that an analogous situation exists in the spiritual realm among Catholics in
The Catholic Church in
Some forty years ago, the US
Church was healthy, with almost 170,000 nuns, more than 50,000 priests, more
than 10,000 brothers, and more than 40,000 seminarians. Sunday Mass attendance
was 75%, and 150 thousand people converted per year. But today, conditions are
very different. The Official Catholic Directory for the year 2000 lists only
81,000 nuns, 46,000 priests (with 8,000 listed as retired, sick, or “absent”),
less than 6,000 brothers, and only 4,500 seminarians. In my diocese (
Widely publicized opinion polls
indicate that many Catholics reject certain Church teachings. In 1987, a survey
in Time magazine reported that 71 percent of Catholics consider pre-marital sex
permissible. A USA Today survey in 1993 showed that 87 percent of Catholics
reject Church teaching on family planning.
In light of statistics such as
these, Russell Shaw (for many years an official spokesman for the American
bishops) has said: “…the Catholic Church in
When did the sickness begin?
Some people claim that the sickness
that is now affecting American Catholic life first struck during Vatican II
(1962-1965). Now it is true that the onset of the decline in faith can be
traced to the 1960’s. But this does not mean that Vatican II is to blame: the evidence suggests that the decline began
in 1968.
To see this, let us look carefully at some
statistics of American Catholic life as reported in the Catholic Almanac (CA)
for the years immediately before and immediately after the Council. Between 1962 and 1967 (i.e. a time interval
spanning the Council plus two years afterwards), the number of American
priests, brothers, and nuns actually INCREASED by 7%, 8%, and 2%, reaching
totals of 59892, 12539, and 176671 respectively. As far as the life of the
American laity during the conciliar years is
concerned, Sunday Mass attendance was a healthy 75 percent. A statistic of key interest in gauging the
health of lay spirituality is the number of marriage annulments. During the
1950’s and 1960’s, this number was not publicized by marriage tribunals, and so
the older CA’s contain no annulment statistics. However, CA 1980 later revealed
that US marriage tribunals issued a total of only 338 annulments in calendar
year 1968. These statistics indicate that, during
the years of
In contrast, when we compare data for 1967 with
those for 1970, a grimmer picture emerges. Between 1967 and 1970, the numbers
of American priests, brothers, and nuns DECREASED by 2%, 8%, and 10%. During
the same three years, the number of US seminarians decreased by 40%. There are
no public statistics for annulments in the years 1967-1971, but in 1974, US
tribunals issued 28918 annulments, a stunning increase (by almost 9000%!) over
the figure for 1968. In 1980, the number of US annulments was 63962, almost
20000% greater than in 1968. In the late 1990’s, there are typically more than
40,000 US annulments per year, i.e. more than 12000 percent greater than in
1968.
Another
sign of serious sickness in the Church concerns priests who quit the
priesthood. In CA’s prior to and including 1968, there was not even one news
item, nor even one statistic, concerning priestly departures. But in a story
datelined
These statistics point to 1968 (plus or minus one
year), as a critical time for the US Church. Something with disastrous spiritual
consequences apparently happened at that time, triggering dramatic declines in
many areas of Catholic life. It is as if the US Church was subjected to a
serious attack around 1968, and is still suffering the after-effects. Can we
identify the nature of this attack?
The day the bomb fell
I believe that the principal attack
on the Church in
The press conference was widely reported. The New
York Times gave the Washington press conference front-page billing, with a
headline in the upper left corner of page 1: “Catholic experts in strong
dissent on edict by Pope: 87 Theologians, mostly clergy, say birth-control ban
is not binding: Group of Washington clerics give support and see no issue of
disloyalty”. Two days later, another front-page article in the New York Times
was entitled “Theologians gain support in dissent on birth control”.
With these headlines, a new word entered into the
vocabulary of Catholic lay people in
It is hard to overstate the enormity of what
happened in
The publicity associated with the
On
But the
These gruesome after-effects occurred because of the
very nature of an atomic bomb: as a by-product of the nuclear reactions that
give the bomb its power, it is inevitable that radioactive nuclei are created.
Now it is a law of physics that radioactive nuclei survive for a certain length
of time (roughly the “half-life”), and then they must disintegrate. Some nuclei
survive only for a few seconds or minutes, while others persist for years or
centuries. In the process of disintegration, the nuclei give off a variety of
mysterious and penetrating types of radiation.
Because of this distinctive aspect of an atomic
bomb, the effects of the nuclear weapon in
Eventually, at the times appointed by the laws of
physics, the mysterious radiation began inexorably to emerge from the fallout,
and proceeded to perform its hidden and deadly work. As a result, the
survivors’ bodies came under attack although
the victims themselves were at first completely unaware of this.
As the days passed in August 1945, strange and
serious symptoms began to appear among certain survivors. Some of the case
histories make for eerie reading. Many people who felt slightly ill immediately
after the blast, would report improvement in their general condition for a week
or more. But then a sudden and inexplicable worsening of their situation would
occur: a day or two later, they would be dead. A new and terrible phrase
entered into human language: “radiation sickness”.
On
The physiology of radiation sickness is such that
the mysterious rays cause maximum damage to cells during replication, when the
cell’s interior is temporarily exposed. As a result, the cells that are most
susceptible to radiation damage are the rapid growers, such as blood cells.
Once this was recognized by medical personnel, massive blood transfusions
became the order of the day in order to restore at least some of the
Eventually, in the months following August 1945, the
government of
Now let us return to the events in
Dissent is not simply something that makes a big splash in the media on the day of a carefully orchestrated publicity event. Dissent also has hidden effects which, over the course of time, silently and remorselessly attack the most vital organs of a Catholic’s life.
Ever since
Why does dissent lead to spiritual
sickness?
To see why dissent leads to a weakening of spiritual
life, let us make an obvious point about dissent: by its very definition,
dissent involves the opposite of assent. Now the key question is this: is
assent important in a Catholic’s life? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
teaches clearly that the answer is a resounding Yes (No. 142-143):
“By His Revelation, the invisible God, from the
fullness of His love, addresses men as His friends, and moves among them in
order to invite and receive them into His own company. The adequate response to
this invitation is faith.
By faith, man completely submits his intellect and
will to God. WITH HIS WHOLE BEING, MAN GIVES HIS ASSENT TO GOD THE REVEALER.
Sacred scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, ‘the
obedience of faith’.” (emphasis added).
This passage indicates that assent is at the very
heart of a Catholic’s faith life. And faith is not something peripheral to our
life as Catholics: on the contrary, it is essential. “Without faith, it is
impossible to please God…without faith, no-one has ever obtained justification”
(CCC No. 161).
Since assent is at the heart of faith, dissent involves nothing less than a direct
attack on the most vital organ of a Catholic’s life with God. And just as
radiation in
The
consequences of this “spiritual radiation sickness” are serious. Once a
Catholic refuses to assent to a formal teaching of the Church (such as that
contained in Humanae Vitae), such a Catholic is
actually rejecting Christ Himself (Luke 10, 16). And apart from Christ,
spiritual life dries up (John 15, 6).
To be sure, someone who dissents from a teaching of
the Church (especially a teaching concerning contraception) may feel good for a
while. Such a person may think to him(her)self: “Now I no longer need to be
bothered about that particular teaching of the Church: I can get on with living
my life the way I want to.” But no matter how good the feelings are, such a
person actually resembles one of the “shadow persons” in
Victims of spiritual radiation sickness often do not
even know they are sick: and so, they see no particular need to go to Mass or
to turn to the medicine of the soul that Christ provides in Confession. Even a
casual observer can see that Confession lines in Church today are much shorter
than they were 30-40 years ago.
The casualties of dissent: “spiritual fallout”
The spiritual casualties that have spread among
American Catholics in the wake of the Catholic Hiroshima are grim indeed. Not
surprisingly, the effects show up most vividly in the area of life which was
directly addressed in “Humanae Vitae”, viz. marriage.
The statistics cited above show that for the past 25 years, the annual rate of
marriage annulments in
The effects of dissent have been particularly
virulent among the young. Just as biological cells are most vulnerable to
radiation damage during the growth process, so, too the minds of Catholic youth
are especially susceptible to the attacks of dissent when those minds open up
to grow in knowledge. Because so many dissenting theologians in 1968 were on
faculties of Catholic colleges, they were strategically located to inflict
maximum “spiritual radiation damage” on the faith life of young Catholics.
Since 1968, increasing numbers of American parents have watched in appalled
frustration as many of their children lose the faith while attending nominally
Catholic colleges.
The most intriguing of the after-effects of dissent
were those that appeared among a segment of Catholics who, on the face of it,
should have been entirely unaffected, namely, celibates. After all, the dissent
against Humanae Vitae was specifically aimed at a
Church teaching which pertained to marriage.
Why then should celibates be affected at all? Perhaps the celibates (who were
in the majority among the signatories on July 30 1968) reasoned that they could
dissent on Church doctrine concerning a sacrament that they themselves had not
received without affecting their own vows. But this reasoning has turned out to
be flawed. In the aftermath of the Catholic Hiroshima, almost 100,000 priests
and nuns have left their calling. Dissent apparently has lethal effects not
only on marriages but also on priestly vocations.
The “spiritual radioactivity” that was unleashed by
the “Catholic Hiroshima” is still “hot”, and still damaging to spiritual health
even after 30 years. No matter how “good” dissent may make someone feel in the
short-term, the long-term effects are destructive. How long will the
radioactivity last? No-one knows. Unlike the radioactive nuclei in Hiroshima,
there is no obvious way to measure the “half-life” of spiritual radiation. It
may be centuries: after all, we are still suffering from the fall-out of a
similar event that occurred almost 500 years ago in Wittenberg.
Can Catholics in America ever recover spiritually
from the effects of the Catholic Hiroshima? Can the healthy statistics of
Catholic life in the early 1960’s be restored? It is hard to say. A first step
towards recovery will require Catholics at all levels of the Church in America
to face the dismal truth to which Russell Shaw has alluded: the US Church is
near collapse. Nothing worthwhile can be gained by denying the severity of the
situation. If we continue to close our eyes to the spiritual radiation sickness
associated with dissent, then there will be no incentive to seek a remedy.
What is to be done? At the very least, it is
necessary to return to the instructions that were offered by Vatican II to
protect Catholics in the overall war against evil. The Vatican II documents
provide a sure means of protection in this mortal struggle. In this regard,
Catholics have an advantage over the former inhabitants of Hiroshima.
To see why this is so, it is worth recalling a
little known, but true, story about how the municipal government of Hiroshima
worked to protect its citizens in the weeks leading up to August 6 1945. In a
book called “The Day Man Lost”, published in Japan in 1972, it is reported that
during the summer of 1945, a certain rumor had gained widespread support in
Hiroshima, namely, that the Americans were planning to flood the city by
destroying some large dams nearby. To their credit, the municipal government
took this rumor so seriously that they prepared kits for bamboo life-rafts, and
distributed 200,000 kits to their citizens. Considering the wartime conditions,
this was a feat of truly astonishing proportions. Unfortunately, the rumored
attack on the dams did not materialize: the attack, when it came on August 6,
was of a totally different nature. The bamboo life-rafts turned out to be
pathetically inadequate.
In contrast, the Vatican II documents describe in
detail the tools that can help us deal
with the Catholic Hiroshima and the spiritual radioactivity that followed in
its wake. For example, Vatican II offered this to married couples: “Whenever
Christian spouses in a spirit of sacrifice and trust in divine providence carry
out their duties of procreation with generous human and Christian
responsibility, they glorify the Creator and perfect themselves in Christ.
Among the married couples who thus fulfil their God-given mission, special
mention should be made of those who…courageously undertake the proper
upbringing of a large number of children” (GS 50). Vatican II also invited us
to go to Mass where “Christ Himself speaks when the holy scriptures are read in
the Church” (SC7), and where the renewal of covenant “draws the faithful and
sets them aflame with Christ’s insistent love” (SC10). And just as Catholics
had in the past found Christ in their devotion to the Real Presence, so too
Vatican II invited us to a “new impulse of spiritual life…from increased
veneration from the Word of God” (DV26). And the key teaching that would
protect a Catholic from the horrors of dissent was spelled out explicitly:
“…loyal submission of will and intellect must be given in a special way to
the…Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra…” (LG25).
No bamboo life-rafts here! The instructions of
Vatican II are highly effective as
protection against any and all spiritual onslaughts. In light of this,
there is no exaggeration in the words of Vatican II: “…the fullness of the
means of salvation can be obtained through Christ’s Catholic Church alone”
(UR3).
Unfortunately, the instructions that are in the
Vatican II documents were only beginning to be implemented by Catholics in
America when the “spiritual atomic bomb” fell on July 30 1968. As a result many
Catholics were caught with their defenses down on that fateful day, and we are
still living with the after-effects of this lack of preparedness. Statistics
suggest that the “shadow-persons” who suffer from “spiritual radiation
sickness” may now be in the majority in the Catholic Church in America. The
result is apparent to all but the most wishful thinkers: dissent has led to a
disaster of catastrophic proportions.
The disaster has persisted now for more than 30
years, and it has struck at the very heart of Catholic life. Its effects are
especially obvious in relationships where people are called to the life-long
commitments that are meant to mirror Christ’s lasting love: marriage and
religious vows. American Catholics have curtailed their family sizes despite
being wealthier than any country in the world, they have divorced and
re-married, or they have left the priesthood, and can no longer receive the
sacraments. These people are cut-off from the life-blood of the Church. It is
impossible to exaggerate the sickening shadow that has been cast over Catholics
in America because of dissent.
What is to be done for the “shadow persons” who have
been infected by the spiritual radiation sickness of dissent? Is there any
treatment that leads to a cure? Following the example of the survivors of
Hiroshima, one of the approaches to a cure involves massive blood transfusions.
The Blood of Christ in Confession will wash away all sins of those who repent
and return to the teachings of the Christ. And the Blood of Christ in the
Eucharist will bring new life to the soul, strengthening the soul for a
vigorous life in the Church.
Another approach to a cure for radiation sickness
involves turning to the Blessed Mother for help. The remarkable story of a
certain Jesuit priest has a bearing on this. Father Hubert Schiffer
SJ was actually present in the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 when the
atomic bomb fell. He and his Jesuit companions lived about half a mile from
ground zero. Although houses were destroyed in all directions around them, the
Jesuit house remained standing, and not one of the Jesuits was harmed. I was
blessed to see and hear Father Schiffer at the Eucharistic
Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. He informed the congregation that all of his
companions were still alive, 31 years after the bomb, and that none of them had
suffered any radiation sickness. How did these Jesuits manage to escape
radiation sickness? This is a question that was of great interest to American engineers who arrived in Hiroshima
after the war. Why, these engineers wanted to know, had the Jesuit house been
able to withstand the bomb blast? No satisfactory answer emerged from their
engineering data: they could detect no essential structural differences between
the Jesuit house and surrounding houses which had been destroyed. Father Schiffer claimed that the differences were spiritual: the
Jesuit house was the only house in the neighborhood where the Rosary was
recited every day.
This suggests that by staying close to Our Blessed
Lady, we can find protection from the effects of “spiritual radiation sickness”. The last
words of hers which are recorded in scripture remain as valid and forceful
today as they did when she first spoke them, regarding her Son: “Do whatever He
tells you.” And how do we hear in our day and age what her Son is telling us?
By listening to the words of the Pope and the bishops whom He has appointed to
govern the Church with the gift of infallibility. This means at least reading
the actual words of Vatican II with attentiveness and taking them to heart.
The task of re-building the Church in America will
not be an easy one. The sickening effects of dissent have seriously weakened
many Catholics. Just as Hiroshima needed to bring in outside workers to help in
recovery, it may be necessary for the Church in America to bring in outside
workers from communities where there has been no dissent from the teachings of Humanae Vitae. Where will such workers be found? Some may
come from countries in Africa or Asia. Others may come from non-Catholic
communities within America: in this regard, it is encouraging to witness the
unprecedented spate of conversions of prominent non-Catholic clergymen to the
Catholic faith in the past decade. These converts, who have not been exposed to
the dangers of dissenting seminary professors, have provided the Church with
speakers of great talent and persuasiveness. Moreover, the new converts are unabashedly
grateful for the gift of infallible teaching that Christ left to His Church. In
this, they stand in marked (and welcome) contrast to the dissenters.
But there is one aspect of restoration that seems
absolutely crucial: without it, no long-term re-building will ever be possible.
The key involves a return in spirit to the day the bomb fell. On that day, the
destruction of the Church in America began with an act of defiance to the
legitimate teaching authority of the Vicar of Christ. Restoration of the Church in America can begin only if that historical
act of defiance is nullified by a public act of submission to the Pope’s
teaching authority.
I have seen the positive effects that derive from
accepting papal authority. In my parish, there used to be rancorous
conservative/liberal debates in the 1980’s. But when a new pastor arrived in
1990, and took a public oath of fidelity to the Ordinary Magisterium of the
Church, life in the parish changed for the better. Moreover, in our parish
men’s group, when papal teachings about marriage and contraception are taught
openly and honestly, the consequences are amazing. A typical reaction is “Why
did no-one ever tell us about this before?” One of the men in the group was so
struck by the teaching that he and his wife decided to reverse the
sterilization process that they had gone through some years previously.
Thus, I can testify that the power of assent to papal teaching is life-building. But the effects of dissent are devastating: at the end of the day, there is nothing to show for dissent but broken commitments and broken hearts.