Is Catholicism at a crossroads?

By Mark Malaszczyk

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16

"On September 12, during a papal visit to Germany, Pope Benedict XVI addressed "representatives of science" at Regensburg University, delivering his thoughts on faith and reason, speaking as pope but also as the Catholic Church's foremost theologian. His extrapolation of a comment by a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologo, during a religious disputation with a Persian scholar regarding "the subject of Christianity and Islam, and the truth of both" set aflame capitals in the Islamic world occasioning massive anti-Christian demonstrations, threats and violence." [1] The Holy Father quoted the Byzantine ruler's position on Mohammed. It is believed that Paleologo was having a discussion with the Persian Scholar of Islam when he asserted:

"'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'" [2]

In the seven days that have passed, we have seen massive demonstrations against the Pontiff, along with threats made to Vatican City and the destruction of Catholic churches in the Middle East. There are also investigations being conducted in the separate deaths of two Catholic clergy [a priest and a nun], to see if there is a direct connection between the reactions to the Pope's statements and their murders. Some of the other Muslim reactions have included:

• In Iraq, al-Qaeda militants have sworn war on "worshippers of the cross" while protesters in Basra burned a papal effigy.
  
  
• In Somalia, a hardline Muslim cleric linked to the country's powerful Islamist movement went so far as to call on Muslims to "hunt down" and kill the pontiff for his "barbaric" statement.
  
  
• Palestinian security officials said Molotov cocktails were thrown at two churches in the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday, a day after four small makeshift bombs exploded near the oldest Christian church in Gaza City.
  
  
• The Pakistani parliament also demanded the Pope retract his remarks.
  
  
• In India the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Hamid Ansari, said the Pope's language resembled that of his 12th century counterpart "who ordered the Crusades."
  
  
• "I foresee an extreme reaction to the Pope's words, which harm Islam more than the cartoons because they come from a leader who represents millions of people," said Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a senior official from The Muslim Brotherhood, the leading opposition force in the Egyptian parliament.
  
  
• The Pope's speech also caused anger in Turkey, the destination of his next foreign trip in November. The head of Turkey's state-run religious affairs directorate, Ali Bardakoglu, described the remarks as "full of enmity" and said he the trip should be cancelled. [3]
  
  

These reactions are intemperate and extreme; the violence, radical responses actually lend credence to the narrow-minded insights of a 14th — century Byzantine emperor. It is true that Benedict XVI's background is theological, not diplomatic. He may have underestimated the global response of Muslims in what he believed was academic discourse on the quandary of faith, reason, and propagation of that faith. That being recognized, the world must not ignore the two-fold argument that he advanced. His goal was to explain that:

• ...reason — in the form of Western civilization's heritage from the Enlightenment — not moderated by faith leads to a Godless and amoral society that frightens the believers of other religions (including Islam). This point, praised by those who believe in strengthening the role of religion in public life, has alarmed freethinkers and those who hold that only strict separation of religion and state can guarantee progress in democracy. Some observers have expressed concern over a prospective mingling of theology and politics.
  
  and
  
  
• ... faith that is not moderated by reason leads to fundamentalist extremism. The medieval quote chosen by Benedict was meant to communicate this thought. [4]
  
  

The Pope was making the point that faith cannot be spread through violence or forced conversions. His message was meant to "illuminate before modern man — whether Christian, agnostic, or of another faith; from Europe, Africa, or Asia — that simple and supreme truth that is the other side of the truth to which he dedicated the encyclical "Deus Caritas Est." God is love, but he is also reason, he is the "Logos." And so when reason separates itself from God, it closes in upon itself. And likewise, faith in an "irrational" God, an absolute, unbridled will, can become the seed of violence. Every religion, culture, and civilization is exposed to this twofold error — not only Islam, but also Christianity, toward which the pope directed almost the entirety of his preaching." [5]

Sadly, not much attention is being given to the Homily that the Pontiff delivered on September 10th in Munich when he proclaimed:

People in Africa and Asia admire, indeed, the scientific and technical prowess of the West, but they are frightened by a form of rationality which totally excludes God from man's vision, as if this were the highest form of reason, and one to be taught to their cultures too. They do not see the real threat to their identity in the Christian faith, but in the contempt for God and the cynicism that considers mockery of the sacred to be an exercise of freedom and that holds up utility as the supreme criterion for the future of scientific research. Dear friends, this cynicism is not the kind of tolerance and cultural openness that the world's peoples are looking for and that all of us want! The tolerance which we urgently need includes the fear of God — respect for what others hold sacred. This respect for what others hold sacred demands that we ourselves learn once more the fear of God. But this sense of respect can be reborn in the Western world only if faith in God is reborn, if God become once more present to us and in us. We don't impose our faith on anyone..." [6]

The Vatican leadership has been offering both guarded apologies and explanations for the past week. From the perspective of a foreign policy analyst, it is fair criticism that the timing of Benedict's words is problematic in the age of the sound-byte. But the Vatican should not abandon the Papal message of September 12th. Catholicism is at a crossroads; the future of the faith must be deeply rooted in its teachings. Catholic leaders cannot become apologists, preaching feel-good theology that is morally relative and politically correct. The Holy Father should be offering messages that promote reaction and introspection.

We live in an age where an Iranian President who believes that the Israel should be wiped off the map is being given a soap-box to spew his vitriol, free-of-charge by a lily-livered, anti-American, and anti-Semitic United Nations. [7] It is a time when pop-culture icons like Madonna can plan to mock the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in an upcoming November performance to be aired on NBC where she will wear a fake crown of thorns and descend on a suspended, mirrored, disco ball-like cross. Kevin Reilly, an NBC executive, stated that Madonna considered the scene mocking Christ to be the highlight of the show, and that "we [at NBC] viewed it and did not see it as being inappropriate." [8] One wonders if NBC would air a rock star performing a take-off on Mohammed consummating his marriage to a six-year old girl, or creating a parody of the story of Mohammed and Safia Bint Huyay. This Jewish woman was captured by lecherous Muslim invaders after the Jews were brutally murdered by Mohammed. According to a Quranic Sura (8:41), "four fifths of any booty or spoil that is won after murdering the non-believers, is distributed to the barbaric invaders." In Islam, women of other religions are also considered booty, so Safiya bint Huyay was allotted to a soldier called Dahia. But when Mohammed heard of her 'incomparable beauty,' he sent for Dahiya, paid him Safiya's price and took her for himself. [9] I am confident that NBC would consider these facts to be culturally sensitive and not to be portrayed in a manner offensive to their Muslim viewers.

To conclude, I would like to revisit my opening reference to the Gospel according of Matthew. In these words, the Apostle Matthew addresses the spreading of the Christian message with the metaphor of salt. In the ancient world, salt was frequently used in covenant ceremonies. Salt binds things together; it is a cohesive compound. Salt also adds flavor to most any food that it is applied to. But it can also be irritating. Salt resists all corruption and contamination put before it. It gradually dissolves and melts barriers. Roman Catholics and Christians around the world should view Benedict XVI's insights as being salty. His words were not meant to be vicious, but rather to identify a dilemma between faith, reason and the human penchant towards violence 'in the name of God.' The Pontiff seeks an ecumenical dialogue that seeks peace as the ultimate goal. Christians should rally behind this message. If we do not, then we may very well be losing our saltiness, only to be trampled by extremists who are resolute in their convictions, and determined to eradicate us.

NOTES:










© Mark Malaszczyk