It has become something of a cliché to fret about how polarized and divided we have become, not only as a nation but even, as it were, as a species. Everywhere we look we see polarities: left and right, North and South, black and white. Not just differences, mind you. These distinctions, far beyond the extent to which they may even be real, only cause division because of our attitudes toward them. We have become, practically if not theoretically, convinced that we must not give any quarter to those who disagree with us: the people themselves, that is, and not just their ideas. We sense in our gut an obligation to hate. The resultant mass violence afflicting all parts of the world is a direct consequence of this attitude.
Economist, social scientist, professor and author Arthur C. Brooks, in a newly published book (full disclosure: I have not yet read it), refers to a “culture of contempt” and attempts to propose a solution. What he proposes is in the title of the book, Love Your Enemies.
Where have we heard that before?
Still, despite the commandment of the one whom Christians call “Lord,” no astute powers of observation are needed to see that this same toxicity has entered into the life of the Church in ways great and small. And not just the Catholic Church, of course. Every Christian group and denomination is enduring fragmentation and agony because of this polarization and its attendant antagonisms. It is no wonder that so many Christians in the US have left their churches to join “non-denominational” communities, independent entities that have no (or very little) structural or organic relationship with one another. While it wouldn’t be fair to generalize, some of these communities may be little more than ideological enclaves, religious islands serving the needs of those who feel they want to avoid contamination by foreign thought or—God forbid—foreigners themselves.
You’ve got to wonder whether the situation for so-called “ethnic churches” in the US is really so different, and that would include us! Are we Romanian Greek-Catholics only because our ethnicity or cultural heritage is Romanian, or is there something more to our religious identity? Because our church is connected to a specific nation, culture, and history, we run the risk of “thinking too small” about who we are. We can easily stop short of reflecting deeply about the purpose God has created us for, and our sense of mission may barely go beyond the four walls of our parish church.
In the coming year Unirea will reflect upon the nature of the Church, and specifically the part we play in it. What does it mean for us to be Catholic? to belong to the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church? to be a part of the Diocese of Canton? to be a member of one of our parishes? These separate but related questions can lead us into the heart of the saving mystery of God and our role in the salvation of the world. These are also important issues for us to consider personally; ours is not a “me and Jesus” religion that treats salvation as only a one-on-one affair, but a faith that deeply involves communion, solidarity and sharing.
Being a Catholic means being part of a very large family (over one and a quarter billion worldwide), a vast majority—but not all—of whom belong to the Roman Catholic Church. 16-18 million of these Catholics belong to one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which, like our sister Orthodox churches, find their roots in the historic Christian East, but which have, through the mystery of history, been or become part of this vast, visible communion whose chief shepherd is the Pope of Rome. Ours is one of those 23. Being a Catholic is not the same as being a Roman Catholic. It does mean that there is a straight, unbroken line that carries the prayer of the simplest Romanian Catholic from the simplest altar of the simplest Romanian Catholic parish church to the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, and from there to the Throne of God. You and I and Pope Francis, all the saints, the Blessed Virgin, and Jesus Christ Himself are, together, one Body.