Morality vs Moralizing

I recently came across an obituary that stopped me in my tracks. It was a remembrance of Father James (Jim) Doherty of Glasgow. It is hard not to be struck by the stories listed in The Telegraph about him. Hagiography or not, they provide insight into the life of what sounds like an extraordinary priest. Here is one of the stories, courtesy of The Telegraph:

His bluntness irked the bishops, but to the laity it spelt sincerity and an absence of snobbery. An oft-repeated story told of Doherty ringing up a woman who had not been to church for years to see if she would like him to bless her home. “The old priest never came to see us,” the woman said, “because of our living arrangements – you see, I’m living with my partner and we’ve three bairns out of wedlock.”

“I’m here to bless your house, honey, not judge your circumstances,” replied Doherty. “Where do you live?”

“Oh, thank you father. We live in a flat, our name is Smith, but press the top buzzer. There are Smiths below us, but you don’t want to go there because they’re a couple of poofs.”

“Is that right? Well, see, if I do press the wrong buzzer and I get the two poofs, I’ll just say: ‘Hello you two poofs, can you tell me where the two fornicating adulterers and their three bastard children live?’ ”

A characteristic act of Doherty’s was to attach an HIV red ribbon to a statue of St Vincent. And in 2005 he addressed the Scottish Parliament. “Having a morality and moralising are two different things,” he said. “My Church has been trying to get its own house in order since it began.”

This story points out an important issue: there is a difference between morality and moralizing. For us as Christians, we are called to examine ourselves frequently and even harshly. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk reminds us: "Let us examine these things and the rest, and let us look at how we live, how we conduct ourselves, how we think, how we talk, how we act, with what kind of heart we go about before the God who sees all things, how we treat one another." Our morality and ethics are how we judge ourselves.

Yet, so often we have the desire to moralize and judge others. Saint Maximus the Confessor says: "Whoever is curious to know about the sins of others or judges his brother out of suspicion has not yet begun to repent, neither does he care to know about his own sins, heavier than heaviest lead indeed. He does not know why people are heavy-hearted, take pleasure in vanity and seek after falsehood (Psalms 4:3). So, as a madman wandering in the dark and neglecting his own sins, he muses on the sins of others—either real or imaginary—guided by his suspicion. "

As clergy and laity, let us focus on our own sins and not the sins of others. There are, of course, times when things must be dealt with accordingly. Those in the church have swept things under the rug far too often. This does not mean we turn a blind eye to grave scandal or someone is being injured, hurt, or in imminent danger. In these circumstances, we have a moral imperative to stop evil from occurring. Besides the harmful actions of others, when it comes to their sins, we leave those to God who is the only true judge.

To view Fr. Jim's requiem, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPkMvmb1JwI. To read the obituary in The Telegraph, view here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/01/21/fr-james-big-jim-doherty-well-loved-glasgow-catholic-priest/.

“Those who look well after their own consciences rarely fall into the sin of judging others.” – St. Francis de Sales

We Have to Live in Hope

 My intention is not to start 2022 with a melancholic post! But, I think that I have to realize that is just where we are right now. Here are some observations:

1. Church, generally, is becoming less part of people's lives. I saw a cleric post that in 2019, church was full for Christmas. 2020 was about half full. 2021 was about a quarter full. Another priest friend told me that their collection is only a small fraction of what they need to survive, and this is a mainline Catholic parish. How can we stop this and convince people that our message is still relevant? I am not convinced that they way is to make ourselves more trendy, but to show the beauty and majesty of our tradition and what it has to offer. But, if you've read this blog you know that already.

2. Orthodoxy is in a right mess right now. There are a large number of clerical obituaries and the churches are divided more than ever. Churches are entering into the territories of others (which is nothing new), but now there is larger expansion into other areas. This will cause ripples that may not be easy to repair. A friend of mine said that he was unsure how Orthodoxy managed to stay together all these years, given the different political outlooks and machinations present. I don't know that their togetherness is even possible anymore.

3. Roman Catholicism. I am watching in real time as super parishes are being created. This is nothing new, but the lack of vocations seems to be very concerning to an outsider. So, they are facing the possibility of large parishes with only a handful of clergy to reach out to parishioners. They could current ordain deacons as priests for assistance (this is really the only option since women won't ever be ordained), but this will change the face of the church dramatically. Latin Rite Catholics are generally unprepared for married clergy, because they have touted celibacy for so long.

The mainstream continues to hemorrhage clergy while there are vocations among traditionalists. There are challenges with some of the clergy, because of their perception of the modern church and Vatican II. Some traditionalist clergy seem to have the same issues as other clergy (despite the unfounded belief that traditionalist clergy are somehow holier than others) regarding impropriety. Regarding the issue of authority in the church, the Vatican thought it would solve this by outlawing the Tridentine Mass. Unfortunately, there is a greater problem now. For 13 years, more people have become attached to the Tridentine Mass who are not taking the news well. The same is true for priests, who are defying this action. The SSPX and independent parishes will swell, and two Roman Catholicisms will continue to exist despite their intentions.

Where does this leave independents? Well, as I have said previously, we are fortunate. We have a free structure which allows us to pivot and serve people quickly and in innovative ways. We are generally not bogged down by buildings which are largely growing more empty. This is, of course, a blessing and a curse because people can be unwilling to go to the church basement of another church for your services. But, the greatest gift is that we do not have to worry about power. I was speaking to a dear friend who is in a "non-canonical" Orthodox church recently who said "we don't have to worry about an imperial church because our church was never viewed this way." I am paraphrasing him but the essence is that we don't have to worry about other churches encroaching on our territory. Or, we don't have to worry about legislation that prevents our preferred form of worship. We are free.

But, it also means that we need to do a lot more working together. I have said this in the past and I will keep saying it. The essence of what we are doing is to have other like minded people to rely on and cooperate with so that we can be mutually successful. Our ministry (no ministry, in fact) does not exist in a vacuum. Therefore, we have to get to know each other and work together so that we can help each other. It also provides a bit of a barrier to weed out the ill-intentioned.

In the end, I am greatly consoled by the fact that when church gets too much to bear it is the lay people who see us through. Clergy will always be the most judgmental among us. I was reminded of this when I visited an Orthodox Cathedral with an independent friend in a habit recently. The lay people were not bothered to ask "what denomination are you? What is your habit? Why are you coming to our church?" They could care less. Those are the questions that clergy ask. Similarly, Roman Catholics generally have no idea what I'm asking when I speak about issues in vogue among clergy or a certain group of active Twitter users. I don't take that as being flippant or uneducated, they are simply trying to live their lives and do the best they can without complications.

In the end, Church has always been a mess. It is, after all, a hospital for sinners. So, we keep our heads down and we do the work as we feel called. We try to work together. As independents, we will always cling to the side of the larger church and their issues affect us. This is why I have discussed them above. But we can try to not let them get in the way and not speak ill of individuals. I realize some independents have done well lambasting the mainstream churches, but this is not the way. The way is to build our part of the kingdom the best we can. And, even though our footprint is small, we will never know its true impact where it counts. This is illustrated in the proverb about the nail:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. 

If you want to find rest here below, and hereafter, in all circumstances say‘Who am I?’ and do not judge anyone. - Abba Joseph of Panephysis