Finally, we come to a group of Catholics who may be the most resistant to the Church: those who have fallen-away from the faith, usually in light of the Church scandals in recent years. They may feel betrayed and embarrassed by Church leadership and feel that no one in the Church has the right to teach them to lead holy lives when they’ve witnessed unholy behaviors from that same leadership. Perhaps they still consider themselves Catholic at heart, but not in practice.
Is scandal a good reason for abandoning the Church? Let’s take some time now to explore why scandal isn’t a reason why Catholics should leave the faith.
Fighting Instead of Fleeing in the Face of Scandal
From the Apostles themselves to the present, the Church has faced scandals. Should we flee the Church, or fight the scandals? The answer is obvious: we should fight! While we fight, though, we still want reasons for doing so. Consider the following reasons:
- The Catholic Church is the vehicle of eternal salvation instituted by God;
- Scandal in no way impugns the divine authority of the Church;
- We are not Catholic primarily because of the virtue of the Church’s leaders;
- When you love something, you neither abandon it, nor desire to change everything about it.
To be completely straightforward, there is no salvation apart from the Catholic Church. Anybody who will be saved, is saved through the Catholic Church. Here, Peter’s response to Christ in John 6:68 is remarkably poignant: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
It can seem unbelievable that despite the scandals throughout Christian history, the Church has remained indefectible. But horrific as these scandals were and are, they attest to God’s protection of His Church. The Holy Spirit will not allow the Church to defect, regardless of any man’s sinfulness. Besides, the divine nature of the Catholic Church—as the body of Christ—demands that it, in itself, can never be corrupt. Only individuals within the Church can be corrupt. It is precisely insofar as individuals are corrupt, that they separate themselves — at least in their hearts — from the Church.
We should be Catholic because of things like the mystical body of Christ, the Sacraments, the saints, the Scriptures, the teachings, and the devotions—not because of the personal holiness of its leadership. No matter how many leaders fail, the Catholic Church remains the Bride of Christ. These fundamentals must be kept clear in our mind, and Catholics who are properly catechized understand that there is no “Plan B” or “Plan C.” The Catholic Church is all there is—just as Noah’s ark was all there was when the flood came. Indeed, I’m sure that those aboard the ark complained about some of the company they had to keep there (even if only the smell). But anybody thinking of abandoning the ark for those reasons would have been catastrophically foolish.
Another reason to fight instead of flee is that when you love something, you neither abandon it nor desire to change everything about it. Think about how it would sound if you said to your spouse, parent, or child in some time of need that it’s all become too much; that you no longer want anything to do with them. How is abandonment an act of love? To love someone is to will their good at all times and everywhere.
The same definition of love holds true with respect to changing the one you love. If you told your spouse, parents, or child that you love them but—for whatever reason—you want to change everything about them. How can you love someone (or something) that you want to change everything (or most everything) about? That person or thing wouldn’t be that someone/something anymore! The appropriate response is to restore—neither abandon, nor fundamentally change—the ailing person. This is what Catholics do who love the Church. When the Church is sick—when scandal has broken out—the loving response is reform and healing; not abandonment or revolutionary change.[1]
Sinfulness is part of the human condition, and no member of the Church—leaders included—are immune from spiritual warfare. In fact, we can expect the devil to attack religious leaders especially, because when religious leaders fall, so often do laypeople, as we have seen in recent decades with scandal of sexual abuse. We must pray and offer penance to God for the victims and the abusers. What we don’t do is combat sin with sin, especially the sin of heresy and apostasy. The emptying of Churches, where God is worshipped in Holy Mass, is our enemy’s desired outcome. We must not allow this to happen.
The problem with scandal is not so much logical as emotional. Scripture offers methods and inspiration to handle situations like these. For example, the leaders of Israel kept failing and falling into sin. God, in response, called forth prophets—Jeremiah, Isaiah, Zachariah, and others—to protest and to re-inspire faith. And through baptism, we must remember, all of us are prophets—all Catholics, everywhere. Like the Old Testament prophets, we are called to battle corruption and to inspire (or re-inspire) faith in others, even—and especially—in such dark, difficult times.
Example Dialogue
Fallen-away Catholics need to learn that after a scandal, we should fight for and not flee from the faith. Let’s see how we might engage a Fallen-Away Catholic in a real-life conversation.
[Evangelist stands near a street corner with rosaries in hand. He smiles and says hello to passerby.]
Evangelist [E]: Would you like a rosary?
Passerby [P]: Oh, I probably still have one of these around the house somewhere.
E: You’re Catholic?
P: Yes, well, I was…until I heard about those priests molesting kids. Don’t tell me you’re still Catholic?
E: Yeah, I’m still Catholic. The scandals are terrible, but do you think they’re a good reason not to be Catholic?
P: Honestly, I can’t think of a better reason not to be Catholic. It’s awful. Not only are the priests molesting kids, but then the bishops turn a blind eye or just move them somewhere else.
E: I’m right there with you. Totally agree. But listen, the Catholic Church was started by Jesus. It’s His Mystical Body. It’s both human and divine. Because of that, instead of walking away, I want to fight to reform it, not abandon it.
P: But why would God allow so many disgusting things to happen by priests in His Church?
E: Good question. So let me turn it around: do you think God could have good reasons to let the sex scandal happen?
P: No. What possible good could come from a grown man molesting a kid?
E: Good point. I can think of, at least, one good reason why God allows evil. God allows for the possibility of evil so that our will can be free. But not everyone uses their free will to do good. That’s why you see these scandals in the Church. The real question, for me, is what do we do when evil happens? Jesus told us to expect scandals. If you can find a church that doesn’t have scandals, that’s not the Church Jesus started — He said His Church will have scandals.
P: Really? Where did He say that?
E: I think it’s in Matthew 18, let me make sure. … Yeah, right here in verse 7: “Woe to the world because of scandals. For scandals must come, but woe to that man through whom the scandal comes.” There’s other verses like that too, in Matthew 7 and Acts 20, where it warns us about church leaders who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
P: But why would He allow it, though?
E: In order to bring some good out of it. There are lots of stories in the Bible where men do something terrible and God produces good from it.
P: Such as?
E: Do you know the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors from the book of Genesis?
P: Vaguely.
E: Well, Joseph’s brothers abused him and sold him into slavery. He ended up as a servant to the pharaoh in Egypt, where he saved the entire tribe of Israel from a famine. Also, look at the crucifixion — we killed God, and look what He did with that! I think God is trying to teach us something. We shouldn’t abandon Jesus because of Judas.
P: I haven’t looked at it like that. But what should I do? Because God can bring a good out of this horrible thing I should just grin and bear it?
E: No, we should do something. We should try to bring about reform, we should hold our priests accountable. But reform can only come from within the Church. If you leave the Church, that doesn’t help the Church, it only hurts you. When you leave the Church, you leave the Sacraments, putting your immortal soul at risk.
P: Is that right?
E: It is. Look at it this way: I see the ring on your finger. Are you married?
P: Yes.
E: Then you know that when you love your spouse, you don’t abandon them when she gets sick. You help her to get better. If your wife was in danger and needed your help, you’d move heaven and earth to help her, wouldn’t you?
P: Yeah, I would!
E: Well, it’s the same thing with the Church. As part of the Church, we love it and fight for it. Getting baptized is like putting on that wedding ring. It’s for life, for better or worse.
P: Well, I can’t say that I’ve thought about it like that. What do you suggest I do?
E: First, come back. Return to the Church through the Sacrament of Confession. When you come back, and you become holy, you strengthen the body of Christ. In doing so, you become part of the solution.
P: How does that work?
E: Within the Church, you can pray, do penance, and do acts of charity for those who’ve suffered from abuse. You can also ensure that there’s accountability for the way the Church uses your donations. If you abandon the Church, you can’t be part of the reform, and you’ll miss the opportunity to grow closer to Christ.
P: That sounds reasonable enough.
E: Great! Can I offer you some reading material to help you look into this further? I appreciate how difficult this situation is for so many people, but there is reason to hope, and there is also so much good happening in the Church right now. It often gets overlooked.
P: Sure, what do you have? [E hands P some information]
Concluding Thoughts
Catholics are obligated to be (ultimately) optimists. We know how the story ends, and we understand that we each have a unique role to play in bringing about God’s kingdom. Suffering is a part of this life. But suffering presents opportunity for grace; to increase in compassion and decrease in superficiality. We can do our part by reaching out and re-inspiring the faith of those baptized Catholics who’ve become jaded or disinterested in religion. We can start by being good examples and preaching the Good News. By striving for sainthood and taking the seriousness of sin … well, seriously. Be compassionate and concerned and, rightfully, when scandal occurs, be outraged. But whatever happens, don’t let the vehicle of salvation sail without you because of the sinful company on board. We’re all “sinful company.” That’s why God gave us the Church to begin with.
[1] The mistake Martin Luther made was to provoke a revolt, not a reformation, which tore Christianity apart.