We have talked about the way the Church issues documents before. It is one of those things that can seem a bit strange. To review, what happens is an individual or group (almost always a bishop or group of bishops) will work to write a document that addresses an issue of faith, a theological point, the functioning of the Church, or morality. The content is supposed to shape the way issues are taught and discussed, but they also shape how we function within our parishes. I bring this up for a couple of reasons. First of all, I have been questioned about these types of documents and the power they have. Next, I was watching a YouTube video from Fr. Casey Cole, OFM, and I was struck by what he had to say in one particular video entitled “The Idolatry of the Catholic Church.” In a way, his topic is related. Let me explain.
I begin with a mention of how the Church issues documents and what is supposed to happen when they are issued. As I said above, the Church often issues documents that are supposed to firm up some matter of faith, shape some behavior, or address another matter. After being issued, these documents are supposed to be read and acted upon. An example springs to mind. In 1999, just as I was beginning to work on my master’s degree, a document was issued from the US bishops called, “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States.” It was written to convey the importance of adult formation in our communities and to motivate parishes to make formation for adults a priority. The line that jumped out at me when I first read it was, “Adult faith formation, by which people consciously grow in the life of Christ through experience, reflection, prayer, and study, must be “the central task in [this] catechetical enterprise,” becoming “the axis around which revolves the catechesis of childhood and adolescence as well as that of old age” (OHWB #5). This assertion that parishes are supposed to make adult formation the most important formation, with formation for others still important, yet not the center of the target, was mind-blowing for me. It shaped much of my studies and ministry. Yet, often, I see that there aren’t many offerings for adult formation in most parishes. I’ve been in ministry for a while; I’ve never noticed a big bump in offerings or attendance following the issuance of the document. I, now, wonder how many other people even read the document. It doesn’t seem likely that many priests, religious, and lay ministers were reading the document, so I doubt the average person in the pew was. The lack of exposure and implementation can mean that some of the documents, while well-written, don’t have a ton of power to enact change. Now, this isn’t a critique! We’re all busy, and our time is consumed by a million other tasks, but the breakdown of our ability to hear the Church’s stance on issues (in this case via reading) means that we often grow a skewed view of what the Church has to say on issues, which brings me to Fr. Casey.
In Fr. Casey’s video, he asserts that idolatry is often in the form of putting false parameters around God. He says he has often experienced times when he finds people come to believe that God agrees with their problematic points of view. As I watched the video, all I kept thinking was how the only way that can happen is when someone chooses not to listen to the message we hear from Jesus. Just like the aforementioned document falling flat, the scriptures, especially the New Testament, are falling flat for some of us. If we want to change that, we need to unblock our ears, crack open our bibles, and take the time to hear what Jesus has to say. That’s our protection from shaping God into our own image.