Denver Catholic

22 APRIL 14-27, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC Perspectives Patriarch Kirill and Mr. Putin T he annals of sycophancy are, alas, replete with examples of churchmen toadying to polit- ical power. Here in the United States, we've seen too much of that among certain evangelical leaders recently. In today's Sycophancy sweep- stakes, however, it's hard to top Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Last Dec. 1, after President Vlad- imir Putin addressed a meeting of the Episcopal Council of the Rus- sian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill concluded his thanks in these cringe-inducing terms: "There is nothing more serious and important than moral consensus within society. If there is consensus on the main moral values, then all other social relationships are formed har- moniously ... and political practice cor- responds to the interests of the people. "... I express my gratitude to you for the dialogue we hold together ... and for the atmosphere of openness in which our society lives today. I believe that this openness will be the pledge for the certain success of our Fatherland in the near and distant future. "... I would like to wish you, much esteemed Vladimir Vladimirovich, long years of life, good health, and God's aid in the lofty mission the Lord has entrusted to you through the will of the people ... May the Lord preserve you!" In the dialogue that the Catho- lic Church conducts with Russian Orthodoxy, perhaps it would be useful to clarify the following points. Does the "political practice" rooted in "moral values" to which the Patriarch referred include the assassination of Putin's political opponents, such as Boris Nemtsov? Or the murder of his critics, like jour- nalist Anna Politkovskaya? Or the poisoning with radioactive polonium of Alexander Litvinenko, who tried to shed light on Putin's secret police thugs? Or the recent use of a weap- ons-grade nerve agent in England against two Russians of whom Putin disapproved? Are the ethics of these practices part of the patriarch's "dia- logue" with the president? What are the "moral values" that inform Putin's claim that the collapse of the Soviet Union, a murderous tyranny, was the worst geopolitical disaster of the twentieth century? Why doesn't the "atmosphere of openness" in which Russian "soci- ety lives today" extend to Alexei Navalny, the brave dissident who was not permitted to run in last month's presidential election? How is that "atmosphere of openness" aŽ ected by 24/7 state-sponsored propaganda inside Russia, which depicts Vladimir Putin as the one man who can save the country from Western aggression and domestic traitors? In an "atmosphere of openness," why has Mr. Putin been the benefi ciary for eighteen years of a colossal, Kremlin-organized personal- ity cult – more sophisticated than that of the late, unlamented Mao Zedong, to be sure, but of the same character? Does the "certain success of our Fatherland in the near and distant future" mean the permanent occupa- tion of Crimea, the ongoing presence of Russian troops in Ukraine, and the continuation of the low-grade but lethal war Russia is waging against its neighbor? Does it mean the destabilization of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia? Does it mean contin- ued Russian support for the Syrian butcher, Bashar al-Assad? Does that "continued success" depend on Rus- sian internet trolls and bots sowing discord and confusion (not to men- tion lies and propaganda) around the world? How does the alternative reality created by this tsunami of dis- information square with harmonious "social relationships"? How does it advance "the interests of the people"? How is "the will of the people" expressed through charades that aren't "elections" in any real sense of the term? Is the "lofty mission which the Lord has entrusted" to Mr. Putin a mission-without-end? And does that "lofty mission" include Putin's accu- mulation of extraordinary wealth? Did the Lord really intend that Mr. Putin be president-for-life and a multi-billionaire to boot? The extraordinary spiritual riches of Russian Orthodoxy are squandered when its leaders engage in this sort of propagandistic rubbish. The Rus- sian Church suŽ ered terribly under Lenin, Stalin and their heirs. Its martyrs, who number in the millions, are dishonored when the bishops of a putatively free Church play the role of chaplain to the omnipotent and infallible czar, rather than speaking truth to power. Putin has cynically cast himself as the savior of Christian values, and the Russian Church lead- ership has not only acquiesced in, but promoted, that farce. After years of suŽ ering, Russian Orthodox believers deserve some- thing better than this. So does true ecumenical dialogue. Ditch the modern-day masks of Jesus (pt. 1) J esus is arguably the most infl u- ential person to ever walk the Earth – and perhaps the most misun- derstood. For many, he was a great moral teacher and speaker, for others, a great activ- ist, and yet for others, a fi ctional character who was deifi ed throughout the years. Here are just three of his many modern-day masks that can help us refl ect and encounter the true Jesus of the Gospels, the one the Church has defended throughout the ages. JESUS ALL-LOVING, ALL-PERMISSIVE In a society that hears "closed-mindedness" and "imposi- tion" with the mention of "truth," Jesus can't be cold hearted or a proclaimer of truth. He's a nice guy. He doesn't force anyone. He under- stands. He's not too demanding. He will forgive you. Jesus then turns into a person who lets people remain where they are, in their sin, because he's "compassionate." Jesus is all-loving and all-merciful, there's no doubt about that. He will forgive you if you repent. Yet, we must look at what love and mercy really mean. When Jesus defends the woman caught in adultery, he doesn't con- demn her, he forgives her. Yet he adds, "Go and sin not again" (Jn 8:1-11). Jesus lifts her up and calls her to conversion. It is the latter that is uncomfortable. But Jesus is calling her to a better life, to what she's meant to be, to authentic happiness. True mercy and love lead to a change in life. If Jesus didn't call you to truth and conversion, he'd be giving up on you, not helping you become who you're meant to be. JESUS, THE ACTIVIST COMMIE For many people, Jesus was a rad- ical social activist who died for the cause of the poor and marginalized. Yet, this revolutionary Jesus becomes merely a great historical fi gure who fought for the rights of the underrep- resented, stripping him of all divinity. Jesus, nonetheless, claimed to be God and not a mere moral teacher. The Jews of his time saw it clearly, which is why they sought to kill him: "[He makes] himself equal to God" (Jn 5:18). Even more, his morality was cen- tered around himself: "I am the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6). As C.S. Lewis puts it, if this isn't true, then Jesus was really an egotistic madman "compared with whom Hitler was the most sane and humble of men." That means that only God can say such things, and if we didn't believe in his divinity, he would have to be a lunatic instead of a great moral teacher. There's no "in-between." Either ultimate human fulfi llment consists in social, economic or earthly factors, or in a God, as Jesus claimed to be. And we know that nothing on this earth can satisfy the deepest longings of the heart, which is constantly pleading for a transcendent "Someone." The Catholic Di¥ erence George Weigel is a distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. GEORGE WEIGEL Vladimir Mauricio-Perez writes for the Denver Catholic, hails from Ciudad Juarez, Mex., and would canonize Pope Bennie if he could. VLADIMIR MAURICIO- PEREZ PHOTO: WIKICOMMONS

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