Denver Catholic

4 I OPINION OCTOBER 9, 2013 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER B. schism THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE C. corruption B. It is universal in purpose and means. From his present location in the communion of saints, Father John Courtney Murray, S.J., who died in 1967, is probably indifferent to the various ways his work on Catholicism and American democracy is misconstrued in the 21st century. But those who think that Murray still has something to teach Catholics about the American experiment in ordered liberty must regret that Murray's thinking continues to be misrepresented in some Catholic quarters and misapplied in others. The most recent example of the latter came in the Sept. 23 issue of America, in an article titled "Murray's Mistake" by my friend Michael Baxter. As I understand Dr. Baxter's argument, it goes something like this: 1) Murray urged American Catholics to more active involvement in public life because Catholics still "got" the ensemble of truths on which American democracy rested, while the old Protestant mainline and secular America had long since abandoned that foundational moral consensus. 2) Catholics did what Murray suggested. 3) Catholic unity in the United States has subsequently fractured because of political differences. I'm not buying. I don't doubt that ecclesial unity in the Church in America has fractured in ways that no one could anticipate when Vatican II convened in 1962. But to blame that current disarray on differences of political opinion (and on Murray) would seem to ignore the obvious historical fact that Catholics were bitterly divided over political questions in the past, but without the fractures in ecclesial unity that both Baxter and I regret today. Catholics fought on both sides of the Civil War; but unlike other Christian communities, the Catholic Church didn't split into northern and southern branches. There were Catholic America Firsters and Catholic interventionists before World War II; but there were no serious fractures in ecclesial unity. There were Catholic disagreements about what racial justice required in the 1950s; aside from the excommunication of a few recalcitrant segregationists, there was no fracture of ecclesial unity. What may appear to be politically-induced fractures in the unity of the Church in the United States today are the result of something else: too many Catholics in the United States, including prominent public figures, have ceased to believe and profess "all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches and professes to be revealed by God" (which is what converts confess when they enter into full communion with the Catholic Church). That dissonance is why unity within the Church in the United States is so fragile these days. Vatican II never, ever taught that Catholic faith is a do-it-yourself thing. Yet too many Catholics in America learned from the Council (or its alleged "spirit") that Catholicism is something other than an embrace of Christ, who is truth, and the truths authoritatively taught by Christ's Church: truths that are then embodied in a Gospel-centered way of life that touches family, culture, society and politics. The fractures in the Church that Michael Baxter rightly deplores have far less to do with Obamacare or Syria policy than they do with the fact that a not-insignificant number of U.S. Catholics deny to be true what the Gospel and the Church authoritatively teach to be true. My friend Baxter is certainly right that it is much harder to live an integrally Catholic public life in the United States today than it was 50-some years ago, when Murray wrote "We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition." And it may be that, in the decades ahead, Catholics of integrity will go into active opposition to American culture and society in unprecedented ways. That possibility cannot be excluded. But the unity of the Church in the U.S. will not be recomposed by a retreat into micro-communities that, as Baxter suggests, reject the modern nation-state; John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and their successors in future generations are not going to follow the late Dorothy Day and Michael Baxter into the desert. And in any case, fractured unity can only be recomposed by recommitment to "all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and professes to be revealed by God." George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. Weigel's column is distributed by the Denver Catholic Register, the official newspaper of the Denver Archdiocese. Phone: 303-715-3215. BY PETER WESTHOFF The marks of the Church A quiz on Catholic things under the patronage of the "Doctor of Prayer," St. Teresa of Avila. For each question there is one right answer, but the answer for one question is "None of the Above." The following quiz covers Catechism of the Catholic Church Nos. 811-870. 1. The oneness or unity of the Church is achieved primarily through charity, but there are three visible bonds of communion which can be summarized as: A. sacraments, sacrifice, stability B. mission, celebration, penance C. government, worship, belief 2. There are three ruptures that wound the unity of the body of Christ. Two of these are apostasy and heresy. What is the third? A. laxity 3. Traditionally the Church is said to be holy in its Founder and C. It is universal in charity and Spouse; in its members and mira- zeal. cles; and in its principles. Which of these was Pope Paul VI re6. The Church has the mark of ferring to when he said, "If they apostolicity in that she was live her life, her members founded upon the aposare sanctified; if they tles, she continues YEAR move away from her to teach what the OF FAITH life, they fall into apostles taught, sins and disorders SCRIPTURE and in this third that prevent the way: "Take as your norm the radiation of her sound words that you heard A. the laity sanctity." from me, in the faith and carries the work A. Founder and love that are in Christ of Christ into the Spouse Jesus."— Timothy 1:13world B. members and 14, 2:1-3 B. religious practice miracles the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience C. principles 4. Though those who do not profess the Catholic faith can be saved, what is their great disadvantage that calls the Church to its missionary efforts? A. They lack the entirety of the means of salvation and fullness of truth present within the Church. B. They lack the social life and networking capabilities that is exclusively Catholic. C. They lack the "Catholic experience" found in actions such as standing in a confession line and catch phrases such as "offer it up." 5. The universality or catholicity of the Church is traditionally summarized in these two characteristics: C. She imitates the apostles in their actions 7. What is defined as "Every activity of the mystical body that aims to spread the kingdom of Christ and whose soul is charity drawn, above all, from the Eucharist"? A. an apostolate B. a mission C. a donor-advised fund 1. C, 2. B, 3. C, 4. A, 5. A, 6. None of the above: She has the successors of the apostles in the pope and bishops, 7. A GEORGE WEIGEL Misreading Murray, yet again A. It is universal in time and place. Next quiz covers catechism Nos. 871-945. BRIEF School delivers two truckloads of relief items to pantry, cash to flood-impacted churches Holy Family High School's flood aid project resulted in 717 pounds of essential relief items delivered in two truckloads to Harvest of Hope Pantry in Boulder and more than $2,600 in cash to be given to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Boulder and St. John the Baptist Parish in Longmont, a spokeswoman said. The Broomfield school collected donations through Sept. 30. "It means so much to have the involvement of the students, parents, faculty and staff in support of our mission through the generous donations," said Barbara O'Neil, executive director of Harvest of Hope Pantry. Harvest of Hope Pantry is a joint project of two Boulder churches — St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center and Sacred Heart of Jesus. For more information, visit www.harvestofho pepantry.org. Aquila requests for asylum than it does for those who emigrate from countries that have a more stable social situation. PASTORAL LETTER From Page 2 7. Authentic integration of of better economic and social conditions for themselves and immigrants and the enforcement of laws: Experience their families. shows that when a society is 6. Refugees and asylum too ethnically and culturally seekers should be afforded diverse it can give rise to poprotection: Because of the litical instability. Therefore, serious dangers refugees face, when politicians make decithe international communi- sions about immigration polty has a more serious obliga- icies, the question of integration to accommodate their tion cannot be overlooked. To read the Colorado bishops' joint pastoral letter on immigration, "Immigration and Our Nation's Future," scan the QR code or visit http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/10284.

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