In an interview for a teaching position at a Catholic high school, the principal wanted to gauge where I stood theologically. To find out, the principal asked, "You're not one of those conservative Catholics, are you?"
Knowing full well that this principal was getting at, I carefully crafted my response. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'conservative Catholic.' If you're asking if I will be faithful to Church Teaching as a Catholic teacher, then my answer is absolutely."
Just last week, an acquaintance asked me how I would respond to accusations that Fr. Barron's Catholicism Series was "too conservative." A few years wiser than I was in my conversation with the high school principal, I responded more resolutely. Being a Catholic Answers podcast junkie, I borrowed a response a routinely hear from host Patrick Coffin. I said, "I'm allergic to labels like that when we're talking about Catholicism. It's not necessary. Either something is faithful to Church Teaching or it isn't. Fr. Barron's Catholicism Series is faithful. Period. My hunch is if the series makes a Catholic uncomfortable, that Catholic is questioning something the series asserts that's against their individual, unfaithful theology."
The media likes to pit the "liberal Catholics" against the "conservative Catholics." We saw these labels bandied about after the death of Blessed Pope John Paul II. The "expert" religion reporters offered that the college of cardinals might favor a "less conservative" pope after JPII. To their obvious dismay, "God's rottweiler" aka Pope Benedict XVI, an "ultra conservative," succeeded him. "So much for the Church coming out of the Dark Ages!" we heard.
Now, we hear how the "liberal Catholics" hope that the "conservative Catholics" will "get with the times" as the Supreme Court deliberates over Obamacare and the HHS Mandate.
Inserting the label "liberal" or "conservative" before "Catholic" seems to confuse people into believing that the same labels used in the political arena have any business in a theological discussion. The Church isn't a democracy, and I say thank goodness it isn't!
We Catholics take for granted the immense pressure on non-Catholic Christian leaders that our parish pastors never need to struggle with. Pastor Bob at 9th Street Open Arms Church has to be his own pope, so to speak. He decides the direction of the church's theology and finds himself in a big pickle if he changes his mind down the road.
Imagine the agony for a pastor and his congregation when he makes the swim across the Tiber and converts to Catholicism. He has to humbly admit to his congregation that he, as the leader of their church, is walking toward what they see as the enemy. Pentecostal minister Alex Jones had such an experience when he and much of his congregation decided to join the Catholic Church. "To them, I have apostasized into error. And that's painful for me because we all want to be looked at as being right and correct, but now you have the stigma of being mentally unbalanced, changeable, being looked at as though you've just walked away from God."
Jones said when his group was considering converting, prayer groups were formed to stop them. "People fasted and prayed that God would stop us from making this terrible mistake. When we did it, it was as though we had died."
If Alex Jones had been a Catholic priest, he wouldn't have had that pressure. Here's the beauty of Catholicism: The Church doesn't have the power to change Truth or Tradition. She simply cannot. Period. The Church might be full of unworthy humans with all kinds of embarrassing blunders throughout Her history. Nonetheless, Christ blessed His Church with the presence of the Holy Spirit and the promise that the "gates of hell shall not prevail" against Her. 2000 years later, we can still find the Catholic Church alive and well in the world today, and we can trace Her roots throughout history via Apostolic Succession. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, how do you explain the tremendous vitality, success, and history of a human institution?
Unlike Pastor Bob back at 9th Street Open Arms Church who decides the theology of his congregation, no matter what my parish priest says from the pulpit, he can't change the Church's stance on abortion, contraceptives, marriage, or any other hot button issue. Even if a Catholic priest is living in a state of mortal sin, it has no effect on his ability to administer the sacraments. So, no matter which Catholic Church I go to on this planet, if there's a priest there who gives a proper Mass, I get to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.
This conversation about "liberal Catholic" vs. "conservative Catholic" makes me think about a sign my fifth grade teacher had on her classroom bulletin board. It said, "What's right is not always popular. What's popular is not always right." This simple, almost cliché saying, needs repeating. We're bombarded with the statistics and accusations that 98% of Catholic women use contraceptives, so what's the big deal anyway?! If it's popular, it must be true, it must be good, and the rest of you crazy, conservative Catholics ought to get with the program.
Well, that's the problem. We seem to think majority rules every area of our lives. Here's the thing: Even if only 1 woman on this planet wasn't using contraceptives, it wouldn't change the Church's stance on the issue. There's no safety in numbers when it comes to morality. There's no changing Truth. So, there's no need to call me or anyone else a "conservative Catholic." Likewise, there's no need to call someone a "liberal Catholic" or the perhaps even more irritating label of "progressive Catholic." We're either faithful or unfaithful to Mother Church.
Let's get one thing clear, though: I'm a sinner, and I do more than my fair share of screwing up--just ask my friends and family. Regardless of my own personal failings, it doesn't change my ability to see the Church as teaching Truth. If we only look to one another to be our moral compasses, we're literally in for a world of hurt. We're going to fall short of the good that we're made for from time to time. It creates great scandal to those who watch us fall. Yet, why in the world would we choose to abandon Christ and His Church because of the actions of another human? Would we leave Christ because of Judas? We're earthen vessels, and hopefully we're all doing the best we can to lead a life worthy of Christ's sacrifice, but the choices we make cannot negate Truth. We choose Truth when we embrace and follow Mother Church. That doesn't make us liberal or conservative; that makes us faithful disciples.
