I was raised Catholic, the youngest of 6 kids in a Republican family. Now we are raising our own kids and attending a different church, but on Mother's Day we attended church with my mom at her church. This church is located in an affluent, urban neighborhood, and has members my mom's era (elderly) all the way down to little kids, students in a good-quality Catholic school that's part of the parish.
That service and a conversation later that day with my sister shed some interesting light on the current political turbulence generated by the bishops.
Part 1: Pushback on the Archbishop's stance on Gay Marriage and Nuns
At the end of the service the lay administrator announced to the parishioners that the annual diocesan appeal (fundraiser for the diocese) was running at 50% of the parish's previous year. This decline is due to parishioners' opposition to the Seattle Archbishop's efforts in overturning the Legislature's actions allowing gay marriage, and his role in the investigation of Catholic nuns. He said he understood that, and he encouraged people withholding their contributions to write to the bishop and let him know their feelings. He pointed out the good work that the money helped support at the diocese level, but that if people really couldn't donate in good conscious to please donate to the parish instead, because the "donation" was really an assessment, and that if the church didn't come up with the assigned amount, it had to come from parish general funds.
I thought it was interesting....a 50% reduction from last year. I am hoping this is happening diocese-wide. Don't have much hope for the dry part of the state doing the same.
Part 2: The people in the pews.
The above, and the conversation with my still-Catholic sister, reminds me that while I had to leave the church due to the cognitive dissonance, those who chose otherwise aren't all blind to the problem. They are reducing their contributions, but their parish community and theology still enhance their spiritual lives, they still feel this is the "right" way to live, and they don't want to be run off from their faith by the actions of the leadership they don't agree with. They too are disgusted by the political actions of the church. The only thing I can compare it to is being an American when Bush was in office. Yeah, I couldn't stand him, but why should I let him define what it means to be American? I'm not going to leave the country I love b/c of George Bush.
My mother, who is in her eighties and who for as long as I can remember has believed the church should allow married and woman priests, feels the dissonance too. She is a life-long Catholic with a capital C and as faithful as you can imagine---bringing her faith into her daily life. She said defensively the other day, "I'm not going to leave the church". It was interesting b/c she wasn't defending herself to me; it seemed like she was feeling the pressure "out there" or maybe the internal pressure of being in such disagreement with the Pope and bishops. But this is HER church, more than theirs.
I know there are many arguments to counter this, some of which I brought up to my sister (like the fact that we had hope of electing someone better next time, while the Catholic Church is never gonna change, except (apparently) to completely renounce VAtican 2 and get even more out of step with her beliefs).
Part 3: A Sermon on Motherhood from a Catholic Priest
First I must say that I'm a pretty opinionated individual generally and am biased against the church I was raised in. I don't mean to say that my opinions are unfounded, just that my bias affects what I see and hear. We all look for affirmation of our beliefs and I'm no exception.
So when I tell you that the sermon really got my bp up, you should understand that my bias was definitely in play. The homily, focusing on My Sainted Mother, was to my ears a view of motherhood through they eyes of a child. I could not help but compare his sermon to those of our pastor, who is a husband and father, and who brings the struggles of marriage and parenthood in such a relevant way to his preaching. He gets it, and I would never hesitate to go to him for input, because he has been in the trenches and I would feel like not only would I not be judged, but his encouragement would be from a place of understanding.
If this Catholic priest were my pastor, I'd hesitate to bring any parenting issue to him. I don't think you have to have kids to have an understanding of the struggles, but you at least have to listen to parents with humility to get the perspective you don't have. Given his age, he's had the time to learn, but I saw nothing of it. I will say that people like this priest, so this is likely his blind spot, not an indication that he is somehow a bad person.
Later I realized he may have been talking to the kids present (there was a kids choir at the service and lots of kids in the pews). Kind of a "my mom was tough on me and I appreciate it and you should respect your moms" thing. But I couldn't help but think how sad it was that priests can't experience this fundamental part of the lives of many of their "flock" and can't really relate.
Nevertheless, I thought it was an interesting day to reflect on what's been going on. To be glad I'm raising my girls in a church that sees them as equal in all respects, and to be further frustrated with the Catholic leadership.