I am not one to question the Ecclesiastical authority of Pope Francis. I am not an apologetic so taking Umbridge with the Biblical authority of The Church is certainly above my paygrade. I am a proud Catholic and regarding issues of history, economics, and common sense I feel obliged to voice an opinion about certain positions taken by the current Pope. He has always been a socialist and at a younger time in his life he has voiced Marxist opinions. I cannot reconcile in my mind his views and selected opinions regarding what I believe to be wrong ideas regarding prudential issues and my own faith. Unlike many Catholic politicians in our country, I do not challenge his Providential authority. I have read many of his articles and writings on these subjects and his logic evades me. I must say however in the one instance of his trip to Canada, rightfully described as a PENITENTIAL PILGRIMAGE, I blame the press and mainstream media for not publishing the whole story about his words and actions when he on several occasions sought atonement for the Catholic Church’s “rule in the residential school system of Canada”.
First, he made the “pilgrimage” in very frail health. It was important that he personally attended to this issue Secondly, he asked for forgiveness after admitting the role of the church in the “genocides and sexual abuse of children removed from homes to assimilate into society”. He did not stand and ask for forgiveness for the religious who committed those sins. Only they can stand for their own individual sin. He apologized for the ecclesiastical sin of a complicit church.
But the irony is that many Canadian government bureaucrats voiced the opinion that the apology (he apologized on three separate occasions at three different locations) was not enough. They fail to acknowledge any responsibility for their own government’s role. The Jesuits, and the Canadian Government schools were a joint venture between government agencies and the Jesuit religious communities. There are many lessons to be learned from this terrible incident in the history of the indigent people of Canada. One lesson is that government and religious joint ventures are a process requiring theocratic governance. Two quotes from the atonement statements of The Pope are worth repeating in full:
“In the face of this deplorable evil, the Church kneels before God and implores his forgiveness for the sins of her children.”
“Although Christian charity was not absent, and there were many outstanding instances of devotion and care for children, the overall effects of the policies linked to the residential schools were catastrophic. What our Christian faith tells us is that this was a disastrous error, incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is painful to think of how the firm soil of values, language and culture that made up the authentic identity of your peoples was eroded, and that you have continued to pay the price of this. In the face of this deplorable genocide”
The Pope asked for God’s forgiveness. He certainly was following the proper chain of command. Only God can forgive us our sin. We apologize to people and ask that they accept our apology. Any person who believes they can forgive us for mortal or venial sin is acting as their own god. A Priest at confession facilitates the act of forgiveness, the forgiving is in God’s realm. From the Catholic Mass:
I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
In fairness the relationship between the government and the religious orders in Canada preceded these same types of relationships in our country by several years. Both Protestant and Catholic Missionaries in the West and Northwest operated under Ecclesiastical authority and not the authority of the State. In the case of the Jesuits under Fr. John Pierre De Smet assimilation took on a different character. The “Black Robes” assimilated into the Native American societies. It took over 45 years and because of the actions of the Federal government, the Indians were forced onto reservations. Between the two treaties of Laramie 1847 and 1868 the Jesuits took the side of the Native Americans against the American Government. Many times, the Federal government tried to “deputize Jesuit Priests” to act on their behalf and they always refused. Fr. Desmet and his fellow Jesuits understood their mission was about spreading the Gospel, and not about civil rule or assimilation. Around 1878, two years after the Battle of The Little Big Horn, agency schools run by government teachers took over the education of those living on the reservations. “Deculturalization, indoctrination and assimilation” replaced the sacraments as the foundation for education. The tension between the religious communities and government that had been present for 50 years now was smothered by bureaucratic coerciveness. In the Pacific Northwest the Jesuits stood with the Native Americans against the Federal Government—not on the side of government. Fr. Desmet understood the concept of “separation of church and state”.
The atrocities that happened in Canada, may have happened on a smaller scale in our country, but after the Federal government took over the missions and turned them into agencies, they became more widespread. The idea of “taking the Indian out of the Man” was a concept unique to early progressive thinking—we know what is best for you. The Jesuits who lived amongst the Indians and didn’t try to make the Indians live like white men understood this. They did all that they could do to stand up against it.
Beginning in the early part of the George Bush administration “Faith Based” joint ventures between religious institutions and agencies and the government became popular. Today over 50% of revenues to Catholic Charities comes from government sources. As the “charity’ becomes more dependent on government, are they able to stand up to policies that are opposed to the tenants of their faith? If for example a Catholic adoption agency only placed children in the homes with a married man and a woman,, but the government insisted as a condition for funding that they allow single parents or gay parents to participate in the adoption process, would the religious agency give up its revenue source?—This case has already gone up through the court system, but there are many other examples of similar conflicts For example, could a Catholic Hospital ever be challenged for refusing to do abortions with the caveat that they must open up all health care services to patients as a condition for receiving government transfer payments? Hasn’t happened yet.
When religious organizations get entangled with governments, bad things happen. We have learned that repeatedly. The Pope did a great thing in personally apologizing to God for the atrocities that occurred at the Jesuit schools in Canada. Does the government ever apologize? Do politicians or government bureaucrats ever apologize for their mistakes? What about the ‘experts” or those in the media when they are wrong and cause harm?
Mr. Trudeau—time to apologize. What’s good for The Pope is good for The “Gander”!
Government acting as the agent for religion is a bad thing. Religion acting as the agent for government is worse. Theocracy never works. Our founding fathers knew this and so did the Enlightenment Fathers. So did Rudyard Kipling:
Whether the State can loose and bind
In Heaven as well as on Earth:
If it be wiser to kill mankind
Before or after the birth–
These are matters of high concern
Where State-kept schoolmen are.
But Holy State (we have lived to learn)
Endeth in Holy War.
Without the cooperation and coercive power of government, the atrocities that occurred across the North American Continent against the Native and Indigenous Peoples would not have occurred. The same thing is happening today with religious organizations that have prostituted themselves to government—Catholic Charities is only one of many such organizations acting as an agent for the State.
