Catholic Identityin a culture of

Pluralism and FundamentalismDr. Celeste Mueller

Director of the Vocare Center Aquinas Institute of Theology

Assistant Professor Practical Theology

Presentation Copyright ©2009 Aquinas Institute of Theology, all rights reserved

Challenges from Pluralism & FundamentalismYour comments• Don’t go too heavy on the Catholic thing; we have lots

of non-Catholics working here.• Was that prayer to Mary offensive to the non-Catholics• Crucifixes or crosses or no religious symbols?• Can we proclaim our Catholic teachings without

apology?”• How do we respond to proselytizing?• What if a non-Catholic view of treatment options

contradicts medical opinion?• Saving the soul of a dying Buddhist patient through

baptism!• Are we Catholic enough?” “ Are we TOO Catholic?

Pluralism is a fact of our society

The Pluralism Project at Harvard http://pluralism.org/original/

Pluralism or Relativism?

• All beliefs or opinions are of equal value

• We cannot/ must not judge

• There is no objective truth

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson © 1995 Universal Press Syndicate

Christian Fundamentalism• Rooted in19th century Protestantism concerned

about traditional beliefs being challenged by from new historical and scientific studies as well as trends in society

• Affirmed 5“Fundamentals” of Christian belief:– verbal inerrancy of Scripture – divinity of Jesus Christ – virgin birth – That Christ died for our sins – physical resurrection and bodily return of Christ

(Justo Gonzales, The Story of Christianity Volume 2. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1985. p 257)

Is this Fundamentalism?

• Rigid adherence to doctrines

• Lack of tolerance for difference

• Desire to impose rules or behaviors on others

• Refusal to engage in dialogue

Catholic Fundamentalism?

The concerns you identified:• Narrow views of the tradition based on lack of

religious literacy and formation• Rigid adherence to rubrics of worship without

pastoral sensitivity• Challenge to women in role of pastoral care based on

gender bias

The Roman Catholic Church has “fundamentals” , i.e. a “hierarchy of truths” but historically has resisted what we might call “fundamentalism”

Framing the Question

How can we navigate the currents of pluralism and fundamentalism that we meet in the contexts of our pastoral ministry?

How can we understand Catholic Identity as our sea-worthy vessel for travel?

Framing the Response

Part 1: A view of Catholic Identity from our tradition

Part 2: An approach to difference rooted in our tradition

Part 3: Some skills and strategies for pastoral encounters

• Promote and defend human dignity• Attend to the whole person• Care for poor and vulnerable persons• Promote the Common Good• Act on behalf of justice• Steward resources• Act in communion with the Church

CHA Statement of Catholic IdentityAs the Church’s ministry of health care, we commit to:

I am God Almighty; . . . And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous." (Genesis 17:2-4)

I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians (Exodus 6:7)

I will put my spirit within you, . . . Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:28)

God Calls a People into Community

God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed--the sixth day. (Gen 1: 31)

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. you. For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. (Psalms 139:1-2, 13-14)

God Judges Creation to be Very Good

God created humanity in his image; in the divine image he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28)

For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy. (Leviticus 11:45)

God Makes Humans to be Stewards and Co-Creators

What is God’s Dream for this People?

Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. . . during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it (Exodus 23: 7,10)

When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the orphan and the widow. (Deuteronomy 17:21)

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6)

Jesus Restores What the People ForgetJesus embodies the intimate relationship of humans with

God: Incarnation

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. . .and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1: 1-14)

“So whoever is in Christ is a New Creation” (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

God makes God one of us: the created world and our human nature –made in the image of God—is doubly blessed and affirmed

Jesus Restores What the People Forget

Jesus embodies the justice God dreams for us: Proclaiming the Reign of God

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” . . .Today in your hearing this scripture is fulfilled. (Luke 4:18-19,21)

Jesus Restores What the People ForgetJesus’ ministry reveals God’s Reign: Teaching,

Healing, Forgiving, Welcoming

"Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Mt 11:4-5)

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. (Mt 9:35)

The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (John 4:9)

And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it,

and gave it to them.With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished

from their sight.Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?"

Luke 24:30-32

Church as Communion: In relationship with God and with one another

Church as Sacrament: Human and divine; called to intimacy with God

Church as Universal Communion: unity in reconciled diversity, extending care to whole world

Church as Mission: Inheritors of a story and tradition; called to embody God’s dream and sent to the whole world

One

Holy

Catholic

Apostolic

Followers of Jesus who know themselves to be:Gathering—Ecclesia—Church

• To see the material world as capable of revealing God (Sacramental)

• Optimistic view of human nature as graced• Commitment to preserve the inalienable dignity of

human persons and human community• Communion as essential to our nature and the way we

live with one another• Ordered communion in which we rely on Bishops to

collect, preserve, and teach the living tradition• Inclusivity of welcome• Openness and engagement with the world for the sake of

the Common Good

Catholic Identity: Fundamental Gifts

Part 2: An Approach to Difference Rooted in our Tradition

An Approach to Difference

Pluralism• energetic engagement

with diversity• active seeking of

understanding across lines of difference

• the encounter of commitments

• based on dialogue

The Pluralism Project at Harvard

From Church Teachings

“. . .while standing fast by the teaching of the church, they should pursue the work with love for the truth, with charity and with humility. . . . Thus the way will be opened for this kind of friendly emulation to incite all to a deeper awareness and a clearer manifestation of the unfathomable riches of Christ” (Decree on Ecumenism, 11)

From Church Teachings

“Those who practice charity in the Church’s name will never seek to impose the Church’s faith upon others. They realize that a pure and generous love is the best witness to the God in whom we believe and by whom we are driven to love. A Christian knows when it is time to speak of God and when it is better to say nothing and let love alone speak. He knows that God is love and that God’s presence is felt at the very time when the only thing we do is to love.” Deus Caritas Est, 18

From Church TeachingsFour-fold Dialogue (Asian Bishops Conference)

1. “Dialogue of life,” in which people engage others in their community in a neighborly exchange of daily joys, problems, and concerns;

2. “Dialogue of action,” a call for Christians to cooperate with those of other faiths in projects of mutual interest;

3. “Dialogue of religious experience,” in which people share spiritual practices, such as prayer and contemplation, with others of different faiths;

4. “Dialogue of theological exchange,” involving specialists who undertake to enrich each other’s conception of their respective religious and spiritual traditions.

Part 3: Some Skills and Strategies for Pastoral Encounters

In discussion or arguments: "Never deny, rarely affirm, always make distinctions“– With love, listen for God at work in another’s

position– Do not feel compelled to “agree” for the sake of

harmony or not causing offense– Make distinctions that show you have understood

the other and help the other to see what you see in your position

Some Skills and Strategies for Pastoral Encounters

Contemplate and practice the metaphor of the “Drama of Embrace”*– Opening the arms– Waiting– Closing the arms– Opening the arms again

Some Skills and Strategies for Pastoral Encounters

* Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace.

Practice the skills of “Difficult Conversations”*– Remain genuinely curious (don’t make assumptions)– Note the difference between Intention and Impact– Pay attention to emotions that certain situations

trigger in you– Ask yourself: What is at stake for me in this

conversation?– Ground your identity

Some Skills and Strategies for Pastoral Encounters

* Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen, Difficult Conversations. NY: Penguin, 1999

Recall the essential functions of ministry– Healing – Sustaining – Guiding – Reconciling– Nurturing – Empowering – Advocating and Liberating– Resisting oppression

Some Skills and Strategies for Pastoral Encounters