Slow Motion Fall

It seems that weekly, and sometimes daily, I learn of some action by the Vatican and/or the US Conference of Bishops that makes me shake my head and feel a deep sense of sadness.  Sometimes it makes me feel embarrassed for them.   It certainly makes me realize that as they move more and more away from the spirit and the letter of Vatican II, more and  more catholics come together as church to move forward the spirit of Vatican II..  A deep divide, a chasm is opening before our eyes.  Many loyal catholics of good faith have been trying to bridge it with prayer, action and organizing.

Then last week the news that the Vatican has taken heart breaking action against the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) broke open.   All I could wonder was "what are they thinking?"  Yesterday on Facebook my friend Magy posted an interview with a Notre Dame historian that was quite wonderful.  Among so many important points was his statement, "It is a mystery why the church is turning in on itself".

And as I sit with that statement I have come to feel that we are watching a slow motion collapse of a centuries old authority structure.   It feels like watching the Berlin Wall fall in very slow motion.

On the Vatican side of the wall, like the East Berlin side of the wall, is a vast expanse of monolithic grey concrete.   On the Church as the People of God side of the wall, like the West Berlin side of the wall, is a crazy and colorful expression of life giving creativity and openness.   On the Vatican side uniformity.   On the Church as the People of God side unity in Christ representing the incredible diversity of God's Creation, united in Love.

Years ago when I lived in New York City I had the privilege of working with Edwina Sandys, a painter and sculptor whose monumental sculptures are a testimony to the freedom of the human spirit, the connections among all of creation and between what is "seen and what is unseen".  She is a master at the power of void and space. Her sculptures grace corporate headquarters and United Nations campuses all over the world.   When the Berlin Wall fell she accessed sections of the wall and created the amazing sculpture "Breakthrough" http://www.edwinasandys.com/filter/sculpture%E2%80%93public-art#Breakthrough  and then with the monumental figures of men and women she cut through the sections of wall, she created the sculpture "The Four Freedoms" installed at Hyde Park.   I've been thinking about that alot over the past few days as I let my heart ponder the ever growing chasm between authority structure and people of God in my own church.

Edwina's sculpture helps me recognize the life giving elements in this otherwise sad and destructive time in my country, in my church and in the world.   The spirit of life is breaking through outmoded structures all over the world giving us hope and a sense of a viable present and a hopeful future.   That spirit - call it whatever you will - is what unites us across national borders, gender, species and all other "differences" that have been cause for violence and warfare over time.   Technology - particularly the mode I am using right now - supports this movement.

So back to watching the slow motion fall of the centuries old authority structure in my own church.   I am hopeful, but not that the authority structure will survive and be transformed.  As I look at the history of the Papacy I don't see much of anything in it that really serves God's work or God's people.   It has always been about temporal power.   Even those sometimes Saints who sat on 'Peter's Throne' like John XXIII, have only been able to create small openings for the spirit of life to come through.   The structure quickly moves to close those openings and to reassert temporal authority in the name of God.   What makes me hopeful is that the spirit moving through our worldwide church as Vatican II has taken such root in the People of God that we are revealing the church AS the People of God.  Women's religious orders took the mandates of Vatican II seriously and over the past 50 years have come through dramatic changes.  Their work in the church and in the world has embedded love, care and compassion in the very fabric of our world.   By the recent attack on the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Vatican forces our attention to the history, role and accomplishments of these amazing, humble women and their Orders.

As we focus our attention there it becomes clear that the spirit of life is moving through these women, their Orders, and those of us who have commitments to implementing the fullness of the promise of Vatican II.   For this focus to our vision, maybe we need to thank the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of the Vatican.