Letter to the Editor: A Confused & Disgruntled Individual

Pick your pew
Oakville-Mehlville Journal

After the January 1999 Papal visit to St. Louis there was a sense of excitement and spirit of enthusiasm. Almost everyone had something very positive to say about the great impact of the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II to the Archdiocese of St. Louis. On a Sunday morning you could hardly find a pew in church for which to seat your entire family

Now, six years later you can have your pick of any pew you want in church. Why? Because, over the years the Catholic Church has continued to fail its parishioners. Little by little the actions of the Church have eroded the unity of those who stood by, built and supported the Archdiocese.

The problems within the Church have been occurring for considerably longer than the past 6 years. We witnessed in recent decades an exodus from the Church, not only by the laity but of thousands upon thousands of priests and religious. It's presumptuous to state that this is due to the actions of the Church - it is due to the actions of those within and outside the Church. It is due to the failures and frailties of individuals, and not the Church.

As an example, a friend of mine who is divorced has been banned from receiving the Sacrament of Communion. The divorce is of no fault of hers (the husband abandoned the family). Her attempt to inquire about receiving an annulment was met with a dollar sign. Yes, you could obtain an annulment for a hefty price. Most of us know individuals in this situation.

If the facts are as stated, then this is incorrect. A divorced person is not banned from Holy Communion by the fact the he is divorced. However, if the person is "remarried" or cohabitating, then the person is not permitted to receive Holy Communion. Christ teaches us, and His Church maintains, that marriage is for life.

With respect to the seeking of a decree of nullity, the fees are necessary because of the costs of adjudicating the case. There are costs associated with maintenance, utilities, salaries and such. However, there are normally provisions for monthly payments and in some cases, the costs may be waived.

This past year we heard about an 8-year-old girl who suffers from a rare digestive disorder and cannot eat wheat wafers. After the church's pastor refused to allow a substitute wafer, a priest at a nearby parish volunteered to offer one, and in May, the child wore a white Communion dress, and received the sacrament alongside her mother, who had not taken Communion since she herself was diagnosed with the disease. Recently, the diocese told the priest that the church would not validate the child's sacrament because of the substitute wafer.

This paragraph leads me to believe that Frank Longo is not a Catholic or, if he is a Catholic, he misunderstands the most basic theology of the Holy Eucharist. The Sacraments, as instituted by Christ Himself for the Church and His faithful, require the proper matter and form in order to be valid. The use of a rice wafer cannot substitute for wheat. Unfortunately, it seemed that the story last year was blown out of proportion, due to the apparent desire of the mother to make headlines for herself. The Church was right to correct the situation and, in her solicitude, offered valid alternatives (Holy Communion from the chalice containing the Precious Blood of our Lord, or by use of low gluten hosts which could be consecrated to become the Sacred Body of Jesus). The priest who ignored the mandates of Christ and His Church, was responsible for a grave disservice to this family and to the Church. Apparently, because of the publicity generated by this story, his failure caused untold damage to the Church, as witnessed in this letter.

On the local scene, there is the standoff of Archbishop Burke and the parishioners of St Stanislaus. I personally stand behind the parishioners. If liquidation is required, I would donate the money to a non-catholic church (i.e. Baptist, Lutheran, or Jewish). Perhaps consider giving the property and assets to the Reverend Larry Rice of the New Life Evangelistic Center.

It is unfortunate that the Board of Directors of St. Stanislaus, with the helpful hand of the Post-Dispatch, has distorted this issue. Untold scandal and damage has been inflicted due to the flagrant disobedience, rebellion, and scandal of the actions taken by the board, in defiance of the Archbishop and the Holy See. We have yet to see the full results of this damage.

This past November we all saw how parishioners are being told how they must vote.

Archbishop Rigali and his minions tried to shuffle under the carpet the sex abuse by priest and nuns. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. The saga of the pedophile priest has encouraged the parishioners to close their wallets, which is now the only action that gets the attention of the archdiocese.

The Catholic Church has failed its parishioners. You can see this documented fact by being able to pick your own pew.

Frank Longo
Crestwood

On second thought, this letter may be from a professed "Catholic" - One who seeks to lay, at the door of the Church, all of his doubts and frustrations. And this may be fine, provided one do all one can to enlighten oneself to the truth and be prepared to offer assent, even to those things which are not understood.

This letter is laced with unfounded accusations and blame. Much of it seems to be standard boilerplate rhetoric which we have seen many times before. Admittedly, there can be some blame properly attributed to some Church leaders for failing to ecercise their duties to teach, but one cannot blame the Church, herself. And, all of us may bear some responsibility for the problems facing the Church, as well. How so?

Perhaps, by our failure to stand up for the truth - choosing instead to not get involved.
Perhaps, by our reluctance to teach ourselves so that we might have been able to teach our children the beauty of Christ, His Church, and the Faith which we profess to have.
Perhaps, by our failures to be more diligent in our prayer life.

It is sad to witness a person such as this letter writer, who has been so negatively affected by the incidents he cites in his letter. Perhaps, some of us are not praying enough and not setting a proper example? I just don't know.

Source.