[Craic] A Comment on a visit from Pope Francis

[Greg Gillis]

Thank you Allan, a thoughtful reflection on the Pope's visit and a generous
take on his efforts at reconciliation.  I think the author is quite correct
in that he set himself an almost impossible task given the history of the
institution and the so many limitations mentioned.  However, at 85 to have
undertaken this is an accomplishment itself of his papacy.  Regrettably,
had the mass graves not been discovered in Kamloops and elsewhere I doubt
the Canadian bishops would have invited Francis.  This was the reckoning
moment and it seems to me they were shamed into action which itself does
not speak well of them.  As we also discussed now that the Pope has
apologized on native land, where do we go from here?  This remains the big
question.  The Catholic Church still has an outstanding financial court
settlement debt that must be settled.  I know I want to see action on this
by the bishops.  Further, what will be the next steps in bringing about
true reconciliation.

It is also sad that the theological material stands in the way of a genuine
acknowledgment  of the harm the institution did which would require real
humility, that we are not this perfect entity.  It seems the Church holds
dearly to some theological ideal that seems naive and immature.  Those are
some initial thoughts.  Hopefully we can discuss more at a future Craic
meeting.

Peace


Greg


On Sun, Jul 31, 2022 at 4:20 PM Allan Baker via craic <
craic at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:

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>
> Expecting too much of the Pope’s visit
> *By Jim Taylor*
>
> *Sunday July 24, 2022*
>
> There is only one event worth writing about this week -- Pope Francis’s
> “penitential pilgrimage.”
>             “Penitential” means doing penance -- making amends for having
> done something wrong.
>             The name alone acknowledges that the Roman Catholic church
> failed its indigenous members.
>             Church doctrines have long taught that Jesus took upon himself
> the sins of the world. Figuratively, Pope Francis chose to do the same with
> his church’s involvement in residential schools.
>             People have mixed feelings about his trip and his apologies.
>             Among the non-indigenous population, I hear everything from
> hand-washing to humility.
>             Many indigenous people, I gather, see the Pope’s words as
> exactly what they had hoped for. The highest Roman Catholic official came
> to their traditional territories to say that he was sorry for what members
> of his church had done.
>             Others see it as only a partial success. Because Pope Francis
> did not reject the “Doctrine of Discovery” -- he collection of papal
> decrees that authorized European adventurers to seize the lands and the
> resources of people who already lived there.
>             He did not hold the Roman Catholic church as an institution
> guilty of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
>             And he did not magically make everything right again.
>
>
> No magic wand
>             I suggest we’re expecting too much of him. He’s not a fairy
> godmother who can change the world with a flick of his wand.
>             In fact, he has far less power than most folks assume.
>             The Roman Catholic Church is not a monolith. Every diocese is
> independent. The Pope appoints bishops and archbishops, but each diocese is
> otherwise autonomous.
>             Even within the Vatican, the Pope’s powers are limited. He
> cannot, for example, overturn 2,000 years of church teachings.
>             That is why he has been careful to say that “some members”
> committed sins and evils in the residential school system. That “some
> Christians” acted contrary to the core message of Jesus.
>             In March 2000, Pope Francis’s predecessor John Paul II used
> the same pattern in his “Day of Pardon.”  In a series of apologies for
> historic wrongs done to women, Muslims, Jews slaves, and even heretics in
> the Inquisition, he referred to individuals in the church. Never to the
> Holy Catholic Church as a whole.
>
>
> Unacceptable alternatives
>             Here’s the theological problem.
>             If Jesus is God, and the church is the ongoing Body of Christ,
> then admitting that the Body of Christ has sinned would imply that Christ
> himself is not sinless. And therefore that God is also not sinless.
>             Which is unthinkable.
>             To accept the institutional church’s complicity in ruthless
> and inhumane systems would require Pope Francis to do one of two
> things.  Either deny that the Holy Catholic Church is the continuing Body
> of a Christ. Or assert that Christ himself could have sinned.
>             Personally, I have no problem believing that Jesus could have
> sinned. If he is fully human, it’s highly likely that he swiped a cookie
> from his mother’s kitchen. Or had murderous thoughts about Roman soldiers
> who gang-raped a Jewish girl.
>             But this is not about my views. It’s about what the Pope can
> and cannot say.
>
>
> What good is an apology?
>             In that context, an article published by Conversation Canada,
> brings up an interesting parallel. Author Lori Campbell’s grandmother was a
> residential school survivor. All seven of Lori’s mother’s children were
> taken away from her in the infamous 60s Scoop.
>             Almost as an aside, Campbell wrote: “Canada continues to
> investigate and hold accountable individuals who committed war crimes
> during the Second World War. Where is the accountability for those who have
> committed crimes against Indigenous children?”
>             There are huge differences between the two race-based
> programs. But there are also some upsetting parallels.
>             Germany herded Jews into concentration camps. Canada herded
> “Indians” into residential schools and remote reserves.
>             Germany tried to eliminate a race with gas ovens. Canada used
> education, for the same purpose.
>             During World War II, Pope Pius XII failed to denounce the
> Holocaust. He did not rally Catholics against Nazi pogroms.
>             Would a confession of complicity undo the pain and suffering
> of Jews? I doubt it.
>             Similarly, would a confession of complicity in the residential
> school system undo the pain and suffering of generations of indigenous
> people? I doubt that too.
>             As I look back on the week, I find Pope Francis’s actions more
> convincing than the words he cannot say.
>             He came to Canada. To be where the iniquities took place. To
> be among indigenous peoples. To unite his pilgrimage with theirs at Lac
> Ste. Anne.
>             And instead of having a subject people kiss his ring, he
> kissed the hand of an aboriginal woman.
>             To my mind, those actions count more than any speeches.
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