Abp. Chaput: Church leadership should be held to high standards

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman; and they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it.... And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed; and when the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned towards Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.
 – Numbers 12:1-2,9-10

Archbishop Chaput celebrating Mass

"Bishops, priests and deacons are too often weak and sinful. They need to be held to high standards. Some deserve to be chastised." These words were spoken by Archbishop Chaput in his opening homily to the Knights of Columbus convention in Denver on August 2.

He had this to say to the dissenters within the Church, "The church belongs to Jesus Christ, and the different roles within the Christian community – clergy, laity and religious life – have equal dignity but different purposes. When people deride their bishops and priests out of pride and resentment or some perverse desire for what they perceive as “power,” they undermine the Church herself."

And then he adds, "Renewal begins not in vilifying others, but in examining ourselves honestly, repenting of our own sins and changing ourselves.... When we really understand that, we can speak to each other with both honesty and love, and restoring the mission of the Church can begin."

I have a public confession to make. I certainly have been guilty of "chastising" the bishops of New York -- and Archbishop Dolan in particular -- with regards to their failure to strongly defend marriage. I hope that I have not gone to the level of "vilifying", although it is a thin line.

I hope that what I have done is to "hold the bishops to high standards". At least that has always been my intent. I certainly have no "desire for power" nor do I seek to "undermine the Church". On the contrary, I would simply like to see the Church leadership uphold the teachings that have been handed down to us.

Archbishop Chaput himself uses very strong words earlier in his homily to condemn Aaron, the brother of Moses. He calls him "spineless" because he "went along with the Golden Calf" and he supported his sister Miriam in her rebellion against Moses, which the Archbishop interprets as a rebellion against God and His Church. Given that Aaron was a High Priest of the People of Israel, it seems that the Archbishop is also indicating that those in leadership positions in today's Church who fail in their defense of the Church's teachings are equally "portraits of male spinelessness".

The Archbishop concludes with an urgent call for renewal within the Church, "God is calling each of us here today – clergy, lay and religious – to love him with all our hearts and to renew the life of his Church. God is calling us now. Tomorrow will be too late."

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Following is the complete text of Archbishop Chaput's homily on August 2. (The readings from that day's Mass are Numbers 12:1-13 and  Mt 14:22-36.)

The dynamic in the family of Moses is not so different from the dynamic in the family of today’s Church. God has chosen Moses to lead his people. Miriam and Aaron, the sister and brother of Moses, resent his taking of a Cushite wife. But the disputed marriage is merely a pretext for the siblings. What they really resent is Moses’ elevation above themselves, his special relationship with God. Moses is very much a flawed human being. By this point in Scripture he may be “meek,” but he is not without sin. Nonetheless he is chosen by God. Therefore, Miriam’s and Aaron’s criticism – which flows out of their own rebellious pride – is really a criticism of God himself. Miriam, as the instigator, is struck with leprosy, but at least there is a kind of negative dignity to her willfulness. Aaron is almost worse; a portrait of male spinelessness. This is the man who went along with the Golden Calf. Now he goes along with Miriam, and when Miriam is punished, he becomes obsequious with Moses.

Something similar can be said about conflicts in the Modern Church. Bishops, priests and deacons are too often weak and sinful. They need to be held to high standards. Some deserve to be chastised. The clergy’s leadership in the Church should always be marked by humility and service, and never by a sense of entitlement. But men and women didn’t found the Church; they don’t own her; and they have no license to reinvent her. The church belongs to Jesus Christ, and the different roles within the Christian community – clergy, laity and religious life – have equal dignity but different purposes. Sin and failure, including by the clergy, need to be named. But when people deride their bishops and priests out of pride and resentment or some perverse desire for what they perceive as “power,” they undermine the Church herself, and they set themselves against the God whose vessel she is. And that, as Scripture suggests, leads in a painful direction.

All real reform in the Church requires two things. Today’s Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 51 – gives us the first thing. We find it in the lines “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow;” and “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” Renewal begins not in vilifying others, but in examining ourselves honestly, repenting of our own sins and changing ourselves. This applies to every baptized person, from the Pope to the average man or woman earning a wage. We are all sinners. We are all in need of repentance and God’s mercy. When we really understand that, we can speak to each other with both honesty and love, and restoring the mission of the Church can begin.

Today’s Gospel gives us the second thing needed for any lasting Church reform: faith. Not faith as theology, or faith a collection of doctrines and practices; but faith as a single-minded confidence in God; faith as the humility – and in a sense, the imprudence the passion, the recklessness – to give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ. That kind of faith changes people. That kind of faith shifts the world on its axis, because nothing can stand against it. As long as Peter keeps his eyes and his heart fixed on Jesus Christ, he can do the impossible – he can walk on the water. The moment he gives in to doubt and fear, he begins to sink. So it is with our personal faith, and so it is with life and health of the Church.

In light of our Gospel reading, it’s fitting that our Mass today commemorates the French priest and saint from the 19th century, Peter Eymand. Eymand was a friend of Sts. Peter Chanel and Jean-Marie Vianney, and the founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. He was an intriguing man. The great French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, once entered Eymand’s congregation as a lay brother, having given up art after the death of his sister. Eymand served as Rodin’s spiritual counselor, and eventually sent him back to his work in the world as a sculptor, because he believed that Rodin glorified God more truly through the beauty of his art. The focus of Eymand’s life was an intense love of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. He was tireless in preaching a deep devotion to the Eucharist as a key to reigniting the vocation of Christians in the world. The Church honors him as “the Apostle of the Eucharist,” and his most famous line is worth remembering. When he decided to leave the diocesan clergy to become a religious priest, his sisters begged him to wait and reflect just a little longer before he acted – even just one more day. He answered, “God calls me now. Tomorrow will be too late.” God is calling each of us here today – clergy, lay and religious – to love him with all our hearts and to renew the life of his Church. God is calling us now. Tomorrow will be too late. So let’s pray for each other, and support each other – and begin.