The Church Is Not Falling Apart

Dear Beloved Faithful,

Given the current issues afoot in the Church, I’d like to offer the following challenge and encouragement...

The Church is not falling apart. The sins of man do not define the Faith. Have no fear. Christ is our light. In this difficult time, let us not allow punditry to win the day. All abuse and cover-ups will come to the light. In time, things will become more clear. Our role as Catholics is not to add to the hysteria with cries of schism or destruction. Our calling is to be faithful. 

Jesus promised us that the gates of hell would would not prevail against his Church. Regardless of who may be guilty, incompetent, innocent, or otherwise unworthy, the Bride of Christ will remain. We are not built on the holiness of the bishops or the Pope. Even if all of those who are being accused by Viganò are guilty, and even if the pope steps down, a new pope will be selected by the grace of the Holy Spirit. 

All we need to worry about is whether each of us are living the life worthy of the calling we have received. Just remember whose Church this is. I choose to be ever more mindful of my own sins and be open to God’s grace working through me, his imperfect vessel. Other than that I refuse to listen to punditry. 

God will once again heal and absolve his Bride. God will continue to inspire others to greatness in the faith. God desires, in his perfect compassion and mercy, to bind up and heal the wounded victims. We must join in solemn prayer and concord for the Holy Spirit to breathe fresh upon us all and remember the true source of all healing: Jesus Christ. In the meantime, fasting from news and praying for victims of abuse in all walks of life are spiritual acts of love which we all can do. 

Despite all the punditry, in our RCIA groups this year, the Spirit is clearly at work. Candidates have awareness and concern for victims of abuse, and they are truly focused on the Faith and Holy Mother Church. It’s inspiring. They are not shaken by the prophets of doom. Do not be shaken by alarmists. 

Finally, let us, once again, take heed of the wisdom of St. Pope John XXIII who proclaimed just prior to the opening of the Second Vatican Council:

At times we have to listen, much to our regret, to the voices of people who, though burning with zeal, lack a sense of discretion and measure. In this modern age they can see nothing but prevarication and ruin … We feel that we must disagree with those prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster, as though the end of the world were at hand. In our times, divine Providence is leading us to a new order of human relations which, by human effort and even beyond all expectations, are directed to the fulfilment of God’s superior and inscrutable designs, in which everything, even human setbacks, leads to the greater good of the Church.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Pope Francis & Declarationist Nominalism

Dear Parishioners,

Pope Francis has concluded his whirlwind visit to our country. He spoke at a joint session of Congress, addressed the general assembly of the United Nations, helped lead a prayer service at Ground Zero, gave a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, spoke to thousands at the World Meeting of Families, offered Mass everyday, and has greeted untold numbers of homeless, downtrodden, and various others in need.  

I believe that it is fair to say that Pope Francis’ speeches and homilies were widely received with enthusiasm.  His mere presence was the catalyst for an openness to the Holy Spirit in countless numbers of people.  He is our greatest evangelist.  His joy is infectious, and his love of Christ is clear.

The Pope was very affirming of our country’s history and particularly the saints who have risen from within our churches. He also challenged our culture and spoke plainly about the Church’s teachings on abortion, justice, immigration, poverty, the environment, the family, sexual ethics and abuse, religious liberty, and inter-faith dialogue just to name a few.  He also used some interesting terminology to quickly critique issues.  One that stood out to me was during his address to the United Nations (

Read full text here

).  He spoke of and condemned what he called, “Declarationist Nominalism.” I had to research this to understand what he was talking about.  So, here’s my best stab at it.

“Declarationism” is the philosophical view that by declaring some thing so, it is such. Our Declaration of Independence is probably the most widely accepted example of this.  By the creation of our Declaration of Independence, we thereby became independent of other countries. What followed was the need to back up this declaration with the blood of many Americans in order to secure this declaration. It was a revolution worth fighting for.  In time, this declaration became the template for many other countries. In a different kind of example, I can declare that I am not in pain even though I am. This kind of declaration does not reflect reality, but instead denies it.  So, declaring something to be so may or may not reflect or effect truth or reality. 

“Nominalism” is a philosophical view which rejects universal essences/terms or abstract objects and claims that only individual concepts are real. Nominalism claims that there are no independent realities apart from the names we give them. Only our verbal descriptors have value.  Another way of understanding this is the claim that universals are merely words, habits, and perceptions of particulars only. This can be contrasted to the philosophy of “realism” which recognizes universals and abstract objects. Realism holds that things exists in their own right wholly independent of our perception or naming of them.  Okay, this may sound still pretty esoteric, and it it is. But, it has serious consequences. Most profoundly, realism, a philosophy which grounds all Judeo-Christian faith, states that God is real, can be known, and that God has created universal laws, values, and order. Nominalism would counter this. Nominalism would claim that God’s law is not universal, but particular to each person. It would further counter that there is any true teleology in the universe. Nominalism would reject any sense that there is a “right order” or morality based on God’s universal law.

Putting these together, Pope Francis leveled a very serious critique of a growing philosophical trend in our world.  Declarationist Nominalism is the philosophy or belief that one can change the reality of something simply by calling it something different regardless of universals. For example, it is Declarationst Nominalism to call someone male or female by fiat instead of recognizing that genders are intimately tied with the universal of biological reality.  Another example in our culture is calling something that is not a marriage a marriage simply by declaring it so. Such a philosophy undermines the revealed truth of God as well as universal realities and substitutes one's personal desire, opinion or sentimentality. Reality and truth are what they are, and no amount of renaming can change them.  The Pope said that Declarationist Nominalism undermines truth and humanity. This insight of the Pope is mind-blowing and prophetic! I just hope I have been able to understand and explain it well.

So, with Pope Francis’ time with us, much has been done and said.  He has shown us and proclaimed to us the Gospel with joy and never wavered under the pressure of political influence.  He is not only our Pope, our Holy Father, our Roman Pontiff (term means “bridge-builder”), or our Vicar of Christ.  He showed us that he is also our brother, an American for the Americas and from the Americas. May his visit continue to resonate in our hearts the message of the Gospel while also challenging us to more fully live it out.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor