Pastoral incorrectness
At a time when the Church places new accents in its mission to evangelise those of no belief and those who have left the Church, a special responsibility resides with all the faithful to take care in how we present Catholic beliefs.
“More grievously, those born with a disability or severe illness, or their families, could reasonably interpret the words of the bishop as meaning that they are not fully of God’s design. ” (Photo: The Jesus Wept statue, Oklahoma bombing memorial, 1996. )
This responsibility is magnified for bishops, who as the successors of the apostles occupy a particular role in the evangelising mission. So when one of them puts his foot in his mouth, the consequences can be grave and enduring.
So it was this month when a bishop in Ireland, a country where the Church’s reputation already is at a low, succeeded in offending several groups of people within one short radio interview.
Asked whether people being born gay was “as God intended”, Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin answered: “That would be to suggest that some people are born with Down’s syndrome or spina bifida, that that was what God intended.”
Speaking on same-sex parenting, he said: “People who have children are not necessarily parents. They may be recognised in law as their parent, but the whole relationship between life giving and parenthood is being separated.”
He also suggested that women who have abortions after being raped do so “to get back” at their attacker.
Ireland’s Church leadership was quick to distance itself from Bishop Doran’s comments.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, as vice-president of the Irish bishops’ conference, said: “I believe there are many different kinds of parenthood and indeed there are many gay people who are parents…I think that we should look on that variety of situations in a way that is more positive. We shouldn’t use phrases that may offend people.”
By the time Archbishop Martin had responded, the damage was done: a leader of the Church was understood to have suggested to the public that homosexuals are not of God, that in the absence of active procreation, adoptive parents implicitly might not be real parents, and that some rape victims have abortions as an act of revenge.
More grievously, those born with a disability or severe illness, or their families, could reasonably interpret the words of the bishop as meaning that they are not fully of God’s design.
Catholics must beware of unintentionally presenting a vision of God that is closer to the god whom the prominent atheists say they don’t believe in than to the God of mercy and love, of whom Pope Francis speaks so eloquently on page 4 of this edition.
It is possible that Bishop Doran was just excessively clumsy in articulating his thoughts; even the most eloquent speakers sometimes experience moments when they fail to express themselves clearly.
It may be that his injudicious remarks created an inaccurate impression of the bishop as a man who is insensitive to the ill and disabled, homosexuals, and women who have been raped. Indeed, in other parts of the interview he sounded reasonably pastoral.
No doubt, some will discern theological merit in at least some of Bishop Doran’s statements, perhaps by referring to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which describes the homosexual “inclination” as “objectively disordered” — though the Catechism also makes a distinction about having a same-sex orientation and the homosexual act itself; a distinction the bishop, like so many other Catholics, did not clearly make.
And none of it matters, because whatever failures in articulating Catholic teaching and his own ideas contributed to Bishop Doran’s hurtful statements, by the time they reached the public no elucidation, qualification, mitigation or rationalisation could undo the public perceptions created.
People were angry at the hurtful comments from a leader of the Catholic Church, who as a bishop is understood to be speaking on behalf of the Church. One tweet suggested that remarks such as Bishop Doran’s “are part of the reason why Catholics become atheists”.
How can we, the Church, offer a spiritual home to people who are justifiably angered and hurt by the remarks of a bishop?
The public indignation at Bishop Doran’s comments is not a question of political correctness; it’s a response to a (hopefully temporary) case of pastoral incorrectness having gone mad.
- The Look of Christ - May 24, 2022
- Putting Down a Sleeping Toddler at Communion? - March 30, 2022
- To See Our Good News - March 23, 2022
