CathBlog - Think of the Good Church, by Ann Rennie, CathNews, July 15, 2010

Cathblog - Think of the Good Church

By Ann Rennie
CathNews
July 15, 2010

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=22326

It has not been a great time for the Catholic Church in Melbourne. Of course it is only fair to acknowledge the inexcusable sins, crimes, of some and to feel shame in their name. The Church needs to resurrect in itself the goodness that is our founding purpose.

The self-examination of which Archbishop Hart speaks in his Pastoral Letter comes at a time of increasing disaffection and secularisation, and the recent sex abuse scandals and cover-ups have tarnished the institution. As well, these crimes have broken the covenant between priests and religious and the people who trust them in the most heinous way and this cannot be disguised or diminished.

But in the interests of even-handedness I also think it is important to be reminded of the actions for justice and good that many Catholic organisations. These organisations contribute to the community in countless ways, whether it's through the meals at the Sacred Heart Mission, food for families in need or the time spent by a nun who visits those old and lonely who would otherwise receive no visitors.

I am a Catholic, born and bred and the years of my faith have rubbed off on me. Yes, I sang Sister Janet Mead's top of the pops "Our Father" with fervour as a teenager seeking answers over thirty years ago. I still sing up with the golden oldie hymns or even the sassy new ones as they are trilled in various states of tunefulness by Saturday night and Sunday morning congregations all over Melbourne.

As for defeated looking nanas who populate the pews (of whom Catherine Deveny wrote so scathingly in The Age last year) I'm too young to be one yet, and I can't make a pav to save myself, but these women of this older generation are blue-rinsed and buoyant and seeking spiritual solace in the community of worship that works for them. They wouldn't be in Church otherwise. Many of their hearts have been broken by what they see as a betrayal of all that they have come to believe, but they can't punish God for the sins of man.

I was the oldest of seven children who would take up the whole pew. We'd squabble and pray, put 20 cents on the plate, mumble the Creed, recite the Lord's Prayer volubly, stand and kneel when bidden, receive Communion with reverence, and count the minutes of the hour of the Mass, not so much to escape, but to catch up with friends outside. I lay under a picture of the Sacred Heart when I stayed at my grandmother's and fell asleep during many a decade of the Rosary. And still I believed my sins would be forgiven.

The God I was taught about was never wrathful or judgemental and I found a friend in Jesus. I loved the stories of angels and saints, especially those of grisly and prolonged martyrdom, and traded holy pictures keenly at lunchtime on the asphalt.

I'm no saint, but I've taken great solace in my belonging to this particular believing community. I have never been more moved than when I went to Lourdes on pilgrimage and saw the sick and infirm being wheeled to the water. The miracle for me was not so much the possibility of cure, but the great swathe of people from all over the globe who were connected because of a common story.

One of my dearest recent memories was being able to take Communion with my mother as she was given the Last Rites. The locum priest, Father Bill from Box Hill, came when called and enabled us to share this most sacred of moments. She was well aware that her hours on Earth were few and she wanted to go in peace.

I have every respect for the nuns and priests who have been influential in my life. Yes, there have been bad priests and cruel nuns, but they are in the minority and we should not let their evils cloud the good that is daily done by the workers in the Church, the laity, the nurses and teachers, the Vinnies' ladies and gents, and others. I know people who feel estranged from the Church because of these scandals. I do not know any victims and can only imagine their deep and ongoing hurt at the hands of those who have perpetrated these sins. I can only hope, and pray, that the purge, penance and purification the Church needs will restore it in the eyes of the ordinary faithful.