You are to say . . .

I recall the very moving and what I thought most authentic portrayal on the life of Jesus to date was a six hour marathon of religious drama, Jesus of Nazareth by the Italian director Franco Zeffirelli. I recall it being shown on television during Holy Week for three consecutive nights in the late 1970's. It wasn't offered on some obscure subscription movie channel. It was shown I believe on NBC during prime time. Well, sadly, I doubt that will happen again.

At any rate, the integrity of the film and the convincing portrayal of Jesus and the culture of his time was, in my opinion, done with such realism and respect that it was the last credible film portrayal of the life and times of Jesus ever done. The heart wrenching scene of the crucifixion, gratefully much less graphic than portrayed in Passion of the Christ, grabs your gut, especially the reaction of Mary. But there is a closing line that is the story of Easter stated in just three words.

After the empty tomb is discovered by Mary Magdalene, who runs from the tomb with the burial cloth in her hands (Hold on to that shroud. Turin will need it!) and a face mixed with joy and fear, we soon see the risen Lord Jesus sitting with his Apostles in the upper room where they had gathered just a few days earlier. He assures them of his constant presence and then -- a switch back to the tomb itself. A member of the Jewish sanhedrin, after he speaks to the Roman guards, rushes to the tomb for he wants to convince himself of what we hear at the end of Easter Monday's Gospel passage (Mt 28: 8-15): "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep . . .'" Why are the guards sleeping? He peers into the tomb, stares at the small head cloth neatly folded and says in a tone of resignation, "Now it begins. Now it all begins." What are we to say?

We know where history since that moment has taken us and of course the future is yet hidden from our eyes. The Easter message is truly where it all begins but from the very start, controversey has reigned. The presence of the Lord in his Church and in the hearts of all believers has, since Jesus took his first breath and cried the sound of a new born, been a source of controversy -- a push against the grain -- a challenge to the status quo -- a threat to those who would rather seek their own way and follow what is popular rather than what is true. No doubt about it. The present day tension between the secular world and the world of faith is upon us and has soared to a new height. But, as always, the truth is never at the extremes. While there is goodness in the non-religious world not everything in the world of faith is perfect. But the middle ground, the place to find healing and reconciliation, the point of dialogue and constructive criticism, is being vilified.

I ran across an article written by a Marcello Pera, an Italian philosopher and politician. He was the president of the Italian senate from 2001 - 2006 and he writes on Mercator.net The position he takes on this whole, relentless barrage of accusations of the paedophilia scandal that has reached world wide proportions is intriguing. Have you ever run across something that grabs you and puts into words what you have always thought. A light goes on and you say, "That's it!" I had such a reaction.

In summation he comments on the efforts of the secularist and the impression they have created in their criticism of Church leadership: "What matters is the insinuation that, regardless of the coarseness of the argument, priests are paedophile, therefore the Church has no moral authority, therefore Catholic education is dangerous, therefore Christianity itself is a fraud and a danger. There is a war on. . . The war is between secularism and Christianity. The secularists know that a spot of mud on that white robe (Pope Benedict) would mean that the church was sullied, and if the church were sullied so the Christian religion likewise . . . the war against Christianity is a total war. One has to look back to nazi rule or communism to find anything like it. . . today as yesterday the aim is the destruction of religion."

Tough words. The "destruction of religion" is hard to swallow but if one reads between the lines, and you don't have to look very far, you know that the positions of Christianity, in particular the Catholic Church, on an all male celibate clergy, abortion, contraception, marriage, family life, the economy, the health care debate, the ethics and morals in Catholic hospitals are, to say it lightly, loathed by many. In particular the media knows the power they wield in the formation of values and the consciences of youth in particular. The Church has spoken loud and clear and disturbed the minds of many who feel we are too anachronistic, medieval, out of touch with the times, don't get it, or whatever similar term you may have heard. We interrupt the more secular agenda that feels science and "relativism," as Mr. Pera states, rule the day and guide the offered medical procedures. It has been said before that just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should.

I feel the constant calling to task is destructive behavior, puts the Church and its leaders clearly on the defensive and does nothing to solve the issue and the greater problem in society. To be successful, we should work together to heal the hurt and not be at each other's throats. This is an issue of societal concern that both the secular and religious world can work in harmony to bring about a greater good for all. The Church has come light years in the last few years in its attention to scrutiny but the press ignores what the Church has done because they know there would be a very different view, a less salacious story. Instead, it continues to pound away. Recently, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona said basically, "They (the press) aren't listening to anything I say." I would imagine other Bishop's feel the same.

My own opinion is that this is an effort on the part of the secular press, enough of them to make things more and more difficult and others who have a personal grind against the Church, not to reform the Church but to reshape the Church. The goal is not to bring to a final resolution this grave issue but to remove leadership that is holding back a call for a more progressive, liberal, "up-with-the times" Church. The effort is far deeper than just moving furniture around the sanctuary, turning the altar to face the people, or replacing the universal use of the Latin language with the local vernacular. Yes, the guilty must take responsibility but the hostile mud slung towards the Church is totally out of line and does nothing to heal the wounds. It just fuels the fire of anger and resentment.

The goal is to reshape the Catholic Church to appear more like some other Christian denominations that tend to look the other way on matters of sexuality, marriage and divorce, artificial birth control, an exclusively male and celibate clergy, the perception of power in the hands of a few, more inclusive teachings on the status of same sex couples, and the call to place leadership fully in the hands of the non-ordained - increased democratization of the Church.

I have always since the day I was ordained seen myself as a priest of the Second Vatican Council. I love Mass in the vernacular. I love the collaborative approach to ministry and the involvement of women as much as men in the Church. I treasure the collective wisdom of Pastoral Councils, Administrative Councils, Catholic schools, and lay involvement. Although Latin is a treasured part of our liturgical and theological language, it is a language of scholars and theologians. It does have a place in our sacred worship but should not be the norm. Latin for the sake of Latin? I believe we have come to see that as much as Latin is a sacred language, so too is English, French, Spanish, German, etc. Personally, I feel that song is more beautiful sung in French or Italian than in Latin. Italian - a beautiful language with a cadance that sounds like you're singing when your talking.

But, the Church is not created century by century. The ties with our past, the consistency of teaching and practice, our long 20 centuries of history cannot be brushed aside with a "that was then, this is now" attitude. We are forever linked to our past. We speak, as Blessed Pope John XXIII stated, (paraphrase) to a modern world while respecting our ancient past. We repackage revelation in words that can be understood to humankind today. It is never clear and clean. What can be reformed and what cannot is a constant call to reflection and prayer.

So, there you have it. Hopefully, you've been patient enough to read through this longer than usual blog posting. I offer this for you, the reader, to share with others. This is, I feel, what we should be saying as we live the daily give and take of life and blend our faith in the risen Lord with courage and truth.

The blessing of Christ alive be with you.