Looking for a Ship

Why do church leaders make decisions so difficult for the traditional, conservative Christian seeking a home? As Pope Francis noted,

The Church is certainly a human and historical institution with all that it entails, yet her nature is not essentially political but spiritual: the Church is the People of God, the Holy People of God making its way to encounter Jesus Christ. Only from this perspective can a satisfactory account be given of the Church’s life and activity.

That’s “spot on” as the British folk are wont to say.  But then, on the very same day, we hear from Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference, and Bishop Richard Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace, commended President Barack Obama for his leadership on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and Israeli-Palestinian peace.   That would be a “drop trousers” approach to disarmament and decidedly one-sided approach to the Middle East question.

Of course, this would be the very same Cardinal Timothy Dolan who, whilst visiting a  mosque in New York City last weekend, gushed, “I thank God that this day has arrived.” This Catholic Christian leader went on to say of the Muslim and Roman Catholic faiths, “You love God, we love God and he is the same God.” The good cardinal must have missed that comparative religions class on the Qur’an.  After all,  “Who says ‘Allah has begotten a Son’? … Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth; how can He have a son when He has no consort.” Qur’an 2:116, Or how about,

Never has God begotten a son, nor is there any other god besides Him. Were this otherwise, each god would govern his own creation, each holding himself above the other. Exalted be God above their falsehoods! —Qur’an 23:91

Either Jesus is the only begotten Son, and is Lord, or he is not.  There simply is no middle ground on this.

Cardinal Dolan, not merely content to ignore simple reality, went on to invent his own, extolling Islam’s “love of freedom — religious freedom particularly– your defense of life, your desire for harmony and unity and your care for others…” These would be the same folks who believe that apostates should be executed.

They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore take not to yourselves friends of them, until they emigrate in the way of God; then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them wherever you find them; take not to yourselves any one of them as friend or helper. Qur’an 4:89

Not to pile on, but other verses that seem to support the many Hadith demanding death for apostates are Qur’an verses 2:217, 9:73-74, 88:21, 5:54, and 9:66.

This would be the same “care for others” that gives us stonings, acid attacks, mutilation and, of course, the ever popular beheadings.

Of course, this would be the same prelate who approved $20k payments to suspected pedophile priests to leave the ministry when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee.  Of course, this might be the “similar family values” he had in mind during love-fest with Muslim clergy last week.

Indeed, ‘[t]he Church is certainly a human and historical institution with all that it entails.”  But, when we witness this sort of thing, she sure appears essentially political rather than spiritual.