A priest's response to division in the Christian community

EDITOR'S NOTE: Originally written by Fr. Joseph Moreno as a letter to the editor of the Iowa Park Journal, this article has been slightly edited for North Texas Catholic readers.

IOWA PARK — The Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen asserted that “There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing.”

In my experience, I have found Abp. Sheen’s statement to be quite accurate. I also agree with his follow-up quip: “As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.”

Recently, a local pastor placed advertisements in our community newspaper disparaging the Catholic Church, its hierarchy, and its beliefs, often stating untruths and fabrications to make his points. Most are along the same tired accusations from the last 500 years that we ‘worship Mary’ or ‘adore statues’ or other such nonsense. I am not writing to engage in a theological debate or to rebut his points of contention. This is not the forum for that activity.

Rather, I wish to point out that when Christians of different faith traditions direct their money, time, energy, and attention to attacking one another, Satan laughs with delight. When Jesus was praying for His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked the Father for unity among His followers: “The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me” (John 17:22-23).

Public detraction and slander of one another’s beliefs does not testify to the truth of the Christian faith to the world. Instead, it serves as public scandal, driving people away from Christ instead of drawing the lost sheep to Him. Again, when the disciples condemned a man casting out demons in Jesus’s name because he was not part of their group, Jesus rebuked them with the reminder “For he that is not against us is for us.” We are not opposed to one another — we serve the same Risen Lord and have the same mission!

Christians of different faith traditions invariably have different beliefs. Otherwise, there would not be 30,000-40,000 different denominations! Are we to lambast them all? Or just a few because they are the usual targets? This is not what Christ wants us to do. We are to work toward the unity He prayed for. This is why we have a Ministerial Alliance in Iowa Park, of which I am a member. Instead of focusing on what divides us, we work together, seeking the common ground where we can do the work of Jesus Christ in building the Kingdom of God.

In closing, I have two suggestions to humbly propose.

First, to anyone who wants to know what the Catholic Church actually teaches and believes, I advise to go to the source, not a paid ad. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a compendium of the teachings and beliefs of the Church, referencing Sacred Scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers, and the various ecumenical councils of the last 19 centuries. It is free online. Or, come see me and we can have coffee while we engage in respectful, honest dialogue. I’ll even buy the coffee.

Second, I invite this pastor to spend his resources on converting the pagan, the atheist, and the occultist, instead of attacking his fellow Christians. We need to be about the mission of the Church…together: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).