c. 1997 Religion News Service
LOS ANGELES _ What is and what is not endorsed by a huge Catholic archdiocese provides insight into the dynamics of U.S. Roman Catholic life and the diversity _ traditional and liberal, obedient and dissenting _ at the center and margins of the church.
Four recent meetings in the Los Angeles area _ two officially approved and two officially shunned _ underscore the breadth of Catholicism in this sprawling archdiocese of 3.7 million Catholics.
One of two approved events, one pulled in thousands of charismatic Catholics who spoke in tongues; the other gathered a few hundred for a conference on gays and lesbians.
Two more conferences, anchored respectively in the church’s conservative and liberal wings _ the American Catholic Family Conference and a West Coast conference of Call to Action, respectively _ were shunned by the bishops and archdiocesan staff.
Over the long Labor Day weekend, the 26th annual Catholic Renewal Convention attracted some 12,000 charismatics to the Anaheim Convention Center. Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala presided over the closing Mass.
Not far away, the fourth annual conference of the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries was held Sept. 4-7. About 175 people attended, many working in approved diocesan and parish-based ministries that reach out to Catholic homosexuals. Cardinal Roger Mahony presided over a Saturday night vigil Mass, attracting more than 300 people.
Both conferences emphasized elements of life at the edge of the faith _ speaking in tongues and homosexuality _ while underscoring a pressing problem for for the church: how to make church teaching on potentially disruptive issues accessible and inclusive while maintaining the integrity of that teaching.
Among those attending Mahony’s Mass for gays, for example, were dozens of members of Dignity, a Catholic homosexual support group banned from participating in church activities in many dioceses _ including Los Angeles.
But the association hosting the Mass makes a point of upholding church doctrine teaching against homosexual sexual activity. Many bishops _ including Mahony _ like its approach because it eschews a stern, love-the-sinner/hate-the-sin condemnation of non-married sex and instead favors compassionate dialogue about living with temptation and Jesus’ call for unconditional love.”We must be careful not to be more demanding on gay and lesbian Catholics than we are on the rest of Jesus’ disciples in the church,”Mahony said during his homily.
Charismatics have historically also been a source of tension within the church.
Nevertheless, the movement has gained recognition within the church, though sore points remain, such as Catholics being swayed by evangelical Protestants.”I think we’re losing them (Catholic charismatics) to the smaller, individually based ministry of a small, evangelical church,”said the Rev. Jerry Thompson, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Simi Valley.
He said Catholics are”not able to articulate a Catholic understanding of Scriptures and are pulled away by non-Catholic, Christian evangelicals that know Scripture but don’t know tradition.” Unlike these two conferences, the archdiocese refused to give its stamp of approval to two other gatherings _ one with ultra-conservative Catholics singing in Latin, the other with liberal Catholics pushing for continued implementation of Vatican II.
About 4,500 Catholics attended the National Catholic Family Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center, an annual event showcasing Scott Hahn, an ex-Protestant minister and Catholic convert who teaches theology at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.
The archdiocese did not endorse Hahn’s conference, which attracted folks who prefer home schooling to the parish schools they dismiss as too modern. And many Catholic leaders are wary of Hahn and others of the ultra-conservative wing, both for their Protestant-bashing and”neo-fundamentalism.” The Rev. Thomas Rausch, a Jesuit theologian at Los Angeles’ Loyola Marymount University, said Hahn and his wife, also a Protestant-turned-Catholic and a speaker at the conference,”are for the most part Protestant evangelicals who have become Catholic evangelicals. “People are concerned about their narrowness and their giving simple answers to complex questions. That will not help Catholics face the issues the church faces. We cannot dialogue with modernity by retreating into a neo-fundamentalist fortress.” Shortly after the conservative conference, about 300 people gathered at the non-Catholic Claremont McKenna College for the first West Coast conference of Call To Action, the Chicago based left-of-center group of aging liberals clinging to Vatican II.”Young people _ they’ve moved on,”said Jean Conley, 57, a devotee of”creation spirituality,”a movement that combines environmental concerns with religion.”These people don’t want to move on.” Church leaders are distancing themselves from Call to Action in part because it has endorsed the We Are Church referendum, a reform drive launched in Europe two years ago calling for women’s ordination, the acceptance of married priests and greater lay control over the church.
Together, the four conferences paint a church filled with”cafeteria Catholics,”choosing the parts of church life _ official or unofficial _ that are most congenial to their personal faith.
One conference attender, Mike Grabarsky, a 32-year-old gay accountant and parish liturgist, relishes the”cafeteria Catholic”mentality.”There’s just this goodness that makes you want to remain Catholic, no matter what,”he said.
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