Forum: Commitment to Jesus Christ or to the Church

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In Christianity, the central and sole authority is Jesus of Nazareth. He did not establish an institution, but a community. Therefore, there was no need to provide for a transfer of leadership from one person to another. He remained the sole authority or leader in the community. In order to do so, it was essential that he remain with the community. That he did, it s believed by his followers, through his resurrection from the dead, and his sending of his Spirit to the community to continue his  leadership.

It was only natural, in the course of human events, that the community should develop an instituional structure. That it did, with a source of leadership in the bishop of Rome, the pope. He is the leader of the institution, but not of the community. That role belongs to Jesus alone. Therefore, the pope is subject to the leadership of Jesus, not vice versa.

That being the case, the church authorities lean heavily on church scholars to determine, to the best degree possible, the position Jesus would have with reference to many contemporary issues that he did not face within his  lifetime on earth. Thus, the relationship between the church’s political leaders, the bishops, and its scholars is of great importance. What are the norms that should govern that relationship?

The relationship between the pope, the head of the institution and the rest of the community is unclear. The popes and their supporters claim the pope is the head of both. Others disagree, pointing chiefly to the role of Jesus within the community. Today, the popes have greater control than ever, although it is not anything approaching total  control. The issue remains unresolved.

The Roman Catholic Church is a world-wide community. It is composed of people who though basically the same and  equal, differ greatly in educational background and in other ways. That compounds the problems of leadership within the community. How does one lead a community whose people are of such widely differing backgrounds. That is an issue, definitely present today, that has not been resolved to the satisfaction of many within the community. Furthermore, it is a problem that is rapidly growing larger, rather than diminishing.

The present pope is Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI. He is best known as one of the church’s top scholars, having spent most of his 80 years in academia, and only briefly in pastoral roles, principally as a bishop and cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI follows the regime of one of the church’s longest-serving and most popular popes, John Paul II. The two men are in basic agreement on many church issues, and fundamentally opposed on a few others. That is not unusual.

Some observers believe their differences are due to their differing personalities, John Paul II being very much an extrovert and Benedict being precisely the opposite. Whatever! On their basic role as popes they are in agreement. But on the direction the church should be taking today, they are in disagreement. Pope John Paul II followed the direction of most recent popes and Vaitican Council II, embracing the world in the spirit of ‘Gaudium et Spes’ of Vatican Council II. Pope Benedict XVI breaks with that direction and takes a much dimmer view of the world outside the Church. The immediate future of the Church depends upon which view prevails.

That last issue also depends, at least in part, upon how long Benedict XVI lives, how much influence he truly wields within the Church, and who follows him. One of the facts that seem ignored by most people, in my view, is that the Roman Catholic Church is a big company with many of the limitations of that genre. In this sense, bishops are middle-management figures, with little practical independence and very little personal initiative. They tend to be company men doing precisely what upper management wants. That says nothing about their individual competency or dedicatioin.

I believe it resolves down to one’s basic commitment. It is either to Jesus Christ and his gospel or to the institutional church. Many people think the two are the same thing.  I see an important distinction here.  It is not an easy distinction, but  it is very real.       

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