Signs of the Times: Constituencies at Peril

“...there are three key constituencies that the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is in grave danger of losing. The loss of any one would be serious and the loss of all three would be catastrophic.”

At the present time, there are three constituencies within the Roman Catholic Church in the United States that are at peril. They are, (1) the  women, (2) the young people, and (3) the Hispanics.

The women, long the strongest figures in the religious population, are giving voice to ancient complaints of having their persons and interests ignored by the male leaders of the Church and siding with the general goals of  the movement for the equality of women with men. They are doing so chiefly by turning their interests to other institutions and other endeavors.

Women presently constitute over 80% of the Church’s fulltime and paid working staff at the parish and diocesan levels. Yet, these are older women for the most part, and members of the pre-Vatican II and Vatican II generations that are loyal to the Church’s key doctrines and the Church institution. Younger Catholics, members of the post-Vatican II generation and the millennial generation, share commitment to the Church’s key doctrines, but not to the Church institution. And, the younger they are the more they are not following the same religious practices as their older co-religionists nor do they grant the Church institution the same serious role as that granted by their older compatriots.

At the same time, we live during an historical era of major consequences. The age-old era of male domination is rapidly coming to an end. There is no telling what the consequences of the fuller equality of women with men will be, but there is no question that they will be huge in all parts of society, including the Church.

The Vatican is presently on the wrong side of history with reference to this issue.  It is imperative that the Vatican recognize the contemporary direction of history and change its stance. The Church institution needs women, especially younger women, more than women need the Church.

The Roman Catholic Church in the United States is proving to be of no attraction to young people. Yet, the Catholic version of the Christian faith is. Is the impasse entirely the fault of young people? Are they letting their idealism and immaturity rule? We do not believe so.

Fault can be found on both sides. The leaders of the institution are sadly deficient in key areas. And the immaturity of young people plays its part. The leaders of the institution are all male, older,  and generally inflexible -- unwilling to share their leadership role with women, young people, and the laity in general. That must change, for the good of the institution.

As for the younger people themselves. There is ample reason to agree with them in their distrust of church leaders and other leaders. However, that does negate the need for these institutions. Young people must be persuaded of this need. It is truly part of the maturing process. As long as institutions are led by imperfect people they will continue to be imperfect. The trick is to see them for exactly what they are and to make them as little imperfect as possible, and that is a task young  people must assume for their own sake and for that of future generations.

It is the task of the Church, moreover, to reach out to young people and convince them of the worth of the institution. It is a question, in the final analysis of salesmanship, and the Church is the one selling. The Church, it must be stated again, is its  people, all of them. Therefore, it is the responsibility of both the clergy and the laity. That, coupled with a growing maturity in thought and action of the young people, offers the possiblity of a solution. We know of no other.

The situation with reference to the Hispanics is more complex. There is the long history of the attractiveness of the Spanish culture and its terrible record with reference to human rights. Both are real and must be taken into account.

The Roman Catholic Church in the United States is now facing a new problem, that of integrating a culture vastly different from the prevailing culture. Prior to this time, the Church had the easier task of integrating a culture that was relatively inferior and much different from the prevailing one. The American Church did so, with comparative ease, the power of the prevailing culture being
overwhelming. In the present case, the prevailing culture will again prevail, but not so totally as in the  past. Parts of the culture of the Hispanics will last, in the sense of being integrated into the prevailing American culture. How the prevailing culture and the American Church will handle this remains an open question.

The Roman Catholic Church in the United States was among the principal groups backing the Vatican II’s endorsement of the universal declaration on human rights. It set the direction for the universal Church for years to come, making the universal Church rank among the foremost champions of human rights. This accomplishment is a great act of denial of the human rights record of the Hispanic culture, and is bound to have a large and beneficial effect on that culture.

Nevertheless, it will take a number of years to undo the harm wrought on Hispanics and the Hispanic culture by American citizens. The Catholic Church in the United States can rank among the leaders in that effort, if it will. A great deal of the future relationship between the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and Hispanics depends upon that effort.

Therefore, there are three key constituencies that the Roman Catholic Church in the United States is in grave danger of losing. The loss of any one would  be serious and the loss of all three would be catastrophic. That, coupled with the present loss of leadership on the part of American bishops, makes the situation truly grave. The chances for a successful resolution of this problem are not good.