As a Catholic I was stunned when after Holy Communion the Pastor announced how there wouldn''t be (but would be) a Second Collection for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development last Sunday, November 22.
After offering a cursory, confusing explanation of the CCHD controversy, Father stated there wasn''t a collection in typical fashion of basket passing but designated baskets were available in the vestibule. If someone wanted to donate to CCHD, the parish office would send a check on contributors'' behalf. After googling for facts, I thanked God I don''t typically give to Second Collections unless it directly supports missionaries or the needy.
Suddenly the phrase "Cafeteria Catholic" took on a new meaning for me. Priorly it was a prayerful act of using my informed conscience and knowledge of God''s Word to make decisions about issues. Conversely, the Church uses it as an insulting characterization for thinking individuals as sinful, anti-lockstep soldiers or other perceived threats of openness in the spirit of Blessed John XXIII. I consider it to a survival tool for staying spiritually sane in a perverse world.
Putting one''s full faith in any human organization meets the criteria for insanity. Jesus our Lord told us the hypocrites, liars, and thieves will always be among and within us so why would anyone trust otherwise?
To pick and choose, not what selfishly serves or fits agendas, in the intelligent, moral manner of sorting the wheat from chaff solutions in complex social ill dilemmas seems vital now more than ever. If we committed Catholics didn''t at least learn this from the evil pedophile scandals, then we are deemed to be lost sheep.
Maybe Bishops should work on fulfilling a degree in WWJD rather than obtaining ad nauseum initials that don''t always amount to knowing, loving and serving God.
Dianne Skripek lives in South Carolina.
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