Human or Divine Control?

It is with great joy that this columnist received word last week that a bill in the Connecticut legislature which sought to reorganize the structure of the Church was officially killed for this legislative session. It was quite moving to see thousands of people – Catholics and non-Catholics alike – arise in protest against this unconstitutional attempt to wrest control of the Church from her ministers.

What many do not seem to know about this situation is that this bill was introduced by a Catholic. It was criticized and withdrawn on constitutional grounds by both the legislature and the Governor of Connecticut, and for this they are to be praised. In addition, the Catholic hierarchy of Connecticut attacked this proposed legislation on constitutional grounds as well. Perhaps being in the heat of battle prevented them from seeing that this bill did not seek simply to reorganize the Church; it denied outright the claims which the Church makes about her very core. What needs examination is how this matter could have been possible in the first place, theologically speaking.

Human society is fundamentally a work of Divine Providence, and the Church, which is both a human and a divine society, is guided in a special way by the Holy Spirit. This does not prevent sinners and idiots from occasionally manning the helm of the ship of the Church – Judas was a bishop, too. Any attempt to reorganize the Church along human lines would only result in her no longer being “Church,” and she would certainly die a quick death. This bill denies the promise of the Holy Spirit in the Church and repeats the acts of our race at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). It also denies God’s ability to guide the Church which He founded.

This legislation would also have put an end to the Marian dimension of the Church. Early theologians gave titles to the Church which we would eventually give to Mary – Virgin Mother, Mother Church, Church Immaculate, Church Assumed. Just as Mary was, the Church is first and foremost a mother – she brings her children to life through baptism, she gives them in marriage, and sends them home to God with her funeral rites. Just as Mary did, the Church receives everything she has from God and is the good soil where God’s word can bear fruit. This bill would not have prevented the Church from acting as a mother, but it would have kept her from being a mother. In effect, this bill would have the Church watch over us as orphans, not as children. Whether we are actual orphans or not, our dignity lies in our being children of God, and this is only done through the maternal care of the Church.

It is good to see this bill dead, for it sought to see unto death two of the most important aspects of the Catholic Church, namely, the role of the Holy Spirit and the Marian dimension of the Church. We need to have a greater understanding of these dimensions ourselves if something like this is to be prevented in the future. This is not the first time that this sort of things has been tried, nor will it be the last. We can prevent it from being successful, though, by learning about the true nature of the Church ourselves and spreading that to our family and friends.

Rev. Mr. Ryan Hilderbrand is a contributor for Columna Veritatis. He can be contacted at ryanpaulhilderbrand@gmail.com.