The Nature of Modern Heresy...and a little bit of Catholic Memes

By way of introduction, the days of burning heretics at the stake are far behind us. Never was that particular punishment morally right, nor was it condoned by the Catholic Church. Heresy- wrong teaching- has been around as long as there has been orthodoxy- right teaching. The way of fighting heresy is not with a sword held in the hand, but with the sword held in the mouth. The pen, mightier than the sword, will not only defeat the heresy, but also serve to convert the heretic. With that, onward.

Image by: Catholic Memes

 All heresy, that is, all false teaching, is at its heart, a misunderstanding of the truth, perhaps fueled by a single definition gone awry, or a phrase lost in translation. Modern heresies are no different. However, in my experience, modern heresies are all the more prevalent, all the more invasive, all the more insidious because the availability of information today has transformed the heretic from a well-meaning, well-educated, intentional heretic who actually conceives himself as apart from the visible Catholic Church, to an ignorant, perhaps unintentional heretic who thinks that he is well educated, and who may not believe himself to be apart from the visible Catholic Church. In short, what we see today that harms the Catholic Church the most is that- because of ignorance- some of the most obstinate heretics are found in the pews, even regularly so, and are often actively involved in parish life, multiplying heresy by teaching what they have misunderstood.

Fulton Sheen once said that there probably less than 100 people in the USA that hate the Catholic Church for what She really is. The rest of them hate the Church for what they think She is, and there is a huge difference. It is an excellent quote to illustrate that the enemies of the Church are probably not enemies but for their misunderstanding. But quiver at this thought: what if some of the friends of the Church are only friends of the Church because they like what they misunderstand the Church to be? Scary thought indeed.

It rings true, though. How many people only conceive of Jesus as a kind, gentle little lamb of a man who spoke only of love and kindness, and who probably- had he lived today- would have worn a tie-dye shirt and smoked weed? It would certainly seem this way, at least based on some of the songs we sing at Mass. I mean, who actually thinks that "Peace is Flowing Like a River", or "Spirit and Grace" are appropriate hymns to sing at Mass? I'm not going to knock the songs themselves, because they may be good songs, but I do not think that it really reveals the nature of what is happening to the fullest extent.
How many people after that think that it is morally OK to support abortion or contraception and still call yourself a Catholic? Perhaps, "Catholics for Choice"? They are out there. And howabout being Catholic and supporting gay marriage? I actually ran into a group called "Catholics for Marriage Equality" at World Youth Day. That's World Youth Day. I'm surprised at their courage. Moreover, how many people do not go to Confession the minimum of once a year, as the Church has prescribed, because they "have not killed anyone or anything"? How many people conceive of themselves as "good Catholics" despite all of the above?
In short, how many people think that they can take the roses without the war?

Image also courtesy of Catholic Memes

My point is this: all sin demands culpability, including heresy. And while those who sin are held completely accountable for their choice to sin, those who tempt or lead that person into sin must also be held accountable on their own part. I think it was Hans von Balthesar that put it this way: Scandalizing someone (leading them to sin in some way) is like spiritual murder...but allowing yourself to be scandalized is like spiritual suicide. In the same way, the large amount of lukewarm or 'cafeteria' Catholics- the most harmful heretics of our time, or so it seems- are ignorant due to two things: their own choice to be ignorant, and because the rest of us bad Catholics are terrible at teaching them better.

Pope Francis was quite insistent at World Youth Day that we go out and make disciples of all nations, as was the theme. We were to go out and "make a mess". Perhaps we simply need to make an effort- and in making an effort, make a mess- of teaching. It's not all that hard to read the Catechism. It's not all that hard to learn about a Faith that makes complete sense. And while I am not in the particular position to challenge or to make demands, I strongly encourage you, the reader, to look closer at this faith of ours, even if you are not Catholic, but especially if you are.

I really do like Catholic Memes...