I have never served on a jury but its premise is simple. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That certainly isn’t a flawless method. Statistically, for example, one out of every ten men on death row in this country is innocent. Recently a southern state reversed the verdict against a teenager it had wrongly executed when evidence emerged proving his innocence.
Years ago, I saw the movie, 12 Angry Men. Early in their deliberations, eleven jurors were convinced that the accused was guilty but the twelfth juror found him innocent. The angerthat ensued as these jurors argued with him was fierce but eventually the eleven sided with that stoic juror and agreed that the accused was innocent.
The initial conduct of those eleven jurors raises a relevant question. How often do we jump to conclusions and pass judgment on someone without knowing all the facts? Sadly, the gossip mill is always kept busy spreading misinformation and false perceptions, prompting us to render judgments that may not send a person to death row but could damage a person’s reputation beyond repair.
Because of my hearing loss, I am always touched by this gospel passage, the only miracle of Jesus healing a deaf man. But, since the lesson of any gospel is universal, for those of us who are not deaf, what is Jesus getting at here?
Think back to what he said to the deaf man after putting his fingers into that man’s ears. He groaned, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” Yes, Be open to hearing the whole story before passing judgment is a timely lesson for us to heed any time, certainly in the midst of this crisis that has many people convinced that most bishops are not holding themselves accountable.
In his letter, St. James raises another relevant question after describing how an assembly treated two men differently, one rich and the other poor, thus failing to be impartial. “Have you,” he asked, “not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?”
Ever since the grand jury report indicting six bishops for not responsibly handling the sexual abuse of minors in their dioceses, the rumor mill has been working overtime. In addition, a former papal nuncio is urging the Pope to resign for failing in his opinion to act appropriately. I haven’t been able to keep up with the volume of articles generated by these scandals. Like many others, I am angry and sad for I had hoped by now that all the bishops in this country were acting responsibly but not so. Yes, many shepherds have failed their flocks, but are we allowing our anger and hurt to suck us into judging them with evil designs?
I imagine every American Catholic is angry and rightly so but the attitude of some to demand the resignation of every bishop along with Pope Francis doesn’t strike me as a solution to this debacle for that would be like passing a guilty verdict on many innocent bishops, including ours. Before rushing to judgment, we need to act like those 12 angry men and discern as much of the story as we can from credible sources, not gossip mills.
All this anger may seem like an un-Christian scourge seeking to tear the church apart, but anger is good and healthy when handled rightly. Jesus was often angry with people in power for mistreating people without power. So, anger was an important part of his ministry. Likewise, anger should be part of the Catholic life with Jesus as our guide.
Much of the current anger is directed at the institutional church but there is more to the Church than that. In 1976, Avery Dulles wrote a still popular book entitled, Models of the Church. In addition to describing the Church as an institution complete with its bishops and the curia, he described the Church as herald, mystical communion, sacrament, and servant. He summarized it all with the expression, “the Church as disciple.”
The disciple church endeavors to follow Jesus today just as his disciples did when he ventured along the Sea of Galilee. So what lesson can he give us? Jesus’ anger is always a righteous anger, never on behalf of himself with evil designs, but in reaction to how he sees others being treated. Even on the cross, he did not get angry with the soldiers who had crucified him, choosing instead to pray for them. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus’ anger is unselfish and constructive, intent on doing something to effect change for the better.
So what can we do? The pain is real but so too is the healing power of love and reconciliation. Listen to your anger and let it move you to act Christ like. The Second Vatican Council said, “by reason of the knowledge, competence or understanding ability which they may enjoy, the laity are permitted and sometimes even obligated to express their opinion on these things which concern the good of the Church.” So, listen to the Holy Spirit directing you how to act. Perhaps you can write to Archbishop Sartain, or the current papal nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, or Cardinal DiNardo, who heads the USCCB. But if you do, do so without any “evil design” or malice. Above all, pray that our Church will weather these storms just as it has done in the past with Christ at the helm leading the way.