What to do with the old Temple Altar - How the Maccabees handled back when.

 

    A goodly number of people whom I esteem highly seem to have gotten themselves embroiled in a rather heated controversy that has degenerated, on both sides or perhaps better on the various sides of an argument notably but not exclusively ecclesiological, into some very earnest name calling and speculation about crimes of heresy, maybe apostasy, and schism. Somewhere near the center or to its right we find defenders of Benedict XVI's hermeneutic of continuity, as the measured means for getting the barque of Peter back on an even keel or of calming the seas, if you prefer that metaphor.

    Seeing how things are going, I am seriously convinced that the argument results in good part from a false start, namely that of trying to judge or justify the II Vatican Council. Ecumenical councils do not need to be judged, nor for that matter does a proper tribunal of historians or clerics exist for doing such. In the long run, the tradition will identify as always the anchor points which each council in history has contributed to fostering a greater fullness and faithfulness to the truth. 

    That said, I must admit I find it progressively harder to cling to the hermeneutic of continuity as the key for resolving points of conflict, sorting out ambiguity and pointing the way forward in the Church. I do not deny the crucial importance of the hermeneutical dimension of the discussion; it is just that the scandal provoked by the prevailing uncertainty in the Church at most levels of authority, in the midst of this prevailing ambiguity in questions related to the whole spectrum of matters touching on the nature and identity of the Church, has the upper hand or controls the high ground. This tragedy is playing itself out in a neighboring country where one enormity after another is being trotted out, even by bishops and a cardinal, as if there were a civil way to discuss for an umpteenth time not only resolved questions about the nature of ministerial priesthood and human nature and sexuality...

    What would be my alternative to hermeneutics? Let us just say that I am more inclined to take certain questions from the table and to want to aggressively level the playing field, thus enabling genuine Catholic discourse, and then proceed with  utmost caution to build anew, as did the Maccabees when restoring the Temple in Jerusalem by setting aside the stones of the old altar, which had been desecrated through idolatry, and then building with new stones as the tradition would have it. Trying to describe somebody's hermeneutic stance vis-à-vis a problem seems to concede the discussion of non-negotiables, while jettisoning the possibility of humbly setting some issues aside for another day, or as the Maccabees so wisely decided until a prophet should come:

    "They deliberated what to do about the altar of burnt offering, which had been profaned. And they thought it best to tear it down, so that it would not be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar, and stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until a prophet should come to tell what to do with them. Then they took unhewn stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the former one." (1 Maccabees 4: 44-47. Harper Bibles. NRSV Catholic Edition Bible (p. 422). Harper Collins. Kindle Edition.) 

    Catholic World Report has done us the service of publishing a two-part article by Dr. Douglas Farrow here and here. It bears the title: "Dethroning Christ? The error at the root of the Viganò controversy". Dr. Farrow's commentary has much merit, even if some may react a bit bent-nosed at his albeit respectful dismissal (in part or in whole) of the positions defended by the protagonists on both sides of the controversy. I, the least of the brethren, will take nothing away from Dr. Farrow, especially not from his analysis in Part I of the article, but wish nonetheless to differ with him and that almost fundamentally.

    In lots of ways, arguing about the significance of the symbolic act of Pope Paul VI taking off his tiara and depositing it on the altar, then of reassigning the feast of Christ the King to the last Sunday of the Church Year and, may I add, of John Paul I refusing a coronation ceremony is not the ultimate concern or measure of whether or to what extent some kind of departure from or rupture with the traditions and teachings of the Church of all times has not taken place. The old Papal Noble Guard and the ostrich plume fans which accompanied the Pope seated on his sedia gestatoria probably needed to go for optical reasons. They were not sacramental or even close. Where the triregnum fits in that debate should be open to cool-headed discussion as well.

    Nonetheless, the logic with which (always and everywhere) people of a conservative bent hold defenders of the tradition to a much more demanding standard than they apply to people who do as they please with the Church's sacramental discipline and moral teaching, well, it is beyond me. It bespeaks a double standard and an intolerance not justified by their attachment to the II Vatican Council and its implementation over the past decades. My point would be that in reacting to protagonists of the tradition so-called conservatives could be said to be guilty of overkill. Why do these very same, supposedly faithful Catholics, seem ready to give all manner of error on the left a pass? Why, for instance, are so few up in arms about what is going on in Germany with all of the hoopla around the much touted synodal way? 

    An interview with Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (here), published by Catholic Family News, merits the attention of those truly serious about properly framing the issue or issues at stake. I say that, not because I support those who would haul the II Vatican Council into court, but because some fundamental or existential issues of unfaithfulness to Church teaching as it comes to us from the Apostles must be addressed.  

    If those wise old warriors, the Maccabees, were around today in the Church, I am convinced they would help us to shelve much and to get back to the business of giving the Lord of Glory His due. That is the way I pray. I don't know if it is necessarily a Veni, Sancte Spiritus! It could be more a Come, Lord, defend Your Cause!

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI