Tradition, Honesty, & Reconciliation

A Response to Jimmy Swaggert Ministries, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Swaggert vs. Catholic Tradition

You are correct that a Christian who elects to remain in an environment of error will threaten his spiritual growth (p. 10). However, I believe that you take too much for granted in your own theological presuppositions and tradition. Yes, that word "tradition" also applies to your camp. The thought which is your Protestant inheritance, your manner of worship, the wisdom of past religious leaders, and even your own work are becoming the tradition out of which you and your members work. The Catholic Church would argue that the same community which composed and agreed upon the books now called the bible (though divinely inspired) from both oral and written sources, still continues to be lead by the Spirit of God twenty centuries later. The traditions we cling to find their life in the Scriptures.

Open and Honest

The supposition that Catholics are so closed-minded that they would conclude that the Church is impeccable is false (p. 13). We believe no such thing. The essentials of faith are vigilantly guarded; however, the Church does indeed grow and struggle in human history. The Church which is holy as the Mystical Body of Christ; is also sinful to the extent that men and women are still pilgrims who have not reached the promised shore. We make mistakes. We learn from our follies. We move forward. But, we judge critically and honestly the views of others. Perhaps, before you would criticize the communities of others, you would look much closer to home?

I accept gratefully your statement that you love anyone and everyone who loves and follows Jesus (p. 13). Catholics struggle to do the same for both our friends and for those who cast themselves as our enemies.

Were You There?

You state that the Catholic Church views herself as the one which possess a traceable Apostolic succession (p. 15). This is true, with the addendum that we acknowledge the antiquity of the Orthodox Christians, too. Although the Catholic Church will refer to itself as the true church, it officially recognizes the baptisms of other communities as efficacious, meaning that there is some degree of ecclesial reality present there. As for Catholics, were you and yours there when the Lord's Supper was secretly celebrated in homes and in catacombs? Were you and yours there when the empire collapsed and the Church struggled to hold society together? Were you and yours there when Christians fought to save Europe from the heathens? Were you and yours there when the monasteries kept learning alive for the eventual revival of civilization? Were you and yours there when a Saint Francis of Assisi sought out the poor and preached peace? Were you and yours there when a Saint Thomas More chose his fidelity to Christ's Church over any mere human institution? Your thinking betrays a failure to honestly review history and the glories of the Church. Instead, you would more readily review its dark sides. However, if the Church has experienced foibles, so have you. You go on to speak about Peter and the Papacy. Interestingly, in reference to the Orthodox, just briefly mentioned, they are divided from the Catholic Church, not by the question of the reality of the Papacy as the Bishop of Rome and "first among equals"; but by concern over the depth of his authority.

Only God Can Forgive Sins

You remark that the Catholic Church holds that only she can forgive and absolve men's sins, and does so through her priests (p. 15). Again, while touching the truth, this is not an entirely precise statement either. Only Christ can forgive sins! This is one of the reasons why the Jewish elders plotted against Jesus, because he claimed such authority. Their words of condemnation, that only God can forgive sin would become the words of affirmation in the counciliar debates declaring him both human and divine in nature. This is the true faith of the evangelists and the early Church.

Reconciliation

As for the sacrament or mystery of reconciliation today, it is essentially a recognition that sin which afflicts us, both as individuals and communities, needs to be reconciled on both of these levels as well. Sin and its consequences touch us all. When we are not everything that we should be, our witness and solidarity to others is distorted and broken. In the tragedy of scandal in your own life, you surely realize this fact. In response, you humbly asked God's pardon and the forgiveness of your family and friends. After all, as a man of God, more is expected of you. Coincidentally, in the early days of the Church, this mystery of Christ's forgiveness was also sometimes celebrated in a public fashion, although the more scandalous sins were usually told in privacy to the priest. He would support the penitent in offering his life once again to the Lord.