18 January 2024
Some of you have commented about the internal disputes within the Catholic Church. I think it matters. The reason it matters is that the Catholic Church as an institution remains a very influential political actor.
In terms of social science analysis, the Catholic people and their priorities are one thing. There are way too many Catholics who don't take their church teaching very seriously, and this affects the calculus of Catholics as a political presence. It doesn't amount to much right now. The institution of the Church is another thing. It's fair to say that the institution's political influence is not really a matter of how they influence their membership's presence in this world, but of how the Church has established itself in global political influence as an institution.
There has been a grassroots effort to restore the influence of the Church in the lives of its membership. Strong leaders have arisen in a fresh wave to call for the members to take their religion seriously. The people doing this are generally the same people deeply involved in resisting the current political drift of the Pope and the some portion of the institutional leadership. The grassroots seem to be willing to accept a reduction in political influence in favor of having a strong religious identity.
Personally, I find it quite likely that this movement will precipitate a sort of institutional decapitation. From someone on the outside, it appears the institutional leadership has gone rogue, and may find themselves without an actual body of people, which would greatly reduce their political influence. Their influence is ostensibly based on just how many millions they claim as their constituency. For the time being, it looks to me like the leadership is just too insular against moral pressure, and the institution cannot be restored to a high moral standing. Though I have no real interest in the outcome, I'd say the people would be better off officially breaking from a corrupt leadership structure.
This would not be an easy move. Then again, it certainly parallels the broad general disaffection with political leadership everywhere. Peel away the propaganda about how noble this resistance may be in the minds of some and you'll see that this is a pattern everywhere, particularly in the West, yet a move of resistance that is not echoed in places like Russia and China. It's not as if there is no resistance at all in those places, but that the resistance in the West is organic and will soon overwhelm the remote political elite. That same pattern is visible in the Catholic Church.
Frankly, I am very interested in seeing how the Catholic resistance plays out. I'll be watching to see what kind of religious revival manifests among Catholics.
As a side note, I've heard from a few Catholics who somehow imagine I would be a good fit in their church. That's hilarious; they don't know me. I'd be more disruptive than Martin Luther was for the simple reason my convictions are even farther away from the core beliefs. That business of, "Here I stand; I can do no other" would encompass a far larger and more fundamental dissent than Luther's. Depending on how you look at it, the Reformation was not such a drastic departure from Catholicism as is alleged.
Working as I do from the outside, I have no interest in attacking the Catholic religion as a whole. I treat it as more of a political identity than a matter of faith. By the same token, I recognize the powerful faith of some Catholics. I've even gone so far as to work in a Catholic high school in the past, so I have a good idea of what it's like to deal with Catholics up close and personal. I once volunteered to cook meals for a nun's retreat; they were so much fun to work with. I'm not an enemy. Catholics can make good allies, better than most of Big Eva. Catholics have a long tradition of working very well with outsiders. They keep track of differences and are gracious about it when the differences aren't critical to the mission at hand.
I'd say keep an eye on this struggle. It will affect the political landscape and what we have to deal with.
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