Whose Church Is It?
2021년 7월 18일Whose Church Is It?
<Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time >
There’s no denying the Church has hit upon some rough times: sex abuse scandals, very political priests telling people how to vote, bishops publicly disobeying the Holy Father or quarreling openly among themselves, and many churches closing permanently because of a shortage of priests or an aging and dwindling congregation. The Covid-19 pandemic certainly didn’t help. At times like these it’s only natural to get discouraged about the future of the Church. But that’s only because you don’t know the history of the Church. We’ve survived far worse than this. There was a time when we had three popes; Attila the Hun threatened to invade Rome; and the Protestant Reformation divided Christianity into warring factions. Yet we’re still here.
There was an incident some 250 years ago that puts everything into perspective. Napoleon Bonaparte was conquering Europe and even attacked the Papal States, taking Pope Pius VI hostage and bringing him to France, where the Pope died. His successor, Pope Pius VII, took that name first to show the emperor the Church is larger than the pope, and even more so, an earthly emperor. Pius VII dispatched the Vatican Secretary of State, one Cardinal Deacon Ercole Consalvi, to France to negotiate with Napoleon about papal authority and religious freedom in France. The emperor was not amused. Shaking his finger in the Cardinal’s face, Napoleon yelled, “I will destroy the Church!” Unimpressed, Consalvi answered, “Good luck with that. Cardinals have tried to destroy the Church for 1900 years. What makes you think you’ll succeed?” The Cardinal knew something Napoleon did not. The Church doesn’t belong to Napoleon, or to the Cardinals, or to the Pope, nor even to the people. The Church belongs to God. It’s God’s Church. The Holy Spirit continues to direct, protect and lead the Church. And now, 200 years later, Napoleon is gone, but the Church remains. No matter how bad things appear, have faith God will stay with us and get us through each crises and challenge.