A Tricky Question

The other night on Twitter, an intelligent and benign atheist was commenting on how the image of the Catholic Church which came across in the social (and I suspect other) media was predominantly concerned with right to life issues (where we take a stance with which she disagrees). What she had not seen anywhere online was Catholics’ commitment to social justice.

I recognise what she describes, and think there are various reasons for it. 

Partly, of course, it depends what one means by social justice. If one means a left-wing agit-prop, then clearly that is something I have no time for.  I do not believe in political solutions to spiritual problems, in the salvation of souls through socialism (or capitalism, come to that).

However, if one means a concern to feed the hungry, comfort the sick, and visit the imprisoned, then that is certainly at the heart of practical Catholicism.

It is also at the heart of most parishes I have ever had anything to do with.  At home, the Society of St Vincent de Paul, for example, organises these corporal works of mercy; worldwide, the Catholic Church is a major provider of famine relief, development, healthcare, and education.

So why don’t we blog and tweet about this stuff?

As I said, I think there are various reasons. One is that we are under orders not to boast of our charity: not to let our left hand know what our right is doing (Matt 6:3).

Another is that it isn’t newsworthy - just as saying that all planes landed safely at Heathrow today isn’t newsworthy.  It is just part of normality. Of course we share with those less fortunate than ourselves: it is part of who we are as a community.

When people say the Church only ever talks about sex, they clearly don't go to Mass.  I rarely, if ever, hear sexual morality preached about. I frequently hear sermons on the need to feed the poor, house the homeless, comfort the sick and so on.

But when a priest or bishop says such a thing, the media, understandably, ignore it. It is not news. 'Bishop says we should feed the poor! Shock Horror!' won't sell many papers.  It is only when they are counter-cultural that they are all over the news.

Also, so much is done on a very local and intimate scale: it is almost private. Anna and a friend, for example, run the local Life Baby Store.  They collect unwanted baby kit (prams, buggies, highchairs, cots and so on that have been outgrown) and distribute them to new mothers who need them. It’s not a big, glamorous, or spectacular operation; they just get on with it, and local mothers are grateful.  And occasionally they are asked why they are doing it by a curious mum, and they explain it’s about solidarity and supporting mums under pressure.

Likewise, the local SVP organises visits to the housebound and those in homes and hospitals.  Again, it’s not a big, glamorous, or spectacular operation; they just get on with it, and people are grateful.

Similarly, the parish has a box at the back of Church to collect imperishable food.  We liaise with the Salvation Army, and it is distributed by them to hungry people. Yet again, it’s not a big, glamorous, or spectacular operation; they just get on with it, and people are grateful.

And I suspect that is typical of nearly every parish in the country.  Quiet and nearly invisible - and unsung.

Which is probably as it should be; except the risk is that people who don’t see that side of the life of the Church are getting a distorted view; not just because of people like me, blogging about the difficult bits, but also because the media, naturally enough, pick up on any bad news relating to the Church; and also because many lapsed Catholics seem to need to attack the Church in their comedy shows, novels, plays, soap operas and so on, as a way of processing their own issues.

The result of all that is that people may have a completely distorted understanding of the Church, which may impede them hearing the Good News, and make it harder for them to recognise, in the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.  We risk hiding our light under a bushel...

So how do we correct that?  How do we get the other side of the Church, the active works of mercy that are such a living and positive feature of her, across to people - without boasting?Any source