Can the teachings of the Church change? Think about it…. can church teachings change? What is the answer to that? Yes or no?
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Well, actually, the answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’. If you think about it, one of the most dramatic changes that we have had in recent history was Vatican II.
Before my time, the priest used to face the back of the altar and say the entire Mass in Latin. I would not be able to do that right now. I do not even know Latin! However, this is a wonderful example of one of the Church teachings that has changed.
What about the idea of one of the big debates right now. Marriage. Can church teachings on marriage change? Yes or no?
Oh, we are not sure about that one.
Well, the reality is, probably not. Marriage has always been about a man and woman coming together in union and bringing forth children. This is a complex issue of the day, and our Church has always had complex issues to deal with since before it was formed. We hear this in ACTS 16. There was a big debate about whether or not people needed to be circumcised to become members of the church and be saved. The Jews, who had always followed the practice of circumcision, were claiming and teaching that the Gentiles, in order for them to be saved, had to be circumcised. It had been a long-standing tradition.
There was debate and dissension. Paul and Barnabas were there at the time. They realized it was a big issue. They realized it was causing divisiveness and division in the early Church. They decided that it was an issue that needed to be talked about, prayed about, and dealt with. So they all came together, gathering in Jerusalem with Peter and all of the Apostles. They began to pray about and discuss it. Finally, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they came to a decision. In unity, they decided the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised in order to be saved.
When they finished, they wrote a letter and sent it back to the community. The letter came from the Apostles and the elders, all the wise figures of the Church. It said to them, “We understand that you have been disturbed. We understand that some of you are upset. We understand that there has been dissension and division. It is our desire to bring peace of mind and heart to you.” They said it is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond the necessities.
And so, circumcision is not necessary to join the faith. However, the letter continued stating that it is necessary to abstain from meat of sacrificed idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing right. The letter ended with “Farewell.”
The amazing thing is two thousand years later, our Church still faces tension. We will always have divisiveness because we are sinful people. We are people that are struggling in redemption with Christ. Right now, over two thousand years later, we have dissension in our Church. There are some people that believe marriage can be changed, and some that believe marriage cannot be changed. We have dissension right now in our country with all of this. There is a great deal of divisiveness.
The Church, in its wisdom, realized that this was something that has caused a great deal of disturbance. For the last two years, they gathered in Synod. Now, the Synod that we heard about in ACTS 16 was the first Synod that there ever was, when they gathered together in Jerusalem.
Now we gather together in Rome. For the last two years, all of the Bishops, along with some of the wise teachers of the Church, and the Holy Father himself, who represents Peter, gather together in Rome. They met for two years to talk about marriage and family. After two years of debating, praying, deliberating, and discussion, the Holy Father finally spent about six months and he wrote a letter. He wrote a letter to be presented to all of the people throughout the entire world. The letter is called Amoris Laetitia, which means “The Joy of Love”.
The letter is 280 pages, and it is a tremendously beautiful letter. I encourage you to read it. It not only gives the Church teachings, but explains the beauty and the goodness of them.
Now, you may have heard some things about this letter. The Pope says at the very beginning, he wrote it with the intention that it would be read carefully. People should take their time reading it. Read it carefully and to read the entire thing.
The difficult thing is some people are pulling out one line from the letter and they are using that and creating even more division in the Church.
First of all, the big question is: Did he change Church teaching? Has anything changed? And the reality is, no. He upheld the Church teachings when it comes to the dignity of life, especially abortion. He upheld the Church teachings on marriage and divorce. He upheld the Church teachings on marriage between a man and a woman. What did change and what is a very drastic change is our approach to it and our attitude towards.
Over and over and over again, he says that we must love one another; that no one is excluded from the Church or kept away; that everyone is supposed to be drawn deeply into the love of the Church. He also, I think, so beautifully has a grasp on the complexities of it. The difficult thing that someone goes through in a divorce. Couples do not want to get divorced. Couples do not go into marriage thinking they are going to be divorced. Then there is the complexity of when they get remarried outside of the Church, or the complexity between families and different children. He realizes all of the complexities and all of the difficulties. He addresses the same thing between a love that two men or two women may have for each other. He says that that is not what marriage is. Marriage is ultimately between a man and a woman. It brings forth life into the world. It is a sacrament that reveals God’s love to us.
Is everybody perfect? No. Not every marriage is perfect. I do not know if there is any perfect marriage. There was one. It was the Holy Family. What Pope Francis says is that none of this excludes someone from the Church. He even says so boldly that a person that is divorced and remarried is not excommunicated from the faith. They are actually members of the faith. We are supposed to bring them in and support them, love them, and allow them to be as much a part of the faith as they want and can be. What changed is the approach. What changed is the disposition that we have towards people in difficult situations. Maybe you are in a difficult situation. Maybe one of your children is in a difficult situation. The reality is that we are called to love. We are called to accept. We are called to continuously invite people into the Church.
We hear about this in the Book of Revelations. REV 21 talks about what the Church will be when it is finally complete. When we finally enjoy eternal life in Heaven. It says, “The angel took me in the spirit on high to the great mountain and showed me the Holy City of Jerusalem. It gleaned with the splendor of God. Its radiance like a precious stone, like jasper, like crystal. Massive, high walls, where twelve gates, where twelve angels were stationed on which the names were inscribed. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel, facing the east and the west, the north and the south.” What is this symbolic of? The twelve Apostles, the twelve that went out to all the Earth to proclaim the good news, and uphold the Church’s teachings, are to also invite everyone into the Church.
Two thousand years later, we still have the Apostles. We still have Peter in the Holy Father. We still have priests. We still have the wonderful teachings of the Church. Can the church teachings change? Well, the reality is, yes and no.
Some church teachings certainly can change. We hear in ACTS 16 not to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols. Thankfully, in America we do not do this too often. We do not have people that are sacrificing meat to idols that we have to eat.
“From meats of strangled animals.” I will never forget, we are kind of anesthetized from this in America. We usually do not see our food directly prepared for us. When I was in Africa, as a seminarian on my first mission trip, they had chicken coops and bunnies there. We were getting ready to go off the one morning, and they were getting ready for dinner. They said, “What do you want for dinner tonight?” They gave us these options. They said, “Do you want chicken or rabbit.” I jokingly said “rabbit.” One of the African priests went over to the cage and he held out a rabbit by his ears. He said, “Do you want this one?” I said, “Sure. I have never had rabbit before.” Well, that night, when we came home for dinner, that rabbit was hanging in the back of the kitchen.
How many of you have eaten blood from strangled animals? Raise your hands. We probably all have, right? That is a teaching that has changed over the years.
“From unlawful marriage“, that is one that has not. The Church upholds the dignity of marriage. God wants us to experience families united with husband and wife. He does not intend for divorce. On the same hand, the Holy Father realizes that we live in a world of mess. We live with divorce. We live with people that do have broken marriages and broken families. As a Church, we are called to support them as best we can, to love them as best we can, and to provide for them, to help them be involved in our faith and our Church.
Can Church teachings change? Yes and no. The reality is, ultimately, we are called to love one another. We are called to accept one another. We are called to reach out to broken humanity and help bring them into the Church.
As Mother Teresa once said, “The Church is a hospital for sinners.” It is a place for us to come and be healed of our sin. We do not have to be perfect before we come to Church. The Holy Father says this in the letter, too, that the Church is not like a toll-house. The Church is a place for us to come in our brokenness and allow God to heal us, to perfect us, and to redeem us.
Will we ever be there here on Earth? Probably not. But one day in Heaven, we will experience that Holy City of Jerusalem where we all come together as God’s one family in love.
I encourage you to read “Amoris Laetitia” in full, it is a tremendously beautiful letter. You can save/print a copy of it, by clicking here.
