Preaching to a House Divided

Abstract

INTRODUCTION A short time ago a good friend, one of the most dedicated laywomen I know, said during a group discussion, “To be quite honest, I’m not sure where I will be ten years from now, as far as the church goes. I really don’t know if I’ll still be part of it.” It was one of those moments when I felt a great sadness. This person’s work for the Church touches many lives, both in the parish setting and beyond. Yet she is “battle weary,” tired of being caught in the crossfire of individuals and groups. Shortly after this incident, I was with another friend who had just finished two terms as pastor in a city parish. I asked him whether the divisions in the community present six years ago had healed to any degree. Like many inner city parishes, this one was composed of a group of parishioners whose families had been there for generations, and a growing, energetic group of Spanish-speaking parishioners. He replied, “To be quite honest, I really don’t think so. Apart from Christmas and the Triduum, it’s very hard to get them to come together.” All who work in ministry today realize that the average parish is often made up of individuals with opposing views, conflicting ideologies, and marked differences in operational theologies that, consciously and unconsciously, influence speech and action. Forming any kind of true community can often seem beyond human possibility. The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s introduction of the Catholic Common Ground Project and the document Called To Be Catholic: Church in a Time of Peril, with its attempt to begin a process aimed at creating more “Catholic common ground” within the Church, “centered on faith in Jesus, marked by accountability to the living Catholic tradition, and ruled by a renewed spirit of civility, dialogue, generosity and broad