The World's Parish Priest: Restoring the True Authority of the Church

Recent Vatican documents exposed that there were more than 400 priests defrocked under the pontificate of Benedict the XVI due to accusations regarding sexual abuse. While the tone of recent elect Pope Francis hasn't changed, as he encourages the Church to go out and proclaim the gospel among the most vulnerable, the Church again faces the dichotomy of having to justify itself for its lack of transparency while staying true to its authority. The problem seems to be that one correlates directly to the other. The more the Church lacks transparency the more it looses its authority.


Pope Francis however, seems to navigate the true meaning of authority and transparency. It is not through a mirage of moral perfection that he seems to reestablish moral authority and faith in the Church but by giving it a real human expression. It is by restoring the primacy on pastoral sensitivity rather than doctrinal righteousness that the human-face of the Church shines once again. The Church, after all composed by sinful members, is holy--but it is holy because it is sanctified by Christ alone.Pope Francis reminds us that the holiness of the Church does not come from its members but purely by the grace of Christ. He has not changed any teachings in the Church but has said enough in making them the primacy of our journey of faith. Instead of speaking of abortion or gay marriage let us speak of the overflowing grace of God's mercy that pours out to all humanity. By doing this precisely is that the Church reestablishes its authority because it places it in Jesus Himself through His grace and not in its teachings.


Pastoral primacy means nothing more than putting first the everlasting mercy of God. Another recent example of the Pope's approach on pastoral sensitivity is the issue of marriage annulments. While the Church's teachings are clear regarding the issue, the Pope has urged priests and bishops to act with a great deal of 'delicacy and humanity' when approaching these issues. The more sensitive the Church is, (the more human), the more it reflects God's unconditional love and mercy. In other words, not by imposing the teachings upon the faithful forcefully, but by reconciling the sinful to unconditional love of Christ.

The 'World's Parish Priest' as he is becoming to be recognized has made of his pontificate a radical embrace of pastoral primacy. From taking 'selfies' with young visitors in the Vatican, to kissing babies and embracing a disfigured man to sneaking out at night to hang out with homeless, Pope Francis has made it clear that it is this human face that brings back authority to the Church. Not by his own means and efforts, but simply by reminding the Church that it is the grace of God that comes first--not its righteousness and its teachings.

And so what happens when pastoral primacy is placed before doctrinal righteousness? Well, for one issues like having 400 priests defrocked don't scandalized but are seeing through the lens of mercy and hope. Issues like sex abuse in the Church don't have to be hidden and kept away from the faithful but rather approached through prayer and accountability because it shows us that we belong to a church of sinful members. What happens when a priest expends millions of dollars renovating his home in Germany? It reminds us once again that the grace of God's mercy should prevail. In the same way, it reminds us that we are to love our gay brothers and sisters before we are so anxious announcing what is right and wrong. It gives us an empathetic and compassionate heart with the single mother that seeks abortion through desperation and anguish, instead of being quick to expose what the Church teaches regarding the issue.

Here is where I add a personal note. This is the Church I love. This is the Church I find myself a part of. As a sinner and someone that always comes short I rely on the grace and mercy of God to save me and come to my rescue everyday of my life. I don't rely on my own understanding or any other teaching. I only rely on the mercy and love of God and I make of that my First Commandment: To love others as God loves me--unconditionally. Everything else is second. For this reason alone is that pastoral primacy comes first and as a consequence that the Church has true authority in what it proclaims.

Hollywood's Lane: 'The Ongoing tale of the American Dream that No Longer Exists'

It is no surprise to find out the usual themes in the Hollywood big screen: money and power. Two of the big films now showing and giving a lot to talk about spin around these themes. American Hustle, a film starting Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, tell the story of a couple that cons their way to the top starting a loaning business that scams people. Later, the couple will find trouble as one of them is busted and has to cooperate with the FBI in operations to capture mafia members and representatives of congress who are willing to take bribes. All of this, while money and power become the protagonists of the film. The Wolf of Wall Street, starting Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, makes of money and power an emblem in the film. The film tells the story of Belfort, a stockbroker that succeed by mal-practicing creating a firm that overpriced penny stocks for big corporations. Money and power become the central theme in this movie as well, as Belfort moves from one succeeding step to the other, living a hedonistic life until he is caught by the bureau.

The fascination with these stories lies in that they are somewhat true. Hollywood does not produce movies that will sell, but they produce movies that will sell for a reason. The market of everything, including the film industry, is knowing why your product is selling. In this case, the reason behind why these movies sell is that the spectator secretly wants to be one of these con-artists portrayed in the film--of course, with the exception of being caught (which is why must of us don't do it.) These movies feed the so called 'American-Dream,' only with the twist of being able to do it at all cost, even if this means doing it illegally and immorally. These movies not only feed our dirty desires to become wealthy and powerful at all cost but of course first they sell the idea that it is possible by telling us that some people have done so even through wrong means.

The American culture is not only doped with the idea of being successful, wealthy and powerful as part of the American dream, but Hollywood is gushing the idea down our throats. This is no longer an ideal that is no longer possible as class mobility is disappearing in the the United States and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger. The American dream is becoming an unreal and unattainable fantasy, but our sense of entertainment still speaks of a culture that is somewhat fixed on that dream.

For many the bottom line is that Hollywood sells movies that people want to watch. If the spectators want to praise characters like Jordan Belfort or couples like Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser the story will go on. Of course, there is a clear line between entertainment and reality. Hollywood is an entertainment industry. To take it as anything more than that would be to give it too much credit and importance and too little accountability and responsibility to the watcher. But is this so? After all, entertainment is an essential part of culture and films describe society. For the industry, it is in its best interest to sell people the idea of being able to become successful and rich. If they don't, not only do they detach themselves from American culture but become counter-cultural and as a product of this-- movies will not sell. In other words, if people crave a dream that no longer exists, you can still sell it. Ironically, the theme of both of these films is to create profit no matter what. In this case, Hollywood has embraced the philosophy perfectly.