Msgr. Luigi Giussani, the founder of the Ecclesial Movement Communion and Liberation, used an illustration in one of his books about a young man you had set off to the Klondike in Alaska to seek his fortune. He is in a prospector’s bar, the night before he is going to set out into the wilderness to stake his claim with the hope of finding gold. An old prospector spends some time observing the young man, and then goes over to him and makes him a remarkable offer. He tells him that he has found a vein of gold that he has mined for years, and he has become fabulously wealthy, and yet he has only scratched the surface of the vein of gold. Since he has more money then he will be able to spend, he is willing to give this young man his stake. The young man can now mine the vein of gold. There is only one catch; the vein in is a freezing cold stream which sweeps down a thick layer of mud that covers the vein every night. So every day you must dig through at least a yard of mud to get to the gold. The young man thanks the old prospector, but says, “No thank you. I don’t what to have to deal with all that mud.”
Most of us would think the young man insane for giving up on the gold just because of the mud, but in a way, that is what so many people today are doing in response to the sexual abuse in the Church. A recent survey found that 37% of American Catholics are thinking about leaving the Church because of the scandal. The scandal is certainly terrible, and we cannot ignore the wickedness in the Church today and the temptation to leave the Church might be understandable, but to quote St. Peter, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
Bishop Robert Barron, whose book, Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis, I have been summarizing says, “there is simply never a good reason to leave the Church. Never. Good reasons to criticize Church people? Plenty. Legitimate reasons to be angry with corruption, stupidity, careerism, cruelity, greed, and sexual misconduct on the part of leaders of the Church? You bet. But grounds for turning away from the grace of Christ in which eternal life is found? No. Never, under any circumstances” (pp. 59-60).
Those are pretty bold words, but Bishop Barron, who has not pulled any punches in criticizing the Church in its handling of the recent sexual abuse scandal, also notes that we should not lose sight of the beauty, veracity and holiness that is also offered in the Church. Again, as St. Paul wrote, “We hold this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7). Or as Msgr. Giussani would say, “Don’t give up on the gold just because of the mud.”
We should stay because of the treasure, so let’s look a bit more closely at that treasure. The first dimension of the treasure is that the Church speaks of God. For the first time in history, the modern culture has large swarths of the population who either explicitly or implicitly denies the existence of God. They think that they can find fulfillment through the goods and experiences of this world. Yet our culture is one mired in a chronic depression, always running to the latest thing only to find that the happiness they seek still alludes them. As the psalmist sang, only in the infinite God does our soul find its rest, and in spite of its many failings, the Church speaks of God, of the transcendent Mystery which corresponds to the deepest desire of the human heart.
Another dimension of the treasure is that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. Jesus was not just a wise person; He is the divine Truth manifesting itself in a human voice. Through His Holy Spirit, the Church becomes an organism, not merely an organization. It is the living eyes, ears, hands, feet, voice and heart of Jesus throughout time and history.
The Holy Spirit is the third aspect of the treasure which is the Church. The Holy Spirit give vitality and energy to the Mystical Body. Related to this is the fourth aspect of the treasure, the Trinity, which reveals that God does not just love, He IS love.
The sacraments are also aspects of the treasure that is the Church. Despite the unworthiness of its ministers, the sacraments provide the graces that Christ promises to give through them. At the head of these is the Eucharist. “The Eucharist is the single most important reason for staying faithful to the Church. You can’t find it anywhere else; and no wickedness on the part of priests or bishops can affect it” (Barron, Letter to a Suffering Church, p. 74).
As Bishop Barron concludes his chapter on why we should stay in the Church despite the scandalous behavior of some of its priests and bishops, “we are not Catholics because our leaders are flawless, but because we find the claims of Catholicism both compelling and beautiful. We are Catholics because the Church speaks of the Trinitarian God whose very nature is love; of Jesus the Lord, crucified and risen from the dead; of the Holy Spirit, who inspires the followes of Christ up and down the ages, of the sacraments, which convey the Christ-life to us; of the saints who are our friends in the spiritual order. This is the treasure; this is why we stay” (p. 78).