Pray for Roman Catholics

A poll on same-sex marriage reveals deep rot.

As an Anglican, I “pray for the whole state of Christ’s Church”* just about every day. But at this time and for some time to come, I think we should especially pray for faithful Roman Catholics.

Now when I say “faithful” I do not include Pope Francis or most of his Cardinals in that. But we should pray for them as well that they repent. And we should pray a miracle happens at the next Conclave, that it chooses a faithful Pope who will reform the church. (I do not think that Conclave is immanent as Francis’ health is improving at last report.)

But my heart and prayers are more with faithful Roman Catholics who are good people put in a bad position. Francis and his stacked College of Cardinals are leading the Church of Rome into apostasy. Given how seriously RCs take the issue of communion, particularly communion with the Pope, what are the faithful to do?

Yes, one could say they should flee the Church of Rome. I, for one, think they should prepare to “come out of her, My people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues.” Rev. 18:4 (I think that applies to all apostate churches, by the way, not just Rome.) But it takes a bit of godly stubbornness to be a faithful Roman Catholic today. And that stubbornness usually includes a refusal to leave the RCC. Certainly one way we can pray for them is that God would guide them and that they would have the wisdom and courage to follow God’s guidance, whether that means staying or leaving for another communion.

There is more that can be said about the options for faithful Roman Catholics, but I will leave that for another post or another writer.

What prompts me to urge prayer is a poll that indicates that the rot in the RCC in America is deep. The poll asks a simple question of American clergy across denominational lines: “Would you perform the wedding of a same-sex couple if your religious group allowed it?” Here is Ryan Burge’s helpful analysis of the results.

A House Divided: Clergy, Conscience, and Same-Sex Marriage

For many the poll is somewhat encouraging — 80% of “evangelical” clergy answered “definitely not” for one thing. But it is not so encouraging for American Roman Catholics. Only 46% of their clergy said “definitely not” while 33% said yes or probably.

Now some of that alarming result can be attributed to Roman Catholic ecclesiology. The church and its hierarchy are given much more authority than in other traditions. Clergy are that much more obligated to obey with the potential for more consequences if they do not. (Yes, it seems LibCats get away with everything. But I best not begin ranting on that.) But there is more than hierarchal polity going on here. It has become hard to miss that many Roman Catholic priests — and not just the bishops and Cardinals — are unfaithful and many also immoral (COUGH).

So the difficulties of faithful Roman Catholics are far more than just having a bad Pope at the moment. The gangrene of unfaithfulness and apostasy is shot through the hierarchy. And I have not mentioned those who have had their Traditional Latin Mass suppressed, those no longer allowed to receive the Holy Sacrament reverently while kneeling, those distressed at the Pope and bishops and various Catholic agencies supporting the Invasion and other evils, and more.

And we should share in their distress. They are brethren whose commitment puts many of us to shame. And Rome’s problems are the whole church’s problems. So I all the more urge prayer for faithful Roman Catholics.

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*From the Book of Common Prayer office of Holy Communion.