2022/11/07

64. Paul and Cognitive Distortions Part 2

Let us continue our discussion by examining the following expression from one of the Second Vatican Council texts: "In this way they [priests] profess themselves before men as willing to be dedicated to the office committed to them – namely, to commit themselves faithfully to one man and to show themselves as a chaste virgin for Christ and thus to evoke the mysterious marriage established by Christ, and fully to be manifested in the future, in which the Church has Christ as her only Spouse" (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, par. 16). This statement is taken from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, where he wrote: "I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ"(2 Corinthians 11:2). These words are a parable used by Paul to admonish the Corinthian community, wary of those whom he called "false apostles" (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:1-15). Behind his concern was his desire to manage to make them fulfil their promise to raise money for Jerusalem. He was clearly preoccupied with the issue. So, first of all, we need to consider Paul's peculiar situation when he wrote these words. Also, the bizarre expression, "betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin," is based on the patriarchal thinking of the time, making no sense at all in the present day. It was too easy a choice to incorporate such an expression directly into the most authoritative church documents of the second half of the 20th century bringing the conjugal image into the relationship between Christ and the Church. Marriage is essentially moving towards sexual union for the bridegroom and bride. If we take marriage into the Church teachings as a metaphor for the relationship between Christ and the Church, a sexual bias is inevitable in crucial situations. That is evident from the fact that, regarding the cases of sexual abuse by the priests, the bishops and the fellow priests concerned downplayed the seriousness of the situation and did not take decisive actions even when they became aware of the facts. In addition, the following expressions in the Vatican II documents show that the above-mentioned patriarchal ideology is being carried over even to the present day in the relationship between priests and the laity: "Let them, as fathers in Christ, take care of the faithful whom they have begotten by baptism and their teaching" (Lumen Gentium, par. 28); "The Christian faithful, for their part, should realize their obligations to their priests, and with filial love they should follow them as their pastors and fathers" (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, par.9); "Thus they [priests] are apt to accept, in a broad sense, paternity in Christ" (Ibid., par. 16). Jesus, who gave Christians the "Lord's Prayer," admonished them saying, "And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven" (Matthew 23:9). Even though born as a man to fulfil the prophecy as Christ, Jesus came to the earth carrying the divine motherhood (cf. blog № 29, № 43). When Jesus compared himself just once to a "bridegroom," he likened his disciples to "wedding guests" (cf. Matthew 9:15). And Jesus specified who the disciples, the "wedding guests," were (cf. Matthew 12:49-50). In the scene of the wedding at Cana, Jesus himself was there as a wedding guest, along with his mother, brothers, and disciples (cf. John 2:1-12). The sign that Jesus performed here, turning water into fine wine, was fulfilled by Mary and Jesus precisely because of their mother-son relationship.

Maria K. M.