That very summer, I visited Saint Peter’s Cathedral in
Vatican City. I stood inside that enormous space devoted to God moved by its
grandeur and beauty. (I stood there, incidentally, also moved by a slight
embarrassment. On the way in, I had been forced to buy in cheap, disposable
pants for five Euros to cover my Vatican-unapproved shorts.) Saint Peter’s
Cathedral testifies to a “bigger is better” church design where internal
markers tell us the exact proportions by which this great cathedral—under the
brilliant design of none other than Michelangelo—dwarfs all others. For
example, having walked around two-thirds the length of the cathedral, I spotted
the marker noting where Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London would end. To be
honest, within those hallowed walls, my Protestant hackles were raised. The
medieval Catholic Church persuaded its members with extravagant guilt to make
contributions (“indulgences”) to the church—as signs of faith—so that their
dead relatives left the sufferings of Purgatory more quickly. I almost heard
Martin Luther’s outcry against indulgences in the 15th century.
Luther “protested,” and thus raised a major cry of the Protestant Reformation.
Nonetheless—and despite losing many faithful to these upstart
Protestants—indulgences formed the means by which this awe-inspiring cathedral.
Simply put, the Popes had found a fundraising scheme so flawless it would make
Jimmy Swaggert jealous, and Saint Peter’s was built on the backs of the poor.
But before I continue, I’d like to counterpoint my
criticism by affirming all the good the Roman Catholic Church has done—all the
care for poor, all the lives given hope and meaning, all the great art and
architecture, Mother Theresa, Michelangelo… even Notre Dame’s college football
team. And yet that was the very summer a series of sexual misconduct cases
rocked the very structure of the Vatican. Like many throughout the world, I
felt horror at the abuse of children’s bodies and trust at the hands of
religious leaders. (Something Protestant churches haven’t been immune from
either.) Worst of all remains the cover-up based on the dread that “if people
know, they won’t believe in the Holy Church anymore.”
At the same time, all this grandeur and opulence of Saint
Peter’s Cathedral contrasted markedly with the simple Christianity of Saint
Peter himself (on whose place of martyrdom the cathedral is built). It also diverged
from the simple worship of early Christians in the tombs of ancient Rome, where
these early worshippers sought refuge from the imperial harassment and
persecution. It seems the simplicity and integrity of the Christian faith had
been easily obscured by the Roman Catholic Church’s quest over the centuries
for money and influence. To quote Jesus, who sounds entirely and appropriately
prophetic: “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but
forfeit their life?”
There you have it. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
