"I won't give another dime to the Archdiocese!"

In yet another adventure in missing the point, 74-year-old Bob Frasca declared in the national media, "I feel like we've been betrayed. I will not give another dime to the archdiocese," upon hearing of the closing of St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, MA after attending faithfully during the 42 years the church has been open.

The Archdiocese of Boston has announced that it will close 65 of its 357 churches by the end of the year. According to USAToday.com, this is "a massive restructuring brought on partly by the clergy sex abuse scandal that aggravated already shrinking Mass attendance and weekly collections."

I think it's a sad commentary on the church in general. Not just the closings...actually, not the closings at all. That's just a tragedy. But the reasons for the closings--shrinking mass attendance and the whole sex abuse thing. I'm not going to condemn the Roman Catholic church. Frankly, it's not just them. In reality, my views fall a whole lot more in line with the Roman Catholics than they do with many other mainstream "Christian" churches. Two things strike me here...

First, mass attendance is not just dropping because of the clergy abuse scandals. Yes, that's part of it. But ask any one of those priests and they'll tell you that it's not the whole reason. I'd submit that it's more a question of relevance; of form versus function. More and more people are asking the question, "Why do I go to church?" And if the only answer they're getting is, "Because someone says I'll go to hell if I don't," then their replies are becoming more and more, "Who are they to judge me?!?" And so, until these people can find a reason to go to church, it has no place in their busy lives. Heck, I wouldn't go to church if it didn't play an important part in my life. I guess that's the problem with the church being an organization rather than an organism. Organizations provide services. Organisms fulfill a function.

Second, I think Mr. Frasca's attitude here is part of the problem. Not him...just his attitude. Why do you give? Because you're told to? Because you're guilty? Because the church is providing a service for you and this is your price for admission (Soul-Cleansing and Deliverance from Hell on YOUR TERMS or your money back)? For cheap entertainment and kitschy outfits on a weekly basis? I don't know that NOT giving to the archdiocese is going to help the problem. It's not like voting for a political candidate...or at least it shouldn't be. Or do we give to the church because it's giving to God's work? Is the church feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking care of strangers, widows, and orphans, providing avenues for the Gospel to traverse the highways and byways of the globe? If it's doing that, give. And give generously. If not, well...find someplace that is "doin' the stuff."

But then, if the church you're in isn't doing Jesus' work, why are you there?

Maybe that's the real problem-at-large, not just in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.