Conversion or Come to Daddy?

Many bishops’  home turf is still predominantly culturally Catholic, but in many place around the world this “Just come to Daddy” approach to pastoral care simply doesn’t work.

If doesn’t work because a huge proportion of the population (indeed a huge proportion of the nominal Catholics) no not understand or accept the basic moral and theological teachings of the church. They can’t come home to Daddy because they have no idea what that means or why that would be desirable. When we talk of giving them a warm welcome and not judging they do not hear this with the ears of a penitent Catholic prodigal. They simply hear us condoning whatever lifestyle choices they have made.

Whether it is in countries that have never been Catholic or European and North American countries that were once Christian but are drifting fast to secular atheism, the model that is necessary now is conversion–not just come to Daddy.

This is difficult for the old style cultural Catholics. They simply don’t get it, and that is understandable.

But we had better get it soon because in a culture that needs the conversion model, the come to Daddy model doesn’t work. In a culture that needs conversion the father of the prodigal stands at the gate waiting, but the prodigal, indulging in his orgies and high life doesn’t even know that the father is waiting. He has no memory of the father’s house. He doesn’t even know he is a prodigal and why he wakes up miserable in the morning empty and alone. He doesn’t know what he is missing so he can’t even begin to know that he needs to make the long journey home.

In the developed countries where Christianity once flourished and in the parts of those countries where Catholicism once reigned we are still driving on the fumes of a tank that is now empty.

I was in a Northern city last week and saw a huge seminary that once housed 350 seminarians. It’s closed. It’s the same all across the country. Thousands have left the priesthood and religious life. Seminaries, convents, monasteries, parishes, schools and colleges closed or closing fast and the biggest single religious group in America is former Catholics.

We had better wake up.

We no longer live in a predominantly Christian country and those cities that were once proudly Catholic are no more.

Already we are living in a culture that demands the conversion model, not the come to Daddy model.

The call to conversion is not done with a heavy hand and bitter imprecations against sin. Instead it is done with a joyful heart, a firm conviction and a clear message.

The father of the prodigal is not so much waiting at the gate for the boy to come home.

He is going out to find him. Even if that means he steps into the pig pen to rescue him.

It would be easy to put Pope Francis in the “come to Daddy” camp, and I think he does have that approach to a certain extent. On the other hand, he corrects that tendency.

This is why Francis’ papacy is so enigmatic .

In his final speech after the synod he spoke of “welcoming” sinners and then corrected himself and said, “going out to find them.”

I’m for that.