Ben Johnson at Western Orthodoxy recently wrote a posting called So’s Yer Mama.

While he focuses on the tragedy of people taken-in by a non-canonical quasi-religious group that claimed to be Orthodox, his points serve as a good primer on why the Church is different.

What sets the Church apart? Why do the sins and human failings of the Church’s members not degrade its mission or its truth?

People very quickly point to someone like me, a cleric, and say: ‘I remember when you were younger you did such and so.’ ‘You once did such and so.’ You have a track record of [name the sin]. They also say things like: ‘Well the Church is just a bunch of men who…’ or ‘I follow God, not the rulings of men.’

You get the point.

What those people are trying to do is state that my personal history and current sins (or that of any believer, the Pope, a bishop, or priests) negate the truth of the Church.

What people on the outside do not see or realize is that the Church does contain the truth.

Her teaching and directives are not of human estate, but are from God. They also fail to differentiate between the sins of an individual (or many individuals) and the reality of what the Church is. They judge the whole, stating that the entirety of the Church must be sick, because all its members are sick.

Mr. Johnson states:

However, the intent of this blame-shifting sleight-of-hand is to place all the focus upon the Church’s human nature and obscure Her divine nature. The Church, as the Body of Christ, is united with Her Head. The divine mysteries are imparted by men at various levels of rebellion and interior brokenness, so the Church in its human expression has never been without scandal and will never be. However, what sets the Church apart from such as the “monks” of Blanco is the divine pledge of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. St. Augustine of Hippo’s triumph over Donatism affirmed that whatever the human failings of the Church’s representatives, the sacraments still usher the Orthodox faithful into the life of the Trinity (energies). It is only in the holy condescension of Jesus Christ to the flesh, of the His Flesh imparted at the Last Supper, of the perpetual institution of the Eucharist in the Church, and of the sacerdotal ministry’s commission until His “second and glorious advent” that the Orthodox Church may claim preeminence. Not coincidentally, all were gifts of divine grace. “What do you have that you did not receive?”

… The question converts face is not whether they wish to join a church exempt from the possibility of sin, even grave sins. Unfortunately, that option is not open to us … The question each Christian must ask is whether he wishes to remain with sinners in his own denomination — who do not teach what he believes — or join with fallen men in the true Church that affirms his beliefs, has a promise of divine protection, and dispenses the medicine of immortality in the sacraments.

…

The difference between Orthodox and Pseudodox is not that only one groups sins. Orthodox priests are blessed with the charism of the Spirit, and it is only because they are “endued with the grace of the priesthood” that they are able “to stand before this Thy Holy Table, and perform the sacred Mystery of Thy holy and immaculate Body and precious Blood.” God has empowered Orthodoxy to overcome all sin — clerical and lay — with His sacraments, His Spirit, and the pledge that He will ever preserve His Body from the ravages of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We know of no such promise to the “monks” of Blanco, Texas.

I remember reading, some time ago, about some traditional Catholics’ who objected to John Paul II’s continued apologies on behalf of the Church. ‘We’re sorry because the Church did this or that.’

John Paul was not incorrect in apologizing. He just apologized on behalf of the wrong entity. His apology should have been on behalf of members of the Church who engaged in sinful behavior, not on behalf of the Church.

The Church cannot be sinful, wrong, or in any way incorrect. Only the men and women in the Church are sinful.

That’s what we’re all trying to work out, the avoidance of sin through the sacramental (sanctifying) grace and actual grace given to us by God through His Church.

Membership in the Church does not make me (or anyone) perfect. It simply works to bring us to perfection.

That is why people can point and say I am a sinner and that I do (and did) wrong things. That simply does not change the argument. My personal wrongness in no way affects or subtracts from the rightness of the Church.

This week’s issue of the Evangelist (the Albany R.C. Diocese weekly) has a very nice interview with a Polish priest that visits the area every summer. See: Polish priest has adopted Albany Diocese.

Fr. Krzysztof Podstawka is the rector of a parish in the Lublin Archdiocese and is editor of the Archdiocesan weekly newspaper.

My pastor met Fr. Podstawka after the funeral of Albany’s former bishop. Fr. Podstawka remembered giving a retreat in Poland at which my pastor was a participant. I was impressed when I learned of his sharp memory for such details.

The interview, in Q&A format, was put together fairly well. The most interesting sections were on the differences between the ‘American’ Church and the Church in Poland.

Fr. Podstawka spoke of a priest’s normal duties in Poland, daily confessions (at least forty minutes), three wedding per week (more in the spring and summer), teaching religion in the parish, daily mass, devotions, and seven masses every weekend (with a homily for each).

The funniest question was as follows (emphasis mine):

Q. The Albany Diocese has some guidelines for foreign priests who want to become part of the Diocese, such as a minimum three-year stay, the ability to speak English understandably, and the necessity of understanding American culture and ecclesiological differences. What do you think of those guidelines?

A. They are good guidelines. When a priest comes here from another country, there is a lot to learn. The priest must be able to speak the language of the people. Even if he knows the language, it might be difficult for him in the beginning to fluently speak English.

If we speak about ecclesiological differences, we must be careful. We are one Church; our faith is the same everywhere. But small things about the Mass and other celebrations are different from what they are in Poland. [For example,] the power of the laity [here] is much bigger than in Poland.

Fr. Podstawka gets in right, small cultural differences, no ecclesiological differences.

That is a strong statement. Having been in the Albany Diocese over eight summers, and being as sharp as he is, he knows the glaring ecclesiological differences. This was his moment to teach —“ and he didn’t waste it.