The Church Always Reforming

For the radical followers of the Enlightenment at the time of the French Revolution, the Church was another 'Ancien Régime' to overthrow. They threw church authority into the flames of the public square and confiscated church property filling the empty barns of the revolutionary government. The priests, who refused to give a loyalty pledge, dragged and made to kneel before the guillotine. So begins an article in the Catholic Peace Weekly.

The conflict between the church and the state was settled after the passage of the Napoleonic era and the enactment of the Ordinance on the Separation of Church and State in 1905. At that time, the church was able to get some of the property that they lost if it conformed to the rule of State. St. Pius X  said: "The spiritual property of the church is more important than the material property. We must give up our material assets to keep the spiritual."

The Vatican was involved in a serious scandal in the 1982 bankruptcy of the Ambrosio Bank of Italy. The Vatican was the major shareholder of the bank and the Vatican Bank was suspected of involvement in money laundering. The press poured out stories of how the Vatican became a major shareholder of the private bank and some of the clerical criminal offenses. These scandals fanned church distrust. Pope John Paul II made a bold decision. He ordered the bank to close all debts left by the Bank.

Both of the above events give us much food for thought. First of all: "The Church, however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal." Constitution of the Church #8. The church will always have sinners.
 
The Church in France was honored to be the eldest daughter but shown to be indifferent to the suffering of the people. They were aligned with the monarchy and the rich and earned the anger that was directed at these members of society. The anti-clericalism that wriggled in their consciousness was also regarded as nothing special. The members of the higher clergy were dirtying the face of the church and allowing the unfaithfulness and mockery bomb to explode in the church.
 
But the two cases teach more important points. Even if the church loses money and property, even if it is insulted, it has to keep the spiritual assets to the end. The two popes informed them of what should be left in their hands at the crucial moment and what they should not lose, even if they lose their lives. Mental assets are the core of the church, the spirit of the gospel.

Bishops of various dioceses in Korea have mentioned the necessity of renewal in their new years' messages. Renovation and reform are hard work. Pain appears in improving management, transparency in finances, and improving organizations.  Resistance of those who do not want to change has to be overcome.
 
In early spring, grape farmers prune the branches of their grape vines to get rid of the wild growth, the thick branches that tangle with other branches, and seek to  allow the sun to bathe the vine in the summer. This will open up the plant to bear good fruit and make the plant strong.  Renovation work is not different from pruning of vines.

The Pope was asked when will this work of renovation come to an end and he answered that it will never end. "The Church is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendent character of the human person" (# 76 of the Pastoral Consitution). Even people without religion want the church to stand up for this teaching. The writer dreams of practicing the virtues in 2019 more diligently than in any previous year.