By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

DORAL | A new, popular image of an undemanding Christ has led people to believe that attending church isn’t necessary, Archbishop Thomas Wenski told about 100 young adults at a recent Theology on Tap get-together at The Tank Brewery.

“In our contemporary society people, including many Catholics, now see Christ as one who demands nothing, who never scolds, who accepts everyone and everything, a Jesus who no longer does anything but affirm us,” he said. “People today say, ‘I am spiritual but not religious’ and so I don’t need the Church and its rules.”

This view is the exact opposite of what the Church preaches because the Church still dares to make demands, he continued. “So the Church, according to this new mindset, is equated with prejudice and intolerance,” he said. “The Church is seen as an obstacle, a barrier keeping people away from Jesus.”

At a question and answer period that followed the archbishop’s talk, audience members hurled several hardball questions at the archbishop, related to those demands.

Rafael Egues tossed the first question. “Some people have left the Church in light of the scandals among clergy. What is the hierarchy doing to change this? Why are we supposed to have trust in the Church?” he asked.  

The archbishop responded by saying abuse is a worldwide phenomenon affecting all parts of society, not just the Church. It happens in Hollywood, the press, and among politicians. Because of those scandals, there is now zero tolerance for abuse.

There have been many changes in society in the past 50 years, Archbishop Wenski said. He noted the trend toward what has been dubbed Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, a belief in a distant God who simply wants everyone to be nice to each other and for everyone to be happy.

“In the 1960s there was a great upheaval in society, the murders of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War and the sexual revolution that brought about changes,” the archbishop said. “The societal links that kept people together fell apart. Today, some people are against the Church because we’re against some of those societal changes.”

Andres Martinez raised his hand and said his friend didn’t go to church because she was homosexual and feels that the Church doesn’t include her. “She said that because of her sexuality, the Church wasn’t a fit for her,” said Martinez. “There’s no support for her in the Church.”

Archbishop Wenski replied that homosexuality is a challenge and that she needed to seek good chaste friendships.

How do you go about being obedient to the Church? Juan Fields asked.

“When you think of yourself less it’s easier to make that leap into obedience,” the archbishop replied.

Mateo Gomez wanted to know what brought about the new interfaith dialogue.

“After World War II the tragedy of the Shoah caused people of different faiths to enter into a dialogue,” the archbishop answered. “We recognize Jews as our elder brothers. After Vatican II great strides were made. When a Jewish person recognizes himself in the Catholic faith and vice versa, then dialogue is successful. We can find points of agreement. All of our beliefs inspire us to charity, that’s an important part of ecumenism.”

There were also some softball questions thrown in.

“What’s the furthest you have ever ridden on your Harley?” Edward Suarez asked.

Archbishop Wenski detailed a trip he took with his motorcycle on the Auto Train to Virginia. He rode his motorcycle to the Blue Ridge Parkway as far as Boone, North Carolina, then left from there and headed back to South Florida. On the way he stopped in Savannah, Georgia, for gasoline, in Jacksonville for a Diet Coke, and on through to Miami: 14 hours, 800 miles.

Theology on Tap is sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry and takes place every other month in Miami. The schedule can be found on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/MiamiCatholicYA/.