THE gravity and solemnity by which the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ is celebrated during the Holy Week always seems to be the best time for the Catholic faithful to contemplate and reflect on for after all His sacrifice and death were not for Himself but for the redemption of mankind.
Christ’s crucifixion on the cross is said to be the greatest love story that is ever told – His self-sacrifice for humanity.
Thus, it is in this context that in identifying with the sufferings of Christ and meditating on His Passion and Death, the faithful in turn should possess the motivation to be more faithful to the teachings of the Church, to be more respectful and understanding, to be more patient and persevering, and ensuring always of being on the path of doing the will of the Father.
But has the will of the Father been earnestly observed and followed in the Christian lives of the faithful since Christ paid for our freedom with the price of His own blood and death on the cross for the purpose of pleasing Him?
With what is happening in the Catholic Church today, having priests and high-ranking officials of the Church accused of sexually molesting children for many, many years now, I could not see the logic anymore of anyone doing the will of the Father, more so by the members of the clergy.
Incontestably, when we talk about the will of the Father it could only mean the will of God. Thus, I find it wrong, inappropriate, and even tasteless, that despite the iniquities of priests, which the faithful perceive as lodestars of morality, they are continued to be called Father.
Isn’t this in itself an affront to and a usurpation of the distinct honor and glory given by humanity to the most high, the Father in Heaven?
For isn’t it found in the Gospel of Matthew 23:8-9 where it says: “You are not to be called ‘Master,’ for you have but one Master, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ for you have but one Father, who is in Heaven.”
So why can’t we just call a man of the cloth, Brother, in the same way that when today’s priest writes or addresses his parishioners he begins with “Dear Brothers and Sisters?” It is simply incongruous to sign one’s letter with the title “Father” before one’s name when one is addressing it to his “brothers and sisters,” isn’t it?
What I am saying is that if we address nuns as “Sisters,” why can’t we call priests, “Brothers”?
This suggested change in title from Father to Brother does not in any way, shape and form diminish the respect one has for a priest. On the contrary, it could foster a better relationship between the clergy and the worshippers because the fraternal distance between them stays the same even when the priest has gone up in rank. This is the kind of relationship that enables to sustain and/or enrich further one’s affinity to God.
Also that the name, Father, will forever be shielded from debasement of any kind. This is how it should have been from the very beginning. (By Jesus Sievert)