Philadelphia Archbishop
Charles Chaput has said that “a smaller, lighter Church” of fewer but
holier believers is preferable to one that promotes inclusion at the
expense of traditional orthodoxy, according to the Religion News
Service.In a speech delivered last Wednesday at the University of Notre Dame, Archbishop Chaput also suggested that many prominent Catholics are so weak in their faith that they ought to leave the Church.
He singled out Democrats such as Vice-President Joe Biden and vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine for special criticism, linking them to the concept of a “silent apostasy,” a term coined by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and saying Catholics who do not champion the truth of Church teaching are “cowards.”
“Obviously we need to do everything we can to bring tepid Catholics back to active life in the Church,” Archbishop Chaput told a symposium for bishops and their staff members at South Bend, Indiana.
“But we should never be afraid of a smaller, lighter Church if her members are also more faithful, more zealous, more missionary and more committed to holiness.
“Losing people who are members of the Church in name only is an imaginary loss,” he continued. “It may, in fact, be more honest for those who leave and healthier for those who stay. We should be focused on commitment, not numbers or institutional throw-weight.”
Archbishop Chaput’s ideas channelled a lively and long-standing debate in Church circles about whether Catholicism should be a smaller and more tradition-minded community or a larger and more inclusive Church of imperfect believers at various stages in their spiritual pilgrimages.