Faith, Reason, and Believing What the Church Teaches

Emily Stimpson, take it away!  Excerpts:

...“Because the Church says so” is indeed reason enough to believe something when you have thought long and hard about what the Church is, by what authority she teaches, and what duty you owe her.

Since Day One, the Church has professed to being Christ’s Bride, Christ’s Body, and the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. She has likewise professed that she is the guardian of both Sacred Revelation and Sacred Tradition, guided by the Holy Spirit in her interpretation of both and protected by him from teaching error on matters of faith and morals (See: Acts 15 and 1 Clement).

If you believe the Church is all that, if you believe she is what she claims to be, trusting her teachings—even when you struggle with them—is the only sensible response. If you don’t believe the Church is what she claims to be, not trusting her teachings is equally sensible. But calling yourself a Catholic is not.


I know that sounds harsh, and I wish there were a way to soften it. But softening that hard truth is one of the reasons we’re in the mess we’re in. So many people who go to Church on Sundays but disagree with the Church are not at fault for their lack of understanding. They want to be good Catholics. They think they are good Catholics. And they’re trying to be good Catholics in the best way they know how, in the way taught to them by priests, parents, and teachers.

But those priests, parents, and teachers failed them. Whether maliciously or mistakenly, they handed on a watered-down version of the Faith, not the fullness of it. And the results are millions of people who think they’re living the Catholic life when they’re actually living anything but. Seeing that, let alone working your way out of it, is a monumental task, so I have great trust that God will show mercy to people in that situation.

Which brings me to my final point...