By Diogenes

Many years have now passed since the first time I attended a meeting of the US Catholic bishops. But the memory of that first experience is still vivid. I was not edified.

That year, the bishops were preparing a pastoral letter on a highly controversial political issue, so their meeting had drawn more than the usual amount of media attention. Television camera crews moved back and forth through the lobby of the posh hotel where the bishops had gathered. Political activists of varying description scurried through the corridors, trying to buttonhole bishops and plead their cause. Ragged groups of demonstrators, representing both ends of the political spectrum, organized protests outside the front door.

Did all these hangers-on have the best interests of the Roman Catholic Church uppermost in their minds? I could not judge their intentions. But neither could I help noticing that their behavior was identical to that of ordinary political lobbyists, working their trade in the halls of Congress. Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with lobbying. But it is not an activity I would have expected at a gathering of successors to the apostles.

Nor were the bishops themselves immune from political temptation. During breaks from the formal plenary sessions, I watched one bishop, still wearing the pancake make-up that had been applied for a television appearance, cruise through the crowded hall outside the meeting room, constantly on the lookout for other journalists who might want to interview him. Now again there is nothing wrong with being interviewed, or even with seeking out interviews. But there was nothing in that bishop’s behavior to distinguish him from an ordinary, cigar-chomping, secular politician.

Why work harder?

Still, when I think back to that meeting, and recall my disappointment, I am not thinking primarily of the bishops’ political debate. For me the most disillusioning moment came when the discussion of that pastoral letter was finally concluded, and the bishops moved on to the other items on their agenda. One such item was a proposal to transfer the observance of certain holy days of obligation to the closest available Sunday.

Several stalwart bishops rose to oppose this measure, arguing that the traditional feasts should be retained. During the ensuing discussion, one portly archbishop strolled up to the podium and said (in roughly these words): "Look, we already have enough trouble getting people to go to Mass every Sunday. Why should we make things more difficult?" Then, with the air of someone who feels he has delivered the clinching argument, he returned to his seat.

Today, as I think back to that admirably concise speech, I cannot help thinking that many married couples could make an analogous argument. "Look, we already have enough making ends meet (or keeping the house clean, or preserving a bit of time for ourselves) with just two children. Why should we make things more difficult?"

For a bishop it takes real effort to persuade lukewarm Catholics that they should attend Mass. For parents it takes real effort to care for children. A bishop’s job is easier if the faithful are required to attend Mass less frequently, just as a parent’s job is easier if there are fewer children around the dinner table. Life is always much simpler for the people who can strip a job down to its minimum requirements. But is that the Catholic approach? Is that the path to sainthood?

The task of a bishop—like the task of any priest, religious, or layman—calls for a spirit of generosity and service. An honest Christian can never be satisfied with doing the minimum, punching the time clock, and calling it a day. As St. Bernard put it, "The measure of loving God is to love God without measure."

Yet now I find myself wondering: Is it any coincidence that 75 percent of American Catholic married couples use artificial contraceptives, at the same time that their bishops look for ways to cut down on the number of holy days of obligation? How can a priest have any real credibility when he advises young couples to be generous in accepting the children God gives them, unless he displays his own generosity in loving dedication to the Church?

A separate standard

One other memory from that bishops’ meeting still remains fresh in my mind. In a small room off the main lobby the organizers had set up a temporary chapel, where the Blessed Sacrament was kept in reserve. Once I spent a few minutes in prayer there during a break in the political debate. As I left, I noticed a young bishop in the corner of the room, apparently lost in prayer; it occurred to me that he would obviously not be back at his seat in time for the working session.