Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
In the 1960's and 70's when I was educated, in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, doubt became a sign of true fidelity. Open-minded people who said they doubted certain teachings of the Church, or all the teachings of the Church, were given permission to retain their doubts. Some were honored with teaching positions in seminaries and Catholic educational institutions; and, after a reasonable length of time, given tenure. That policy became problematic, and was eventually addressed by higher authorities in the Church.
I remember reading Saint John's Gospel before I was ordained. Jesus seemed to evade every reasonable question posed by his critics. But I also remember an elderly scholar insisting that Jesus answered his critics truthfully and with penetrating accuracy while they persistently clung to their superficial mindsets. It took me a while to see what he was saying, and that was because I regarded doubt, logic, and reason over trust in the Lord's authority and the Word of God.
I have since seen how persistently today's critics of the Church cling to popular, ideological notions. Many Catholics, cleric and lay, devoutly believe the Church will ordain women and recognize gay marriage some day, and probably very soon. They dismiss the Church's refusal as medieval stubborness and fantasize that a future generation to come around to their enlightened point of view.
This summer, as we see a German cardinal threatening to ordain women regardless of Pope Leo's warnings, we can see where these false teachings lead. Arrogance forces a showdown when the Church does not back down. Some will relent, repent, and be reconciled. Others will go their separate way, the way we've seen millions going since heresiy and reform became rationales for leaving the Church.
Saint Thomas saw the Lord's open wounds -- wounds which implicated his skepticism -- and returned to the Church. The Lord admonished his reluctance even as he praised those faithful "who have not seen and have believed." We also remember Saint Thomas as the great apostle who went to the the ends of the earth -- India in those days -- to announce the Gospel.
There are reasonable explanations for the teachings of the Church; they are found in revelation, the Magisterium, and traditional human wisdom. They are often recognized by the heart before the mind, but both mind and heart welcome them as portals to the infinite mercy and kindness of God.
[As you may know, the misnomered Society of Saint Piux X (SSPX) has excommunicated itself by ordaining several priests as bishops without papal approval, an act specifically forbidden by Canon Law. The Church will not honor anyone who calls himself a bishop, whether ordained by another bishop, or by government officials as in Communist China, without the specific approval of the Pope.
They intend to separate many confused but devout Catholics from the Roman Catholic Church. Many of these good souls will argue that they are sincere in their allegiance to the "Traditional Latin Mass," but we are not saved by sincerity but by faith.
We should pray for all those who are led into schism by these treasonous bishops and priests.
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour.They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number." (1 John 2:18-19)
