Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

Lectionary: 424

Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Some Christian denominations, forced to sharply define and clearly mark the difference between their religion and Catholicism, harp upon today's teaching about calling no one father except your heavenly father. They complain that Catholics address their priests as father. I meet them in the VA and something about their calling me "Brother Ken" gives them away. 

But, of course, Jesus wasn't talking about Catholic priests, nor about Jewish rabbis. He meant your biological father, whom you might call Dad, Daddy, Father, or Pop. You have only one "Dad, Daddy, Father, or Pop" and that is your heavenly Father! 

He seemed to mean that no one in the Church should have so much authority as to displace the fealty we owe to one God whose name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Every baptized Christian receiving the Holy Eucharist has a direct relationship to God, much as the branch is attached to the vine. He did not ban ordinary titles like mother and father and bishop. 

The duty of leadership is to direct the attention of every Christian away from themselves and to the Lord. Every title we might use in the church, from pope and pastor to sacristan and janitor, designates not a privilege but a duty to serve. Like Mary, every priest, catechist, Eucharistic Minister of Holy Communion, Cantor, Lector, Mother, and Father should say, 

"My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior." 

Doing this, we avoid the serious danger of clericalism. We can thank the ministers of the church and show reverence for their office without forgetting the boundaries that define and delineate the servant's responsibilities. 

The role of confessor within the Catholic Church, especially, must be regarded with great reverence and strict rules. The priest who hears the confession of sins must never refer to anything he has heard, not to that person or anyone else. He should not even think about it. Nor should the penitent, in conversation with the same priest, ever refer to it outside that sacred conversation. It is not to be discussed except within the bounds of the sacrament. It is not a joking or winking matter. The knowledge of that disclosure goes no farther than the sacred time and place of the Sacrament. Civil laws have honored that privilege; a priest may swear in court that he knows nothing and the jurists cannot contest it. 

Canon Law decrees that any violation of that confidentiality is a matter of excommunication. The priest who abuses his privilege is automatically excommunicated, regardless of who knows or doesn't know about it.

That is not a new teaching. But some priests and bishops, perhaps out of their own psychiatric needs, have exploited their authority. And some adult layfolks have been too willing to allow these abuses to continue. I think of the sheriff who, unwilling to prosecute a popular cleric, quietly told the bishop to, "Get this SoB out of my county." 

As we protect God's sovereignty over every soul, we obey the command of Jesus, 

The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”