Much has been in the religious news this past week about the resignation of the Archbishop of Warsaw over his alleged collaboration with the former communist government of Poland. I have been thinking about this topic this week and have come up with a question. Is collaboration always bad?
If church leaders collaborate with the government of their country to keep the church alive and safe is that a bad thing? Should the church stand up against all forms of oppression and take their licks as the come down the pike? With same sex marriage here in Massachusetts the day could come when the state tells us clergy that we have to perform the marriages. Now I agree that this is truly fantasy, but it could happen. So what do we do?
I don’t have any answers, only questions to ponder and I also pray that I will never be put into this situation.
To give it a different face, what of Francis Cardinal Spellman who is said to have served as, basically, a spy and recruiting agent for the US Gov’t during the Vietnam war, even to the point of – again, it is accused – violating the sanctity of the confessional?
Collaboration with the secular authority, Soviet or American… good or bad?
But on the marriage issue: I say the answer is to give up the minister’s power as a default Justice of the Peace – and I’d say give up your tax free status as well. If you’re going to take the benefits, there’s a price you will eventually have to pay.
I would have to agree with you on the marriage thing. I never thought that clergy should be acting for the state in these matters.