Attending the World Gathering of Families and Papal Infallibility

I am Catholic — like really, really Catholic. I’m also Irish — well, technically Irish-American — but that’s practically the same thing in my book.

Which is why, when my niece happened to ask us if we were going to attend the World Gathering of Families in Dublin, it set us on a trajectory which we hadn’t anticipated.

All of a sudden, we found ourselves booking flights and cars and Airbnb’s and 8 months later, we were in the middle of Dublin, alongside a sea of people, on the way to the Festival of Families.

It was an amazing night. The Riverdance troupe almost brought the house down and Bocelli had everybody screaming for more.

So glad we went.

I even ran into a friend I went to school with on the way in to the event. I hadn’t seen him in twenty years — and now he’s a Franciscan priest!

What a small, Catholic world. Shout out, Fr. Joseph Mary!

But I have to be honest, there were good people who questioned why we would attend the World Gathering of Families and the closing Mass with Pope Francis.

Honestly, John and I had our questions, too. We had questions on whether the message sent to our kids would be in keeping with 2,000 years of Church teaching.

Sadly, in our world, even at a “Catholic event” you need to do your due diligence, but I am happy to say it was a wonderful event.

I’m not trying to cause scandal, here. I’m just trying to explain the complexities of being part of a divine institution that is full of a bunch of sinful humans (myself included).

The Catholic Church is like one big, family.

We love each other — but we don’t always like each other — and sometimes we disagree with each other about the things that matter most.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s complicated, but there is really no where else that we can go to find the answers that we need to navigate this world of ours.

Every answer we could ever want or need is contained within the Catholic Church. Which is why we’re not going anywhere!

Yes, there are disagreements among some in the hierarchy and lay people about what those answers actually are. But that has no effect upon consistent Church teaching.

So discuss away, if you must, but at the end of the day many of those discussions have already been settled millennia ago — and they won’t change for all the discussion in the world.

If I’m being honest, we have to acknowledge that the Papacy of Pope Francis has had it’s ups and downs for faithful Catholics.

One minute, you love and appreciate his frank and simple approach to the faith — the next minute, you are praying that he stops speaking on airplanes.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it has been a bit of a roller coaster.

Which is why I understood why good people — faith Catholics — were asking John and I why we were planning to attend a gathering with a bunch of priests, bishops, and even a Pope, who sometimes makes faithful Catholics around the world a wee bit uncomfortable.

My answer to the objections: we are Catholic and we are a family and we aren’t going to allow anybody to tell us we don’t belong at a gathering for Catholic families.

But it’s more than that.

We wanted to walk in the footsteps of the great Saints of Ireland — great and holy Saints — whose lives stand as a witness to the power of the Holy Spirit.

Plus, we wanted our kids to see the universality of our Church — the fullness of this faith we have inherited.

We love this big old beautiful Church and there is no other place we would rather be then in the center of a gathering of Catholics from around the world — worshipping God and encouraging each other in the faith.

No matter what you think of Pope Francis, please allow me to tell you about the beautiful thing that happened at the closing Mass of the World Gathering of Families.

On behalf of the Church, Pope Francis apologized to the people of Ireland for wrongs done by the Church in Ireland.

He apologized for every evil, every wrong doing that was every done to any innocent man, woman or child who had looked to the Church for leadership, love and guidance — and found abuse, instead.

You must understand that this apology was necessary to begin to right the wrongs that had been done in Ireland. It was an important moment for the Church in Ireland.

And yes, even within days of this apology, Vigano’s letter was released which accused, even Francis, of enabling evil cardinals to do their evil deeds.

But the fact remains, what he did in those 15 minutes of the closing Mass was good and necessary. It was hopefully the beginning of healing in the Church in Ireland.

Whatever your criticisms of Pope Francis, can we please at the very least acknowledge that what he did at that Mass was beautiful and necessary?

Because it was.

What can we say about the Church in Ireland? Full of saints and sinners –the best people you could ever hope to meet and yes, every once in a while, the worst.

Those holy priests and nuns and Saints who fought evil and injustice and loved heroically — alongside of those who chose to hurt and abuse.

Saints and sinners, side by side.

But let me tell you what I also see in the Irish. I see courage and strength and beauty and resolve.

I see so much life hiding beneath the overgrowth of the Church.

I see families who are living out the faith and fighting the secularization. I see good and holy families.

Oh, Ireland how we love you!

And just maybe one of the beautiful families we met are reading this right now (Hello Caroline, If you’re reading this!) and maybe they don’t know how much they give me hope for Ireland.

Maybe all the beautiful people we met along the way don’t realize how much their faith affected us.

If so, let me set the record straight.

To that beautiful priest I went to confession with in Knock, to those priests who served the Mass so faithfully in Killarney and Galway and Westport, and to all the many religious we met who are living the faith:

You give us hope.

To my old school chum who now serves as a Franciscan priest in Limerick — who I just happened to run into on my way into the Festival of Families: you give us hope.

To the random families, alive with faith, whom we met in the streets of Dublin and at the Festival of Families: you give us hope.

To old friends, who hosted John and I as we spent our early years of marriage visiting Ireland for work: you give us hope.

And to those reading this, who worry about the future of the Church, do not be afraid!

Just continue to love Pope Francis, flaws and all, continue to pray for him, and continue to trust that the Holy Spirit will not allow Francis or any Pope to ever definitely state any doctrine or dogma in a heretical way.

It’s not gonna happen! The Holy Spirit won’t allow it. So be at peace.

To be clear, I am not saying hide your head away in the sand.

I am not saying turn your eyes away from the bad catechesis and the bishops and cardinals who aren’t actually teaching what the Church has consistently taught for 2,000 years.

Yes, speak up. Challenge and correct — but do it in love — or it won’t have any effect whatsoever.

Don’t forget that God fights on our behalf as well, and He is still in control of the Church.

And I know this can be hard, when you read in recent days about German bishops meeting to discuss “established” Church teachings.

But they can discuss all they want, established Church teaching isn’t going to change. It just isn’t.

So “Danke” dear German bishops, but “Nein, Bitte” we don’t need you to reexamine anything. We’re good. “Auf Wiedersehen”.

And to any teachers, priests, bishops, cardinals or wackadoodles of any kind who think they will be able to change 2,000 years of consistent church teaching during their lifetime: All I have to say is “Har de har, har har.”

It ain’t happening in the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

It just isn’t, because the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the Catholic Church, and we are going to be just fine.

So let us thank God for the gift of the Magisterium and 2,000 years of consistent teaching.

Let us thank Him for giving us a Church that we can rely upon when the tsunamis of confusion and misinformation comes our way.

Let us continue to pray for the Pope and Bishops in union with him. Let us continue to fight to share the truth wherever we are in this big, beautiful world of ours.

And please, let us stop worrying! Let us Trust in God and in His Holy Spirit and the Church He has established.

The gates of Hell will never prevail against it. Hooray!