Is the Church Worth Saving?

by Joseph Stoutzenberger

I have many friends who grew up in religious households who no longer involve themselves in any religion. Some even say that the world would be better off without religion. I have found that former Catholics in particular are quick to point out the church’s flaws. At times I tend to agree with them. And then I think about all the good that people who were inspired by their Catholic faith have done and continue to do. Catholicism has its share of heroes.

A good example is the eighteenth-century French priest Abbe de l’Epee. He was already drawn by his faith to do charitable work in Paris when one day he came across two young girls sitting on a bench. The two sisters were gesturing to each other with animated hand movements. De l’Epee realized that the girls were deaf and communicating through their hands rather than sounds. He discovered that other deaf people in Paris were also using basic sign language, and he set out to learn from them. 

When he tried to establish a ministry to deaf people, he encountered resistance from leaders in the church. (Perhaps that’s what my disgruntled former Catholics would focus on.) There was a question at the time as to whether deaf people could be saved because scripture says that only those who “hear” the word of God can be saved. Children who were deaf were commonly denied reception of the sacraments because of this. De l’Epee brought his young deaf friends before a gathering of leaders to demonstrate how they were, in fact, speaking to and hearing from each other in the language unique to them. In 1855, he established the first free school for deaf people and devised a system of sign language. Some elements of his signing are still in use in various sign languages today. A stained-glass window depicting Abbe de l’Epee meeting the two young deaf girls sitting on a bench can be found in the chapel of the National Catholic Office for the Deaf outside of Washington, DC.

Church history is filled with heroes such as de l’Epee, who often make invaluable changes simply by going where their faith leads them. In the Middle Ages, a great change swept across Europe. A young man named Francis of Assisi, wearing rags and renouncing all possessions, visited the pope with his twelve companions. The pope, dressed in finery and living in a palace, found no grounds upon which to dismiss the sincerity of Francis and the lifestyle he was espousing. He couldn’t deny that it was gospel-based. Thousands of people across Europe adopted the way of Francis in one form or another. Part of his message is found in his song “The Canticle of the Creatures”: “Be praised, my Lord, in those who pardon out of love for you.” A dramatic decrease in conflicts happened in many places where constant warfare had been commonplace because Francis-inspired people refused to fight.

In the early nineteenth century, France was becoming more and more a secular society. Universities were hotbeds of anti-religious sentiment. One student of literature, Frederic Ozanam, who later became a professor and an expert in the writings of Dante, began a study group while in college where discussion of the ancient faith was welcome. Some of his secular friends chided him: If you think so highly of your faith, why don’t you put it into practice? Ozanam realized that they were right. He enlisted fellow Catholic students to go in pairs into the slums of Paris, delivering food and helping people in need however they could. He named his group after St. Vincent de Paul, who earlier had himself inspired many wealthy French men and women to serve those who were poor. Frederic continued his charity work even after he was married and had a daughter. Today, the St. Vincent de Paul society continues to serve the needs of poor people throughout the world. 

For a long time, and still today in some places, educating women was frowned upon if not outright forbidden. In the United States, Catholic women religious, nuns, took on the work of educating children on the margins of society. During the Civil War, Catholic nuns, such as the Daughters of Charity, served as nurses for wounded soldiers right on the battlefield. They also were tireless in helping people during the flu epidemic a century ago. Catholic sisters established 150 colleges for women in the United States at a time when women were denied access to the majority of schools of higher education. They faced many hurdles. One nun who pursued doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America had to sit in the hall by the door to hear lectures as only men were permitted in the classrooms themselves. She and other women religious gained doctorates in various fields so that they could provide quality education for women. Even though their numbers have dwindled considerably, Catholic nuns continue to play a prominent role in serving their communities.

What is the common denominator motivating the heroes of Catholicism who do such great work? They would all agree that their faith spurs them on, inspires them, and guides them in what they do. Would the world really be better off without them?