Paul VI Was Right
by Stefano M. Paci
A Second Reformation is under way in the Church on a par with the 16th century
movement that lacerated Christianity. Moreover, "it is even more dangerous today". It
is a crisis "which has penetrated deep in the Church", a danger "we must fight with our
eyes wide open" because "the very foundations of the faith are being questioned". This
dramatic warning comes from Cardinal Adrianus Simonis who, as Primate of The
Netherlands, has been leading one of the "frontier" Churches of the western world since
1983. "Paul VI was right", he sustains, "when he said that there was a risk that non-
Catholic thinking was prevailing in the Catholic Church. I found it remarkable that he
had been aware of this danger all those years ago when so few recognize it today".
In the exhilarating and dramatic years following the Council, the Dutch Church
appeared to be a type of "ecclesial laboratory" for good or ill. The turbulence, in its
beginnings in your Church - considered the <enfant terrible> of Catholicism - always
then assumed an explosive form throughout the whole Church. Is this still the case?
Does the Dutch Church represent the future for the universal Church?
ADRIANUS SIMONIS: There is no doubt that public criticism of the Magisterium and
hierarchy, which became widespread in the whole Church, did start more or less in the
Netherlands. It coincided with the Pastoral Council which opened in Noordwijkerhout
in 1968. At that time in Holland, all Catholics were trying to fathom the Second Vatican
Council but in a way that was quite critical. Some claim that this was the result of our
harsher nature, more rigid. I think that one of the main reasons was the influence of the
'protestant' atmosphere in Holland. We are one third Protestant and a third Catholic. I
am convinced that Protestantism has a much stronger influence on Catholic thinking
than might generally be supposed. This critical atmosphere subsequently spread,
though not as a consequence of events in Holland, to all of western Europe and then to
the whole Church.
And today?
SIMONIS: Today? The situation is very difficult for the Church. One might wonder if
there weren't a Second Reformation under way in the western world - I mean a
situation quite similar to that which lacerated the Church in the 16th century. Some of
the more attentive observers have been saying this for some time now. And I find
myself thinking it more and more often. Today more than ever before the time has
come for Catholicism to prove itself in terms of its identity because this Second
Reformation will be even more dangerous than the first.
Has this Second Reformation been generated from within the Catholic Church?
SIMONIS: Yes, it penetrates deep into the Church. It is right, of course, that there be
efforts made in the Church to reform because our Church is a Church <semper
reformanda>. But this Second Reformation has a different aim. Some, indeed many,
believe that the goal is to constitute a Church where everyone can decide matters of
faith and morality for themselves.
What you say is reminiscent of Paul VI's dramatic confession, a few months before he
died, to his friend, Jean Guitton, and reported in the book, <Paul VI secret>: "There is
great unrest at this time in the Church and what they are questioning is the faith. I am
alarmed, when I reflect on the Catholic world, that nonCatholic thinking sometimes
seems to prevail within Catholicism and it could happen that this non-Catholic thinking
within Catholicism will become stronger in the future. But it will never represent the
Church's thinking. A small flock must survive, no matter how small it may be" ...
SIMONIS: Thank you for that. I was not familiar with that but it's exactly my own
impression. I find it remarkable that Pope Paul VI was aware of this danger all those
years ago while today, with a fundamentally more critical situation in many ways, the
majority don't recognize it.
Naturally - you're talking about a Second Reformation, a real danger in the offing for
the Church amidst the general indifference ...
SIMONIS: Yes, but we must fight this danger with our eyes wide open, turning it to our
own advantage to become more Catholic, to have a better idea of what we are.
The main risk is often said within the Church to be the spread of sects or Islam's
advance. Do you think this is because it is easier to combat an external enemy than an
enemy within?
SIMONIS: I think it is precisely that. We should remember that the event that later
became the Protestant schism also started from within the Catholic Church. Luther was
a professor at an important theological university. His ideas had been winding their
way for a long time within the Church's thinking, among his theologian colleagues and
authorities, before they were officially recognized as extraneous to the faith of the
Church. The indifference I'm talking about is also born from within the Church and
that is why I think it will be really hard to combat it.
What are the characteristics of this crisis that threatens to spread throughout
Catholicism today?
SIMONIS: My concern, my biggest concern is that faith in a personal God will be
questioned. What Emmanuel Suhard, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, said after the
Second World War still holds true today. He said 'we have lost our sense of God'. I fear
that many faithful, many Catholics, many practicing Catholics have unconsciously
become 'deists'. They certainly believe in 'Something' but not in a personal God, who is
real, still a living God and still a God we can encounter today just as the disciples did
2,000 years ago.
Some time ago, Jean Guitton shared similar reflections with me. I was at his home in
Paris and he was commenting on what Paul VI had said to him, as we quoted earlier.
And he told me: "Paul VI was right. We can see that today. We are experiencing an
unprecedented crisis. The Church, indeed the history of the world, has never seen the
like of it. When Christ was walking in the streets of Galilee, the world was pagan but so
many pagans of the West and East at least had a sense of mystery. We could say that
for the first time in its very long history, humanity as a whole is a-theological. It no
longer has a clear - or even confused for that matter sense of what we call 'the mystery
of God'. This crisis besetting our sense of the mystery afflicting humanity as a whole
has also infiltrated the Catholic Church" ...
SIMONIS: I agree. I, too, am concerned for the orthodoxy of the faith of our people, the
orthodox faith in God made known through the Revelation of Jesus Christ, a faith that
recognizes the Glory of Jesus Christ, His divinity, the mystery of His Church, the Holy
Spirit as a person, the third person of the Blessed Trinity. Of course, these are the
essentials, the foundations of our faith. And, strange as it may seem, these are the very
things being questioned today. The proof is there for all to see that so many people who
call themselves Catholic now believe Jesus Christ to have been a more or less special
man, a man who commands respect and admiration, but just a man. They have
'censored' the divine aspect of his person. We are seeing people take refuge in a more or
less abstract idea of God along similar lines to the eastern divinities. They are losing
their certainty in a personal God.
The Catholic Church is currently very active in the field of moral doctrine. Its aim is to
make today's man re-discover his awareness of sin, a consciousness which now seems
lost even to some Catholics ...
SIMONIS: A loss of faith always has its consequences in the field of morality. But the
primary concern is the orthodoxy of the faith. Then comes morality. Sin is not the
transgression of abstract norms. Sin is failure to recognize the consequences of all that
happened in Israel 2,000 years ago, the consequences of salvation brought by Jesus
Christ, a God who allows himself to be encountered by man in the Church. This is what
John Paul II said in Holland to young people 'The secret of the coherent and joyful
Christian life' - the moral life 'lies in our sincere, personal and profound love for Christ'.
We can only know what sin is if we have faith in a personal God. Otherwise, it is not
possible. Look at what's happening in Holland with the sacrament of Confession. Very
few still confess nowadays. This is a consequence of the lack of faith in a personal God
and it is this that worries me so much. But I must say I have another concern. I would
like the whole Bible to be read, not just the Gospel passages that people see as more in
keeping with their sensibility today. Jesus Christ and everything he said must be taken
seriously. Many Christians don't even know what he was really saying. Jesus, for
example, also spoke of Hell and of the danger that man would end up there. But people
are never reminded of this and so they forget about it. The result is that people are not
being reminded that we all have personal responsibility for our eternal lives, and that
the sense of this responsibility is also the measure of the dignity of man. We priests are
also to blame, our poor preaching is also to blame if Christianity has become a worldly
thing with no perspective of eternity.
Holland still corresponds to its old label of "test-bench country". While the Church in
other western countries is concerned about the consequences of legalizing abortion, the
Dutch have gone a step further and legalized euthanasia ...
SIMONIS: There is some misunderstanding of this new law passed in Holland.
Euthanasia is still on the penal code, which is to say, that it is still considered a crime
and we bishops have declared our satisfaction at this. But according to the law, if there
exist three precise conditions - terminal illness in the final stages, the consent of the
patient and if the doctor concerned has consulted another doctor - a judge will not
punish the crime. This makes for a schizophrenic situation. Euthanasia is still a crime
but if it is perpetrated 'correctly', it goes unpunished. We bishops cannot tolerate this
situation - euthanasia is a crime under God's law. Our Episcopal Conference reacted
strongly and recently we have been opposing every new parliamentary bill in this
direction. First, we wrote a pastoral letter on this theme, then we made various
declarations stating clearly that euthanasia is not permissible in any case. But despite
our indignation, the legislators took this decision. It is my fear that, because of this loss
of faith in a personal God that I discussed at length earlier, euthanasia could soon be
acceptable in other countries, too.
What climate reigns within the Dutch Church today?
SIMONIS: For many years, contestation was the main event in my country but from this
point of view, I think things are improving. There is a movement in Holland which is
very critical of hierarchy. They call themselves the 'May 8 Movement': They took their
name from the demonstration held on May 8, 1985 on the eve of John Paul II's visit
here. It had been organized to show, as the movement said, 'the other face of the
Church'. I cannot say that all Christians share the opinions of the 'May 8 Movement' but
it certainly has many Catholic members. But now at long last I think people are
realizing that to persist with an attitude of open opposition to the Church is futile.
During the last <ad limina> visit to Rome by Dutch bishops, we wrote a report on the
Church's current status and we circulated it to our faithful. In this report we said that
after so many years of sometimes bitter contrasts, the time had now come for dialogue.
We had already asked that dialogue be launched on other occasions but only now are
we
starting to note that, for the first time, there is a certain willingness. So we are currently
looking for an active forum to compare notes. We are looking for a common path. That
is why I say that the climate has improved. There is also new hope that the 'May 8
Movement' really will assume 'the Church's other face' and not, as many suspected, 'the
face of another Church'. I must also say, unfortunately, that we have lost many, many
faithful in these past years and that these interecclesial battles have generated a climate
of indifference to the Church and to Christianity. But it is our intention through
dialogue to launch a message to all, including those who have left us and who could
now come back.
We will embark on the third millennium in a few years' time and the Church is placing
great stress on this deadline. What forms do you think the new evangelization drive
might take, this being the declared goal of the new era?
SIMONIS: That's a difficult question. I often ask myself how we can touch the heart of
modern man. I am in constant touch with young people and I am always surprised to
find that they expect to be challenged. Youth is a challenge in itself. They are waiting,
almost anxiously, to encounter someone who will tell them that there is a way to live
life to the full. They are unconsciously waiting and desiring the encounter with Jesus
Christ, the fullness of life, even when they are apparently very distant, even when they
scorn and blaspheme against the Church. What they are really hoping to encounter is
none other than the experience which, by grace and despite all our limitations, it is
possible to live within the Church. In short, there is an entire generation which, in the
midst of all its contradictions, lives in expectation and yearning. The new
evangelization drive must start with prayer because the success of any such endeavor
depends on the grace of God and must be implored from heaven. And so I hope that
the Holy Spirit will be the life source of this, more so than we can ever be. And I hope
that the Spirit will intervene and prompt the saints - human beings burning with the
desire for God - and that they may show men where life's treasure lies. This is my
heart's desire because I also believe that only the saints can give the Church a new face.
This article was taken from the No. 10, 1995 issue of "30Days". To subscribe contact
"30Days" at: Subscriptions Office, 28 Trinity St., Newton, NJ 07860 or call 1-800-321-
2255, Fax 201-579-5541. Subscription rate is $35.00 per year.
Copyright (c) 1996 EWTN
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