For several years now, during pastoral visits, a recurring unease has emerged, particularly with young adults. They speak of a certain way of looking at them, a feeling of being judged before being loved, of being barely tolerated in the Church… on the condition that they remain discreet. We see them at their child’s baptism, at a loved one’s funeral, sometimes at the door of the catechumenate. Then they disappear, almost unnoticed. Some say they were made to understand that they couldn’t serve because of their marital status. Others that they couldn’t commit to a group “as things stand.” Still others that before requesting baptism, they would first have to “sort out their lives.”
As if grace were bestowed through moral perfection, and not the other way around… This is an inconsistency in our community: we demand of an unbaptized person or someone returning to the faith a moral consistency that so many baptized people themselves struggle to live; we demand fruit before we’ve even planted the tree. We demand consummate holiness before even entering a genuinely fraternal and Christian community.
People will say to me, “Your Grace, surely we can’t just welcome anyone!” And I will reply that “the Church has only ever welcomed ‘just anyone.’ Myself included. That’s what it’s for!” Christ didn’t come to hand out medals to the blameless. He came to seek, to lift up, to save. The Church isn’t a four-star hotel reserved for saints, but a field hospital for poor sinners. Belonging to the Christian community isn’t conditional on a perfect life. When it gives the impression of selecting at the entrance, it ceases to be credible. Who benefits from this customs-like requirement of a “right to enter” the Church? Certainly not the Lord! Let me be clear: the Gospel isn’t lukewarm. Its moral demands are beautiful, lofty, and luminous. They must be proclaimed clearly, positively, without reduction or caricature. But family and sexual matters, in particular, deserve better than awkward allusions or hastily thrown-out prohibitions. Baptism candidates and young people must receive solid, intelligent, and appropriate instruction. Certainly not a watered-down catechism, but a clear, demanding, and radical doctrine. It must be verified that they truly adhere to the Church’s teaching and that they sincerely promise to conform to it with all their might, despite their weaknesses. However, the desire for holiness must not be confused with a “flawless” moral life! There is an obligation of means, not of results. Moral perfection is the fruit of an encounter with Christ. This encounter is lived in his Body, which is the Church. If someone is kept at a distance on the grounds that they are not yet transformed, how can they ever be transformed?
Except in cases of serious scandal (cf. 1 Cor 5:1, “a man who lives with his father’s wife”), which fall solely under the judgment of the pastors and not the gossip of the faithful, once appropriate catechesis has been given and a candidate demonstrates sincere adherence to the teaching, the sacraments of initiation cannot be refused on the grounds of an “irregular situation.” No one knows the secrets of hearts, and many situations do not depend solely on the will of those involved. Like all the faithful, let them progress to the best of their ability “with Grace!”—that is, WITH the sacraments!
Let us therefore dedicate all our energy to ensuring that a genuine welcome for young adults is organized everywhere: truly listening to their expectations, offering tailored support, providing personal guidance, and offering clear and positive teaching on emotional, sexual, and family life. May they feel blessed, not judged! The Church would benefit from reflecting the mercy of Christ. It would gain everything by becoming more like him.
+ Fr. David Macaire, Archbishop of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France
