Are We Becoming a Church of Judgment?

I see so many articles and hear so many comments these days about those who shouldn’t receive Holy Communion, those who should have gotten a guilty verdict, those who should be going to the Latin mass, those who should be homeschooling their children for the sake of the faith, those who don’t say the rosary enough and therefore aren’t pious, and so forth. 

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be moral standards or right ways of doing things, and I’m not saying there aren’t proven best practices for living a holy life and building a holy family, but there is so much focus these days on judgment in our Church and it is taking the focus off our true mission and the words of Jesus. We’re focused on issues, not the overarching Gospel message.

The time and energy we are spending on these topics is really astounding. The resounding cry in all of them is not love of God and neighbor. It’s not building up the kingdom. It’s not serving the least of these. It’s judgment -- and worse yet -- judgment of others. It’s noise and distraction. It’s not inspiration and the message of the Gospel.

Is that the Church we want to come across as? A judging Church? I don’t think so. Many Catholic people have left because of experiencing that kind of Church: a Church that doesn’t accept them and emulate the love of Christ.

I don’t know about you, but I’m never inspired by judgment. I’m inspired by people who’ve turned their life around and moved away from a pattern of sin. By those are seeking a deeper relationship with God and prayer life. By those dedicating time and energy to serving the poor and sick because of their faith. By those who nurture the faith in their families in the ways God has led them to. By those who have answered the unique call of God in their lives.  By those who selflessly embody Christ in what they say and do. By those who courageously forgive in spite of terrible injustice.

What we really should be focused on is loving others, our own repentance, and proclaiming the Gospel with our lives. Let’s stop judging and focus on Jesus’ core message. We need to get off social media and comment feeds and do the work of the Gospel.