Tolerance - Intolerance
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
In the first part of today’s Gospel selection, Jesus urges the apostle John to practice toleration for someone casting out a demon in Jesus’ name, yet not in union with them: “whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:40).
This foreshadows the situation of the Church today: there are many followers of Jesus who act in his name, yet are not in full union with the Catholic Church. Our attitude must be that of Jesus: while working toward full union, we must recognize and respect that the Good Shepherd is active with his grace: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). Jesus does not condone disunity, nor does he bless a situation of error. But he will not allow outright rejection. Though the situation is imperfect, he will accept what is good and through it maintain a foundation for full unity.
Thus it is that the fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught that the Church established by Jesus “subsists in the Catholic Church... although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure” (Lumen gentium, 8). The fullness of truth, apostolic authority, and sacramental life are found only in the Catholic Church. But this does not mean everything outside the Catholic Church is cut off from Christ’s truth and grace. John’s attitude is therefore too extreme, our toleration must be as broad as possible, and affirm whatever goodness and truth can be found “outside” the visible Church.
When there are disagreements and divisions, it is helpful to maintain goodwill, and appreciate that someone is rarely 100% wrong. Should we baptize infants or not? Is salvation achieved by faith or works? Does the authority of the pope preclude all autonomy of the local bishop? The problem with erroneous perspectives is that someone is usually “mostly” correct, and it requires patience and deft insight to identify the subtle distinctions which solve the issue.
Nevertheless, that does not mean everything and everyone must be tolerated, or that every position is valid. Where errors cause damage, and where the innocent are corrupted, there must be complete intolerance and swift rejection: “Cut it off! Pluck it out!” (Mk 9:43,45,47). Whereas we will patiently dialogue with a protestant co-worker who vociferously disagrees with some Catholic teaching, we would not tolerate our children attending his denomination’s youth program that denigrates the Catholic faith. Whereas we can support and promote what is good in the world, we cannot tolerate worldly influences that would scandalize (i.e. spiritually harm) the innocent. Until recently, Catholics could support organizations such as the Boy Scouts, but now that they have adopted the harmful ideologies of the transgender movement, they must be cut off. And if parents are not able to ensure that their children are equipped to deal with the harmful indoctrinations of public education (sexual licentiousness, anti-Christian prejudice, etc), it too must be abandoned.[1]
We do well to pay careful attention to the paradoxical extremes found in today’s Gospel, and discern our situations carefully: when to remain tolerant, or when we are obliged to be intolerant. The discernment is found through the two key verses:
Toleration: “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:40)
Intoleration: “Whoever causes [an innocent one] to sin... better he were thrown into the sea” (Mk 9:42)
[1] Since education is a necessity, and many good teachers continue to exist “within the system,” and not all parents are in a position to use alternatives (Catholic schooling, home-schooling), there still remains a grey area with regard to public schools. But this grey area is rapidly disappearing.