O’Malley and the minister: a shot that shocked—UPDATED

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

O’Malley and the minister: a shot that shocked—UPDATED 2016-09-30T15:58:30-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This picture has been around the world a few times now—and it’s continuing to spark debate. It shows the moment at an ecumenical service last Sunday when Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley asked Methodist minister Anne Robertson to make the sign of the cross on his forehead with holy water as a remembrance of baptism.

Here’s The Boston Globe this morning:

“What a disgrace to our Holy Mother Church,” wrote one commenter. “Is there no limit to this man’s heresies?”

An orthodox Catholic blog called O’Malley’s gesture a “blatant, manifestly public repudiation of the sanctity of Holy Orders of the Catholic Church.”

But Michael Potemra, writing for National Review Online, disagreed, congratulating the cardinal for “doing ecumenism right.”

“O’Malley was showing that he believes that the prohibition of women’s ordination does not entail any disrespect for women,” he wrote.

Some liberal Christians are praising O’Malley, suggesting his gesture might be another indication that under Pope Francis the church may be opening up.

Others, including some friends of Robertson, who posted about the moment on a blog and on Facebook, feared that O’Malley might be getting too much credit.

“I respect Anne immensely as a person, and if it was really powerful and meaningful to her, I don’t want to take that away from her or from anybody else,” said the Rev. Tom Getchell-Lacey, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Gilford, N.H., and a friend of Robertson’s.

But, in an interview, he compared the positive reception to O’Malley’s gesture to the great press Francis has been getting: “People are congratulating him for being just a decent human being.”

…The archdiocese, which declined to make O’Malley available for an interview, downplayed the significance of the moment and said this United Methodist ritual did not violate Catholic teaching.

“It is not a blessing or a sacrament,” archdiocesan spokesman Terrence C. Donilon said in an e-mail. “It is a recalling of the grace of Baptism. Catholics do it every time they enter a church, by dipping their finger into the holy water font and making the sign of the cross.”

Read more reaction.

I think the archdiocese makes a good point. It wasn’t a sacrament. It was a gesture—and a reminder that the Catholic Church recognizes as valid all Christian baptisms that use the Trinitarian formula—including Methodists.

(While we’re on the subject: It’s worth remembering, too, that the grace of baptism does not depend on the worthiness of the minister or even on Holy Orders. A lay person can baptize. Even an atheist, in case of necessity, can do it.)

But again: this wasn’t a sacrament, or even a re-enactment of the sacrament. From the wording used, it’s clear it wasn’t even a blessing. In word and action, in fact, it was strikingly similar to what the minister says and does when conferring ashes on Ash Wednesday. (Something, of course, that can be done by anyone, to anyone.) Here, the matter used was blessed water, not blessed ashes. And it was evidently intended to serve as a quiet echo of the grace all Christians share by virtue of baptism.

But I guess the echo was a lot louder than people expected.

One final footnote. This reminded me of something Francis did in his first moments as Pope. When he appeared on the balcony at St. Peter’s, he paused for a moment to ask the people—all people—to pray over him before he offered them his blessing. “Let us make, in silence, this prayer,” Pope Francis said, “your prayer over me.” And he bowed his head before the people and before God.

It was a beautiful, stirring act of humility—a foreshadowing of many other gestures like it to come.

I don’t recall anyone that night saying the pope was committing heresy or repudiating his Holy Orders.

UPDATE: Canon lawyer Ed Peters takes issue with the way the Archdiocese defended the “dabbing”:

Donilon denies the Protestant minister’s action was a “blessing” but then says it was like Catholics “making the sign of the cross”—which is a blessing!

Blessings are sacramentals. Perhaps the most common Christian sacramental is the Sign of the Cross, augmented or not by the use of Holy Water, and performed by millions of Catholics every day. No canon or liturgical law prohibits baptized non-Catholics from making the Sign of the Cross nor from using Holy Water in accord with its character. Thus, one Christian making the Sign of the Cross on another Christian’s forehead (in explicit commemoration of one’s baptism or not) is simply something to be explained to those not used to seeing it performed by a female Protestant minister on a Catholic cardinal—it is not something whose character should be denied by a Church spokesman, only to be admitted by an analogy that was intended to distinguish the two acts! That is to pile confusion on top of confusion.

Donilon is right in saying it was not a blessing, and should have left it at that instead of straining for an inaccurate comparison.

Bishops

Interfaith news

Sacraments

Previous Post

January 18, 2014

Homily for January 19, 2014: 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Next Post

January 18, 2014 Vatican confirms Medjugorje commission has completed investigation

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism Education education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized Vatican VATICAN vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jesus Paul Peter John

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »