“Oh, Catholic Church, You Bunch of Fools, Oppressing People With All Your Rules!”

In my house, the only rule is that there are no rules. You see, my husband and I don’t want to stifle the expressive freedom of our children. We don’t want them to feel bound or tied up by anything their dad and I see as important, because what if our kids have a different view of how things should be done? In our home, everyone is allowed to live how they choose and it gets a bit hairy at times, but we don’t want to oppress. It’s live and let live in our domain!

Just kidding. I know you weren’t buying a word of what I wrote. You weren’t buying it because you know that no sane and reasonable person would operate their home in such a way. It’s probably a good idea that churches not operate that way either.

All across the vast expanse of the world, people bemoan the seemingly restrictive rules laid down by the Catholic Church. This includes those within and those outside the Catholic Church.

“All those man-made laws!”

“Nobody’s gonna tell me how to do religion.”

“Your relationship with Jesus should never be hampered by rules. We can’t complicate things with rules.”

“Basically just a bunch of Pharisees.”

I’m not sure when this idea of a rules-free religion began but began it did. For quite a few people, there is instant recoil at the thought of the Catholic Church binding anyone to laws that weren’t explicitly laid out by Jesus.

“If it didn’t come out of Jesus’ mouth then we must toss it in the trash!”

What I find fascinating is that we understand that we need rules in our homes, our schools, on the road, at work, and even within our country. But, if the Catholic Church tries to lay down some rules, people act like they are tying a rope around our necks to cut off our life.

And who gets to decide what is too many rules? Can the Catholic Church have any rules at all? If they can, what is too many? Why do you get to decide that? Are the rules out-of-line? Is it unreasonable for the Catholic Church to set some standards so that it looks different than other religions or the secular world?

Did you know that there are really only six precepts/rules that the Catholic Church instituted for Catholics to adhere to?

1. Attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. (So, give to God what is due to Him–worship in church)
2. Attend Confession once a year. (Get your soul clean)
3. Receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least once during the Easter season. (Come be filled with Christ)
4. Observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church. (Sacrifice a little and deny yourself for love of God)
5. Help provide for the needs of the Church. This can mean your time, talent, and treasure. (Almsgiving)
6. Observe the Church’s marriage laws. (Marriage is a sacrament, it makes sense that we need to follow God’s Will with regards to it and not our wills.)

Every single one of these precepts of the Church is meant to draw us closer to Christ and protect our souls. Along with these rules, there are many, many practices that the Church encourages us to partake in to strengthen our faith and grow us in holiness. For those things, the Church lets us decide what works best in our lives and what is most meaningful.

Now, there are certainly other laws that govern the Catholic Church on a larger scale and you can find them in the Code of Canon Law. But, for most laypeople, we aren’t going to deal with them on a day-to-day basis. There are also dogmas/doctrines that one needs to believe in to be Catholic. You can find most of those in the Nicene Creed.

It always surprises me that people get worked up over six rules that are all in place for a good reason. They aren’t arbitrarily commanded on high by maniacal bishops that get their thrills off of binding Catholics up with pointless rules. For goodness sake, I have waaaaayyyy more rules in my home. The rules that my husband and I put in place for ourselves and our children are all there to guide, instruct, and help us become good people.

Now, on the other hand, I will say that there are people who get nit-picky about certain practices. Matt Fradd, popular Catholic speaker and podcaster, says, “In order to be a faithful Catholic one must not only submit to the teachings of the Church, but also, not demand uniformity where the Church allows diversity of opinion or custom. To put it another way, one must not seek to make a dogma out of what isn’t.”

For example, it is not a dogma or law of the Church that you must pray the Rosary. It is a beautiful practice which the Church encourages, but it is not necessary to pray it in order to be a good Catholic. Likewise, it is not a dogma of the Church that all music at Mass must be played on an organ. Organs are not divine instruments and the only ones capable of bringing about worshipful music. To be sure, Mass should not be a rock concert as reverence needs to be maintained in God’s house.

I’m as guilty as the next person when it comes to this. I give some perceived less-than-pious person the ole’ side-eye glance when I think they aren’t living up to all MY rules of the Faith. Of course, all this is done out of pride. It’s, once again, a result of me wanting to think that I am more righteous and holy than the next person. Trust me when I say, this is NOT just a problem in the Catholic Church. We ALL do this to some degree because it is human nature. The person who tries to say, “Well, my church doesn’t need all these rules, we have an authentic, natural relationship with the Lord” is, to a degree, being prideful. Even the atheist who says, “Well, I don’t need religion and all these rules to tell me to be a good person” has fallen into the trap of thinking they are better than others based on their life practices and beliefs.

With any rule or law, we must first ask ourselves a couple of questions before we jump to disregard it all. Is it just? Is it logical? Is it moral? What is the purpose behind it? Why is it in place? Do I have the authority to say it isn’t necessary? Is it beneficial? And why does the Catholic Church feel like it has this authority? Could it be biblical?

In Matthew, we read Christ’s words in two places talk about binding and loosing. The first time is when Jesus speaks directly to Peter. “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19-20) Peter would go on to become the first pope of the Catholic Church. Receiving the keys to the kingdom is significant and people in the ancient world would understand the meaning. When kings would leave their kingdoms, they would give the keys to their right-hand man. That person would represent the king while he was away. The pope is the vicar of Christ, a visible representative here on earth. (And, no, it doesn’t mean we believe he is Christ.) Christ gave Peter the power to make binding rules. It only follows that this practice would continue on after Peter’s death with the election of the next pope. Binding and loosing was a term that came from rabbis. “It refers to the authority to make decisions that are binding on God’s people.”

If the only rule in my house was that there are no rules, my home would be a chaotic mess. We all recognize that rules are necessary and beneficial to some degree because they give us boundaries. Children, many times, won’t always like or understand the purpose or meaning behind certain rules that parents lay down, but usually, the parents have enacted them for good reason. Of course, there are parents that make bad, unnecessary rules for their children but that doesn’t mean ALL rules are bad. Even my husband and I have rules that govern our relationship. We don’t name-call or cuss when we argue. We don’t use any bad language in our home or outside of it. We don’t go out to eat with the opposite sex alone unless they are family. Divorce is not an option.

All relationships, if they are to be healthy and thriving, need rules and guidelines. Our relationship with God is no different. The Catholic Church is in the business of saving souls and bringing people closer to Christ. Nothing it asks of us is to smother or burden us. If we see it as such, maybe that has more to do with ourselves than with the Catholic Church.