Clothes Make the Person
by
Eberhard Heller
translated by Fr. Krier and Elisabeth Meurer
The novel of “Kleider machen Leute” (Clothes Make the Person) of
Gottfried Keller (1819-1890) 1) was brought to my mind when I recently
learned of the really disturbing news of what had happened to the
community in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA). There a group of the faithful
split and opened a new Mass site because they did not want to be part
of the present Community any more. Their excuse, apparently, is because
the youth went to Mass with current fashions. It is especially the
young girls who seemed provocative, in the words of some parishioners,
and who excited some of the older ladies, among others because they did
not wear a veil while in Church. These ladies push the veil as an
absolute sign of their Catholic faith, and together with a priest
having the same attitude caused a split between the “decent and
respectable” Catholics and the rest – less ‘honourable’ – the remaining
parishioners.
So therefore not only does “clothes make people”, but even scarves make
(true) Catholics, whereby the Catholicism of certain Ladies only
consists in the wearing of the scarf – and they evidently succumb
through self-deception regarding faith. These privileged souls never
come to the realization that with their intolerance of externals and
their self-righteous pretentiousnes they simply drive away young people
who are searching for God, who are in the budding stages of faith, who,
spiritually viewed, are pushed from God; for expecting love, they are
met with pride and self-righteousness.
It seems, therefore, not only the Moslems have a scarf problem, but
even the Catholic Traditiona-lists. This provides a formal parallel
between the two. (The scarf-bearers and the scarf-advocates should
consider whether it is in their best interest to be possible allies to
Islamic ideology).
It goes without saying, for your information, that among the “shabby”
remainder who are for the most part, the young persons who have been
won over from an ideological void to the true faith and true Catholic
church by the spiritual and sacrificial exertions of pastoral hard work
and now see in this priest their shepherd, by whose engagement in their
ordinary modern daily life and its treatening problems, they feel
dependent for solutions.
In answer to my looking into this problem, I received the following letter from the priest:
"11th of december 2003
Dear Dr. and Mrs. Eberhard Heller,
Thank you for the letter. It seems difficult to believe that people
woild wish to leave when the Church was growing and becoming a visible
structure to say to both the Modernist Church and the Public that the
true Catholic Church has not disappeared. But som believe that we must
be in cellars and completely separated fom the world, that only a few
will be saved (themselves alone), and forgot the missonary role of the
Church. I have repeated many times the Church is not a museum piece for
people who want to relive the past, but that we are in the present.
They take that as Novus Ordo and cling to a 'golden age' that never
existed, i.e., ladies with thge dresses to the floor and long veils
over their heads and everyone talking only English. 2) We have not
greatly suffered from their departure, but rather it hs given more life
to the faithful to participate in activities at the Church. Before,
these people who left would inly complain and argue and give excuses
for not helping. I have only to think of what bishop willl administer
the sacraments here in Las Vegas. (...) Presently we are saying the
Novena for Our Lady of Guadelupe, whose feast is tomorrow. (...)
Father Courtney Edward Krier"
It would be nice if we could just check this off as a sad episode, but
there are similar biases (prejudices) with respect to an intransigent
attitude that causes unrest and annoyance even here. Therefore, after a
period of hesitancy, I decided to tackle this disargeeable problem.
A few years ago, I was with my family on vacation in a mountain
village. My oldest daughter, who had especially followed us later to
enjoy the mountains and ski, wanted to take advantage also of going to
confession to a traditional priest at the Church. Before she had yet
begun her confession, the priest sent her out of the confessional for
the only reason that she came wearing a pair of trousers and not the
expected dress (for she had not brought one with her). When later
talking to my weeping daughter to explain what had happened, since she
walked out of the Church, she asked me the question: What would happen
if possibly having had a mortal sin, I now, while mountain climbing,
had a serious accident? I, without hesitating, replied that the priest
would have to give an account to God for denying her confesion, but she
did not need to worry because she had the intention of reconciling
herself with God. Christ said: “Come to me all you who suffer and are
burdened”; he did not add: ”But first change your clothes.” 3)
Now what stands behind such intransigent behaviour? The advocates of a
severe exterior discipline are quite right to indicate that women show
respect before God and the Blessed Sacrament by covering their heads
while in Church, especially during Mass. This was in fact the custom in
the Mediterranean countries and in the Orthodox Church. They can also
appeal to the Ecclesiastical Canon Law of Pope Benedict XV (CIC 1917),
where in Canon 1262 §2 decrees: Women should have their heads covered
while assisting at sacred rites whether in the Church or outside,
especially when they approach the Holy Table.
A biblical appeal for wearing the head covering is given by St. Paul:
“Every woman praying or pro-phesying with her head uncovered Disgraces
her head” (1 Cor. 11;5), to which, among others, the Mennonites, an
off-shoot of the Calvinist Sect, comply. Paul gives this directive in
connection with the position of man and wife in relation to Christ: “I
would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head
of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11;3).
The Jewish clothing of a woman at the time of Christ waw very similar
to that of the man, only the outer garment was more richly decorated
and the under clothes were longer than those of the man. As a head
covering the men, too, wore a sort of turban. It was therefore usually
only the veil that allowed one to clearly distinguish a man from a
woman (cf. Wetzer und Welte’s Kirchenlexikon oder Enzyklopädie der
katholischen Theologie und ihrer Hilfswissenschaften”, vol. 7, Freiburg
i. Brsg., 1891, Col. 763 f.). The veiling of the head, according to St.
Paul, is a result of the subjection of a woman to a man: “A man indeed
ought not to cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God.
But woman is the glory of man (1 Cor. 11, 7). 4)
It is clear that an existing custom should be kept where it is valid;
for to offend against a living tradi-tion is not merely an external
formal denial, but also a deep revolt against a respected attitude,
that the custom was instituted to express. With the precept for women
to cover their head when they pray as a sign of their subjection would
mean: If a woman denied wearing the veil, she would be revolting
against her subordination to man. She would become a scandal within the
community where this subordination exists.
Those traditionalist minded Catholics who insist upon the wearing of
the veil have a similar fear: if the covering of the head is a sign of
respect before God, then women who don’t wear a covering in the Church
don’t show God the respect He demands. Therefore, they expect exact
fulfillment of this rule.
But it isn’t so easy as this. Not only because we live in an age that
accepts relativity (no principles), where even the expected conventions
have lost their binding force. Therefore insisting on these to be
respected by foreigners as well does not make much sense. No, the
wearing of the viel was already long before the Council (Vatican II) no
longer observed as a (religious) custom. I still remember, during a
study-trip to Italy, as we were visiting the local Churches, that we
were told to show a more respectable appearance than in Germany. Even
in a Spain, known for its strictness, women haven’t worn the veil for
over forty years. I personally don’t know a single woman, who, in not
covering her head, looks at it as giving scandal by not respecting God,
or even intends a denial of that respect.
If therefore someone by means of direct pressure attempts again to
introduce certain forms of respect, for example, wearing a scarf (!),
he should acknowledge at least that there has been a changing of
attitude, and that such authoritarian efforts to do so will usually not
meet with understanding, and that sooner or later the faithful will
rather be invited to cease coming than to attend Mass.
And what about the reference to St. Paul and the interpretation of
Canon Law? Even the commentary of Hamp, Stenzel and Kürzinger, in the
new edition of the Biblical Scripture of the Old and New Testament
(Pattloch Publishing House, Würzburg 1960, with the “Imprimatur” of the
general-vicar of Würzburg, Dr. Fuchs, February 19, 1957) speaks, with
regard to the citation of Paul, as “corres-ponding to an arrangement of
a time-limited custom” (p. 228). Concerning Canon 1262, § 2, one can
with good reason object, that this is a law made by the Church an that
such laws can also be changed. Pope Pius XII, one of the few who
involved themselves with issues concerning women, recognized the
fascination women had with fashions and gave room for an individualized
aesthetic form, that would itself be according to the principle of
decorum (cf. Leiber, Robert: “Pius XII. sagt”, Zürich 1956, p. 62 ff.;
Seibel-Royer, Käthe: “Pius XII. – Ruf an die Frau”, Graz 1956, p. 235).
As a Shepherd who dealt also with such subtle problems as the likes and
preferences of women, a solution cannot be appended to mere paragraph.
One does not introduce local traditions and customs again, that have
become, in practical life, mean-ingless for a long time, without
renewing and re-animating the ideas standing behind them. In our age of
relativity I can construct principles only through self-reflection of
my perception. The process passes from within outwardly. I must be
humble so others may know what humility means. This means publicly
practicing it until it becomes a habit in everything I do.
Similarly Prince Asserate, whose book, “Manners” – which is recieving
an unprecedented success – advises for good manners: “The observance of
known rules doesn’t make someone a man of good manners. It is better to
say manners is the fruit of a moral man – the external, aesthetic
expression of an inner composure” (interview with the journal JUNGE
FREIHEIT on January 16, 2004). 5)
Unfortunately, the insistence on a dress code which has not been
reflected causes aversions which rather suffocate the supposed
spiritual life.
Here the importance of this matter must also be estimated exactly. At
this point it should be clear at the latest that this clothes issue is
a poor minor theme close to sectarianism. This issue partly even seems
to fit quite well into the latter, (...) and its description was a real
effort of will for me – just to show my personal reaction on this –
since you then risk to make a laughing stock of yourself. We are faced
with a lot of real problems to be solved in order to withstand this
precarious situation of the Church. But instead of facing these vital,
extremely vital tasks – e. g. the creation of parishes, catechesis
(including the whole current modern problem), the nationwide joining
together with a safe legal position and pastoral guidance, the
foundation of congregations of priests to elaborate general pastoral
care, they think about the problem whether sneakers are the necessary
‘Catholic’ outfit.
In order to point out how grotesque such a ‘prejudiced’ view of these
problems is, I would just like to present you, dear reader, the
following example: My family and myself have been living here outside
of Munich for quite a few years, in a rural area where there are still
living traditions. We are very close to people out here and also take
part in their traditional events ... in the appropriate costume. Now
imagine that I would only invite guests to my home who submitted to
this tradition, i. e. men would have to turn up in a pair of leather
trousers and women would have to wear a ‘Dirndl’. Everyone would shake
their heads. You will get a similarly uncomprehending reaction from
young people if you give them instructions regarding their way of
dressing which they do not understand. It would certainly be
interesting to see who among the theorists of this order would then be
able to quote the Theory of Archetypes by a certain C. G. Jung.
One can only solve this problem by the revival of contents which then
get formed by themselves. However, such a kind of work, somewhat more
stressful, would just be appropriate today, when young people are not
only left in the lurch by those institutions pretending to provide
support and salvation but also lead astray - into ideological
adventurousness.
To state one more pastoral pedagogic aspect: How should one deal
especially with young people who possess nothing in the spiritual area
any more or who do not yet possess much in this area (again)? Should he
exclude them or treat them with schoolmarmish self-righteousness? In
his book “Giovanni Bosco – Motive of a New Education” (Olten, 1946),
Franz Dilger describes how Don Bosco influenced his children:
“All kinds of disappointment in the common way of education show
themselves to be a con-sequence of attempted spiritual violation of the
young people. He who only wants to serve life and the young people’s
good will be more successful in forming them than he who faces the
developing human being with his categorical imperative. The old people
serve the young, not the other way round, this is Don Bosco’s maxim. He
had experienced a hundred times that so much evil arising among young
people comes from the adults, whether they awake evil in the developing
nature by forcing them, by their inclination to terror or whether; by
lack of dedica-tion, they do not prevent it. The mistakes of young
people are mostly reflexions of adults’ vices.
This may sound revolutionary in the ears of all traditionalists who do
not want to admit that the young person could also be different from
the way they think him to be according to their view strongly
influenced by antiquity. What a battle Don Bosco had to fight against
this seemingly Christian tendency to consider the historically
conditioned image of man to be as unchangeable as a dogma! But he
proved and his successors will believe that educators who only know the
order of dedication and an imperturbable love for Jesus Christ will
show the youth in a new light. They will neither preach in the usual
meaning of this word nor will they moralize, but by giving an example
of a Christian existence full of enthusiasm and approval of the world,
they will have a magnetic attraction for young people.
Who will doubt this? What is, then, the reason why young people who
have been educated in a religious way so often attend lessons of
religious education lethargically, with conscious reluctance, by
tiresome obligation, because they were just detailed to do so? There is
no question on their lips, no problem in their minds, no longing in
their hearts and no emotion on their faces!
The others, however, those not forced in religious matters, even many
who have been educated in an almost pagan way, press towards the light
of Jesus Christ. Where does this fatal difference come from? Give
freedom, educate from within towards Jesus Christ! Anything else is the
rudiment of an antiquated way of exerting power. What a lot of harm did
we do to our cause with imposed religion! Bosco would change our
religious education to a great extent. Religion is a matter of love
between God and man. Have they forgotten how subtle and fragile love
is? If Jesus Christ finds that young and not old people are best
disposed for the Kingdom of God and you observe that reality apparently
is the other way round, are we now supposed to lose our faith in the
Master or should we not rather lose our faith in the wrong attitude of
the preachers of faith towards the youth? It is only those who are
moved by religion and who, at the same time, really know the height and
depth of life who should initiate young people to the love secret of
God.
But unfortunately it is too often quantity which is decisive, and
therefore they think that everything is all right if the imposed
practice goes on trouble-free and organized in classes. What was
Bosco’s warning against imposed practice? “Esortare, esortare e niente
di più!” (Admonish, encourage – and nothing else!) (p. 201 f.)
Notes:
1) The novel deals with a tailor who, because of his good clothes, is
mixed up with a count and thus causes a lot of confusion. The author
wants to state hereby, that you should not judge people only by their
outward appearance.
2) The author means hereby, that these people make no effort even to
talk to the Latinos, i. e. the spanish-speaking immigrants from South
and Central America, in their language. Spanish has practically become
the second official language in the southern states of the USA. Father
Krier had learned spanish in order to be able to take care of the young
people coming mostly from Mexico.
3) As a father confessor, this priest ought not to have looked at the
trousers but at the spiritual need, at the sins. Christ so often
indicated to the Jews that it was not only fulfilling legal
prescriptions which was important, but before all showing mercy. When
such rigorous claims are concerned, it is generally shown that the
persons with such an attitude have themselves never had any children or
only have developped a troubled attitude to them.
4) The total relation between man and wife – without considering the
specific importance of each, is defined by St. Paul as follows: “In the
Lord, however, neither has the man any value independent from the wife
nor has the wife any value independent from the man. For as the wife
comes from the man, so the man comes from the wife, but everything
comes from God.” (1 Cor. 11; 11 f.)
5) Prince Asfa-Wossen Aserate: “Manners”, Eichborn, 2003. The book
which was not written as an encyclopedia of good manners but rather
represents a kind of “ethnology of our manners” (blurb) has in the
meantime become a best seller. The prince is the grandnephew of the
Christian emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, who was murdered by the
communist regime of Mengistu in 1974/75. The prince was born in Addis
Abbeba in 1948 and came to Germany as a refugee in 1968.
(from EINSICHT Number 1, january 2004, pag. 17 ss.)
***
St. Gregory the Great:
“In its last days, the Church will be deprived of its force. An army of
apostate priests are preparing for the Antichrist. At the end of time
there will be an entire unity among the godless, whereas there will be
separation and division among the righteous” (Dialoghi, lib. IV.)
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