National Catholic Reporter correspondent Heidi Schlumpf is coming to Portland to talk about resistance both inside and outside the church
Heidi Schlumpf has reported on issues of religion, spirituality and social justice for three decades, most recently as the national correspondent with the progressive National Catholic Reporter. Through that publication, Schlumpf explores issues of politics inside and outside the church and the resistance movement that has taken on a renewed urgency since the 2016 election.
Call to Action is one such movement, one with roots dating back to the 1970s following the Second Vatican Council, which ushered in new, progressive attitudes around the Catholic hierarchy, emphasizing the role of the laity, not just the authority of the clergy. As a national organization, it has been working to reform the church to be more inclusive, but after more than four decades, it remains in resistance against a firmly established Catholic hegemony.
Call to Action Northwest Oregon is bringing Schlumpf to Portland on Oct. 11 to speak about resistance within and outside the church. She will be speaking at 7 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Hall, 806 NE Alberta St. The event is open to the public at no charge, but free-will donations will be accepted.
Resistance is all around us these days, and Schlumpf reports on the spectrum of political and religious dynamics, from Donald Trump to Pope Francis. In between, she said, “there are a lot of people working hard to try to make the world a better place.”
Casey Miller: The melding of Catholic influence and politics has somewhat always been there. In your investigations into the Eternal World Television Network (a right-wing Catholic and political news network), there seems to be little regard in this kind of programming for the separation of church and state – especially with the network’s blatantly public support of Donald Trump and his administration. Is this more dangerous than the centuries of Vatican influence on politics worldwide?
Heidi Schlumpf: I worked hard on that story to try to bring to the attention of people, both within the church and outside the church, that there had been this change in very large and very influential media networks. That sets the tone for what Catholicism in America is. I don’t believe it represents accurately what everyday Catholics are thinking.
I’m not a historian and I can’t speak about centuries of Vatican influence, but I can say that right now, very powerful, very wealthy conservative Catholics in this country have a lot of influence, and they have influence with the church. Within organizations that have been around for a long time, like the Knights of Columbus, they have an influence on some of the leadership in the church with the bishops and they have influence in the international church, too, like the Vatican. That’s their right, in my opinion, to use their resources and push for their beliefs. But as a journalist, I think it’s important that Catholics and others know what they’re doing just so that it’s all being done transparently.
Miller: Who would you say is using whom, between the ultra-conservative GOP movement and the church?
Schlumpf: My sense is that there is some mutual benefit for both parties to be affiliated with each other. Obviously, political parties and certain candidates and certain lobbying groups find it very beneficial to have Catholics in their camp. Catholics are very important; they’re a large voting bloc in this country.
On the other hand, what do Catholics get out of it? I sense that there are probably some Catholics for whom it’s important to have political power so that the issues that they care about can be implemented. So, my guess is it’s of mutual benefit for groups to align. But again, I just feel that it’s important to be transparent about it. There is a part of me that sometimes would like to see more progressive groups, especially within the church, be more successful at getting their own narrative and values out in the public square.
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Miller: Do you think women’s movements, like the Women’s March and #MeToo, have influenced a push for gender equality within church leadership?
Schlumpf: Of course, there’s a long history of working for gender equality in the church and Call to Action has been part of that. My own newspaper has been a strong advocate for that for decades. That’s one of the things I’ll be talking about, is how some of these new movements affect that; for example, the Women’s March, which I attended and reported about. There’s many other movements that include people of color and a lot more young people – it’s more diverse. They often have an energy and enthusiasm and strategy that could be very helpful to renew some of these church reform movements.
Miller: Has there been more recent success there, with these gender equality pushes in the church and in society?
Schlumpf: In recent history, maybe the last decade or so, the church has been led by more conservative people. There’s been successful, less visible progress, sure. In terms of making real progress on issues in the progressive way in the church, I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of success under the newer, conservative leadership that we have. I think that Pope Francis is someone – and I don’t know if I’d call him a liberal – who’s trying to change the tone and the way of looking at things instead of being in the culture mentality. He’s trying to have more of a culture of encounter, which is more open to at least talking about some of those issues. He’s one of the men that inspired me to come back to reporting after teaching.
I’m hopeful that under Pope Francis we’ll see some changes that have been found in conversation, like women becoming deacons and a movement to have women as official representatives in church politics, which we hadn’t had in the past. There’s been some small movements under him, but the reality is it’s different under the leadership in the U.S. church. The bishops in the United States, including the leadership in Portland, many of them are probably more conservative than the pope and some of the appointments that he’s making.
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Miller: This past week, we’ve seen millions of youths marching in the streets demanding changes in the world. Is this the same case in the Catholic Church? Have you seen a greater youth presence in the church affecting masses and other programs in the church community?
Schlumpf: The recent climate marches across the country are a perfect example of these broader resistance movements that I think the church movements can learn from. There is a better level of energy and success that they’re having, whether it’s about marching for gun control, the environment, or other social issues that are important. There are young people in the church, and I don’t want to discount the younger people who are making positive change in the church, but it is a struggle that the church is facing right now.
More progressive, younger Catholics have disaffiliated with the institution of the church. A lot of younger people who do stay active with institutional Catholicism are more traditional. So you have this reality of church institutions being more traditional and less progressive.
That said, there are a lot of younger progressive people in the church right now. Maybe the numbers aren’t as big as we’d like, but the ones who have stayed are looking for justice within the church. I think they’re really admirable and there’s things we can learn from them as well. So there is a new energy there. But I’d be lying if I said there are plenty of young liberal Catholics in the U.S. church. A lot of them, as with many other faiths, have chosen not to affiliate with institutional religion.
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Miller: I don’t want to spoil your talk with Call to Action, but can you tell me just one of the role models you have in both the secular and church resistance movements?
Schlumpf: I am talking about the Women’s March and a little bit about the Parkland students, in terms of being groups that have organized differently. Every different generation has something to teach us. I think they’re very good at social media, and creating energy and community that makes these events attractive.
I am still in the church and I have a lot of role models within the church, like Call to Action. Also, our church is very good at holding individuals as role models, like, of course, the saints. I traveled to Rome to cover the canonization of Saint Oscar Romero of San Salvador, and I was so inspired by that history. I also wrote a biography of a pretty prominent feminist theologian within Catholicism, Elizabeth Johnson, and I find her writing and her life extremely inspiring.
Miller: You’re a practicing Catholic and reporting on issues within the Catholic Church. Have you had any difficulty in curbing any personal bias you may have when writing about these issues?
Schlumpf: At the newspaper that I work at – and I’ve worked at other types of Catholic publications – we are focused on true journalism. That said, I believe that sometimes our journalists can bring personal bias to a story. It’s important to name these biases and to be transparent about them, and to do your best to set them aside when you do your work. But obviously, I’m someone who believes in women’s equality and feminism, and there are more issues that are also important to me.
Have I struggled to be a Catholic in the church? Yes, of course. I think lots of people do, especially progressive women. But for me, the things that have been offered to me by the church, and including by church reform movements, are part of the reason that I stay. Because I believe that making change from within is the best way for me to be effective.
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