I wear a necklace with a medal depicting the faces of two remarkable saints: Peter and Paul. It reminds me of two offices that are crucial for effective ministry.
I wear the medal with Peter’s face directed toward my heart and Paul’s face toward the world. Interestingly, this necklace says something about American Catholicism today, especially dioceses experiencing consolidation.
The image of Peter on the necklace depicts him holding the keys. Of course, this refers to the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus says to Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 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 16:18-19).
Peter with the keys reminds us of leadership, governance, law, authority, and direction. It also represents structure, unity, order, and complex decision-making. The symbol of a key provides some important insights. A flimsy, soft, and misshapen key can only partially function. It will not achieve its end: opening and closing a door.
Like a strong key, the Church must be firm, solid, and properly structured. This type of key achieves its end when opening and closing a door. Thus, the office of Peter must reflect that of a key.
On the other side of the medal, Paul is holding a sword. Of course, Paul was martyred in Rome by the sword, but there is another meaning behind the image. Like a sword, Paul’s words pierced the Roman Empire much more deeply than the Roman guards pierced his skin. Paul’s letters to various communities and his preaching changed the landscape of Western civilization.
Paul with the sword reminds us of evangelization, preaching, teaching, writing, catechesis, missionary work, transforming the culture, and dialoguing with various groups. Evangelization must pierce cultural perceptions, understandings, and opinions like the sword.
The sword of evangelization must cut through the superficial and erroneous aspects of the culture. Like the key for Peter, the sword must be firm, refined, and sharp. Otherwise, it won’t achieve its end: to cut through something. Thus, Paul's office must reflect that of a sword.
How does this image of my necklace say something about American Catholicism, especially dioceses experiencing consolidation? We need both Peter and Paul, but we need the right balance. An overemphasis on either is not helpful to the mission of the Church, especially in our present day.
I’ve noticed that Peter and Paul's balance is being tested with consolidation. I’m referring to geographic regions experiencing a steep demographic decline (not only of parishioners but also clergy, resources, and much more). Consolidation demands various approaches such as restructuring, partnering, merging, closing churches, etc. But consolidation also requires communication, outreach, catechesis, listening, suffering with loss, providing hope, and much more.
How does the key of Peter and the sword of Paul work together amid this challenge? In other words, how can consolidation and evangelization work hand-in-hand?
Consolidation is necessary for many dioceses, and there is a long list to justify this dilemma: changing demographics, economically troubled areas, a severe decline in Church attendance, a serious decline in priestly vocations, a severe decline in human resources, a serious decline in the offertory, weakened physical structures, the obvious challenge of sustaining structures which were suited for the mid-20th century, an increase in secularism, among other factors.
Evangelization is always necessary because of Christ's command, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus didn’t say “for a brief period” or “when it is convenient for you” or “when the culture will like to hear it.” The command is for every time and place.
I’m reminded of Pope St. Paul VI’s statement in his 1975 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize” (Evangelii nuntiandi, 14).
The Great Commission from Christ to “make disciples of all nations” cannot be ignored during moments of consolidation. Under no circumstances is it appropriate or worthwhile to say, “Once all this consolidation stuff is over with, we can evangelize…or at least the next generation will.” Nonsense. The imperative “Go” is always in the present tense.
I would now like to share two prevalent, extreme positions. Some groups hold only Peter’s keys, while others only hold Paul’s sword. As usual, Catholicism's both-and proves to be the healthiest. We need both the keys and the sword: consolidation and evangelization.
Holding onto only the keys: Some people want to look at this problem from statistical and business perspectives strictly. They want to analyze the data, look at the numbers (demographic, financial, etc.), and forecast the projections. This emphasis is fine, and the data is beneficial for prudent decision-making. However, problems arise when only the data is considered, and consolidation is discussed without considering how to evangelize amid changing circumstances and issues. It often sounds like this, “At the end of the day, the Church is a business.” This type of language never lends itself well to the great work of evangelization. In other words, it’s all consolidation (all about closing doors with Peter’s keys). This group tends to have this mentality, “Down the road, evangelization with Paul’s sword will come, but others can do that - not us.” This group, intentionally or unintentionally, loses sight of the Great Commission - to go and teach all nations.
Holding onto only the sword: On the opposite end, some want to expand our evangelization efforts and reach people right now while keeping all Church structures as they have been. It sounds like this: “Let’s hold onto Paul's sword with everything we’ve got and throw out Peter's keys. No difficult changes are necessary, and closing any doors is unnecessary. We can fill up all the empty seats, but we need another day, week, month, and another program or initiative.” In other words, it’s all evangelization (all about cutting through contemporary challenges with Paul’s sword) and refusing to talk about Peter’s keys, the dire need for consolidation. This group tends to imagine a brighter tomorrow without considering what needs to be changed today…or probably should have been changed long ago.
Remember Peter and Paul on my necklace? Problems emerge when we only look at one side of the medal. Without emphasizing evangelization and bringing people back to the Church, mere consolidation is not of the Gospel. Jesus says, “Go and teach all nations!” (Matthew 28:19). Christ’s command is to evangelize constantly. Mere evangelization, without any emphasis on consolidation, is simply illogical at the present moment.
We need a “Peter and Paul” mentality to navigate this situation. The history of Catholicism repeatedly shows that the holy ground (and the most fruitful) is the balance of both-and. This is proven to be true theologically, philosophically, and practically. We see this in the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the body and the soul, scripture and tradition, the transcendence and immanence of God, grace and nature, faith and reason, etc. We also see the Church at its strongest when the offices of Peter and Paul are together, side-by-side.
Our present-day demands that we have consolidation and evangelization at the center of our desks. One hand must hold firm to the key while the other holds firm to the sword. This has always been the most effective approach, and it will continue to be. This means for every consolidation move, there needs to be an evangelization move.
As the key turns, the sword swings. Notice something significant about the sword: It doesn’t matter if the key turns toward locking or opening a Church door—the sword must swing and keep swinging.
The temptation, and I’ve seen it repeatedly, is to hold onto the key or the sword while letting the other fall to the ground.
Our bishops, clergy, religious, and lay faithful face a remarkable challenge. The image of Peter and Paul walking side-by-side down Roman roads over 2,000 years ago should not collect dust. It should be a Catholic vision that is always at work, demanding the attention and effort of every baptized person.
+ Fr. Ben Daghir