A Disturbing Report
In 2019, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, in its outcome, sent a shocking wave across the Catholic world. The survey revealed that some self-professed Catholics; that is, they claimed to be Catholics, but they do not believe the core teachings of the Church.
Almost seven out of ten Catholics sampled, representing (69%), according to the survey, say they personally believe that during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine used in Communion “are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.” Only one-third Catholics (31%) say they believe that “during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the Body and Blood of Jesus.”
In addition to what they believe about the Holy Eucharist, the survey also included a question that tested whether Catholics know what the Church teaches on the subject. Most Catholics who believe that the bread and wine are "symbols" do not know what the Church teaches about transubstantiation. Overall, 43% of Catholics believe that the bread and wine are "symbolic" and also that this reflects the position of the Church! Still, one-in-five Catholics (22%) reject the idea of transubstantiation, even though they know about the Church’s teaching.
What a regrettable and embarrassing report! It is a rude awakening. The survey has revealed an underlying crisis of faith of some Catholics. And we must not dismiss the report as "not for us." How did these respondents become Catholics in the first place? What was the process of their formation in faith? What body of instructions, catechesis, were they exposed to? Who were their teachers and pastors?
The Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’”
This is a wake up call to the Church's pastors, catechists and teachers. They should run with this report. They must begin to take urgent steps to reassess and review the catechetical process of forming catechumen in the faith, lest they wasted their energies raising generations of Catholics who may not know who is Jesus Christ!
Taking the lead
We have decided to fire the first shot towards remedying this anomaly, by delving into the theology of transubstantiation.
What is
transubstantiation?
Transubstantiation is English derivative of the Latin word: trans-substantiatio;
in Greek: μετουσίωσις or metousiosis. Transubstantiation consists of two key
words: “trans-" and "substantiation."
‘Trans-‘ is a prefix, for instance, trans-ition, trans-portation, trans-formation
indicating shift in movement, or going forward, from one point to another. It
is also a word that implies conversion from one form or nature to another. ‘Trans,’
therefore, is when something has left its original form, what it used to be, to
assume a different nature altogether! We are trying to break it down to levels, avoiding much technicality.
‘Substantiation’ is the substance, the form of a matter. Any material thing has form. And the form of a matter is its substance.
A dogmatic teaching
Transubstantiation is a dogmatic teaching of the Catholic Church, which holds that during Holy Mass, the bread and wine used for Communion become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, after prayers of consecration. This teaching is central to the Catholic faith. The affirmation of this doctrine was expressed, using the word "transubstantiate", by the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215.
The Church, in 1551, at the Council of Trent, declared that the doctrine of transubstantiation is a dogma of faith which every Catholic must believe. It stated that "by the consecration of the bread and of the wine, a conversion is made of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood; which conversion is, by the holy Catholic Church, suitably and properly called Transubstantiation." This change is brought about in the Eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of the Holy Spirit.
The Church also had a hectic time dealing with Luther's wrong teachings on transubstantiation. Luther had taught that the substances of bread and wine exist "conjointly" with the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He called this "consubstantiation" as against transubstantiation.
There was yet another confusing teaching put forward by Guitmund of Aversa, called the "doctrine of impanation." In this teaching, Guitmund suggested that Christ and the substance of the bread are united by hypostatic union.
The Council of Trent, however, declared that the whole substance of the bread is transformed into the body of Christ and the whole substance of the wine is transformed into the blood of Christ. This transformation is what is known as transubstantiation.
The expression, transubstantiation, was coined by great theologians of the Church around the 12th century. One of the great theologians was Magister Orlando Bandinelli Rowland, who later became
Pope Alexander III, about 1150. Others included Stephen of Tournai about 1160, and Petrus Comestor 1160-70. The term was first used in the decretals of Pope Innocent III, and later in the Caput Firmiter of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Decretals are letters of a Pope that formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.
Dogmas of the Church are not doctrinal option, left at the discretion of individual to believe or not. They are matters of faith, de fide, which every Catholic faithful is bound to believe. And one is not Catholic who does not believe any of the defined dogmatic teachings of the Church. One can always ask questions about the faith and teachings of the Church, and seek satisfactory answers to them. Many parishes, for instance, have "Know Your Faith" clinics or sessions where opportunities are provided for people to understand the teachings of the Church better. Faith seeks understanding, not doubt!
Read the Pew Report
here.
We will like to read from you how best you think the challenge of this report can be tackled.
Feel free to drop us a note.
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