Returning from a Retreat

Over the weekend I went on a religious retreat led by four Dominican Priests, Fr. Bonaventure Chapman, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand, Fr. Patrick, and, most exciting for me, Fr. Gregory Pine. Fr. Pine is a man I admire tremendously, a regular speaker on “Pints With Aquinas” who has been interviewed several times by Matt Fradd separately from his own show, as well as a regular on the Godsplaining Podcast, which was actually the group that ran the retreat.

The retreat was in many ways the platonic ideal of what I look for in retreats. A young adult retreat about two hours away from me in beautiful woodlands, led by Dominicans including Fr. Pine, that also doubled as a book study of the late Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Truth and Tolerance”. And the retreat did not disappoint. I loved every second of it.

My goal during the retreat was to contrive at least one conversation with Fr. Pine, and indeed, by the time the weekend was over, I had had two robust conversations. As you can imagine, the Priests were viewed by all there as the celebrity guests and coveted company, so in some ways snagging any one for a discussion was somewhat difficult. Of course, it was helped that all four Priests were warm and friendly, funny, erudite, and engaging.

I felt a little bad, because on Friday and Saturday morning I did not end up speaking with Fr. Pine, but I did end up speaking with Fr. Bonaventure. The reason I felt bad is that in all honesty, I had wanted to meet with Fr. Pine. This was a bias on my part. Fr. Bonaventure proved to be a charming and likable conversationalist.

I write this, though, to bring up a piece of the conversation I had with Fr. Pine on Sunday. I told him that when I speak with Protestant friends who are convinced Catholicism is not true, I tell them not to become Catholic, because one should only be Catholic if one is convinced that Catholicism is true.

Fr. Pine advised against this approach, and I’ve been reflecting on what he said.

His first point is that leaning on sincerity seems to be a particularly modern error. Sincerity does not equal truth. And I am in a particular position where I happen to know that Catholicism is the fullness of truth, and thus know that my friend’s arguments fail.

But while I did not say so at the time, I’ve been thinking it over and I’m not sure if I agree.

The truth is, I don’t KNOW that Catholicism is the fullness of truth. In my judgment, and the judgment of many intelligent men I greatly respect, Catholicism is the fullness of truth. The problem is, in the judgment of many intelligent men Protestantism is the fullness of truth. Or Greek Orthodoxy. Or oriental Orthodoxy.

While God is infallible, human beings are not God. We are fallible. It is entirely plausible to me that I can be wrong in my conclusions about Catholicism.

I’m not saying I am. I don’t think I am; if I did, I would not be Catholic. But as good as the arguments are, the historical case involves so many moving parts that ultimately it does not strike me as beyond the bounds of plausibility that I have somehow drawn the wrong conclusion. Everyone who holds their opinion, if they’ve put some thought into it, is just as convinced of the rightness of that opinion as I am.

So if I were to go around saying “The big difference between me and you is that I am one hundred percent certain that I am correct and Catholicism is true”, I would be lying. I am not one hundred percent certain and can certainly be wrong. Human reason has limits.

I guess I’m saying that I believe God’s mercy at least CAN extend to those in honest error. With that said, it’s not something I would count on.