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A Universal Slap from Hill
12/15/2003

Well, I thought I was going to be able to ignore Lauryn Hill's stealth assault on the Catholic Church. I had even gone to the extent, last night, of researching Hill's religious history, but I decided to leave it alone for personal as well as strategic reasons. But if a row among Catholic conservatives is going to break out, I'd rather jump in sooner than later.

Here's as much as I can find of the statement that Hill chose to substitute for the music that she'd been invited to perform:

[Yahoo]
"I'm not here to celebrate, like you, the birth of Christ, but to ask you why you are not in mourning for his death in this place," Hill said, reading from a prepared statement as she came on stage for her performance as part of a all-star gala concert.

"Holy God has witnessed the corruption of your leadership, of the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy," she added, calling on the hierarchy to "repent".

[AP]
Several Italian newspapers on Sunday ran translations of the statement, which was delivered in English. They quoted her as saying there was "no acceptable explanation for defending the church."

"I realize some of you may be offended by what I'm saying, but what do you say to the families who were betrayed by the people in whom they believed?" La Repubblica newspaper quoted her as saying.

[Variety]
"God has been a witness to the corruption of his leadership, to the exploitation and abuses. It is the least one can say about the clergy," added the Grammy-winning singer. "Men sin, and it is they who are responsible for corruption. Therefore you must repent, repent."

[Reuters]
Hill told the crowd to seek blessings "from God not men" and said she did "not believe in representatives of God on earth."

My first impulse upon reading of the incident was to wonder who investigates and invites people to these events. The very first link on a Google search for "lauryn hill religion" yields this quotation from the singer: "Real religion is no religion at all." The second extends that quotation, and bears the title "Sources Say Lauryn Hill May Be Brainwashed." I don't say this to undermine her point, whatever it was, but to suggest that maybe she represented a bit of a wildcard to invite to such an event.

To Hill's ambush of the hierarchy, Rod Dreher — with whom I very often agree, but who seems a bit too quick to side with anybody who attacks the Catholic establishment — says:

Good for her. It's a shame it takes a non-Catholic to show that kind of courageous witness to the hierarchy, which has so grievously failed Catholic children and their families in the sex-abuse scandal. I think the reaction of Bishop Rino Fisichella was very telling. He called Hill's speech, "a rash outburst. An uneducated act showing a lack of respect for the place she was a guest and for those who invited her." Well, la-dee-da, how unrefined of Hill! The thing for the bishop to have said was, "It's sad that Miss Hill chose a Christmas concert to express her opinion on this matter, which is out of place at this kind of event. But this is part of the penance we in the Catholic hierarchy must perform, and we must accept her call to repentance -- not because an American pop singer tells us to, but because God calls us to."

Kathryn Jean Lopez's response to Rod hits on the essence of my first objection to Hill's act:

As you say, it was rude, but I don't really see the courageous prophetic angle in her rant. I suspect she was invited to the Christmas concert to sing Christmas songs in the celebration of the birth of Christ, where presumably families were--it was not the venue. She could have, for instance, said "no" to the invitation and issued a press release about how evil she thinks the Vatican is (where Christ is dead, evidently; I am as repulsed and angered and saddened by crimes against children and young people as anyone, but I do not think that Christ is dead in the Vatican City or in the Catholic Church) or written a song that would have gotten just as much, if not more, attention.

This criticism expands, in my opinion, in light of the last chunk of the rant, provided by Reuters, that I quote above: Hill does "not believe in representatives of God on earth." In other words, she accepted the invitation when her problem isn't only with specific abuse — an obvious, topical, safe, and (depending on context) justified travesty on which to hang invective — but with the entire idea of clergy.

Yeah, she may have spoken "truth to power," but it wasn't a power that she accepts, and it wasn't a truth, ultimately, that Catholics should accept. I've participated in the discussions and shared in the agony among Catholics when it comes to the abuse scandals, but I think we do ourselves — and our Church — a grievous disservice if we look for prophets, as Rod calls Hill on the DMN blog, among those who reject outright the beliefs that make our situation so complex and painful. This is particularly true when it is simply impossible to argue that those heroes actually put anything at risk in order to strike their poses.

ADDENDUM:
Of course, while the large and varied audience made Hill's outburst completely inappropriate, it's difficult to feel for the specific members of the hierarchy who were there to be embarassed. As Diogenes of the Catholic World News blog notes:

That said, there's a sense in which Hill's Vatican hosts got what was coming to them. I'm not referring to her reprimand on sexual abuse but to the ill-focused worldliness of senior clergy who wish to nuzzle up to the rich and famous of whatever stripe, including those who exult in contempt for Christianity. The Italian daily La Repubblica says a rapper named Shaggy was not allowed to perform a number called "Hey Sexy Lady" before the assembled bishops, but clearly the stuff that makes the cut is pretty gamy.

Funny how addressing either of the two valid criticisms of the hierarchy highlighted by this incident would likely address the other, as well.

Posted by Justin Katz @ 02:20 PM EST

2 comments

Actually, Justin, it would make sense for anybody who doesn't believe in "representatives of God on earth" to make the kind of remarks Lauryn Hill did, because such a person would see *any* clerical or ecclesial office (Catholic or otherwise) as inherently phony.

But that's really a side issue. Hill is absolutely correct, in my mind -- not only in her remarks about the clerical abuse crisis but in her remarks about how much of the hierarchy (especially in Rome) has abandoned God, as illustrated by the entrenched anti-Semitism w/in the Vatican (*not* on JPII's part but on the part of some of his subordinates) or by some of the pulled curial punches over the last couple of years regarding Jihadist terrorism.

As far as Rod goes, you must remember that Rod has talked extensively with victims and their families, so his sense of outrage is acute. So is his sense of betrayal. So is (or should be) the sense of outrage and betrayal of any Catholic regarding clerical sex abuse. Why do you think I've been so critical and angry over the past couple of years on various Catholic blogs about this Pope?

As far as being rude goes, wasn't Jesus "rude" when he tried to throw the moneychangers out of the Temple and proclaimed, "You have turned My Father's house into a den of thieves"? Perhaps too few Catholics realize that too many priests and bishops have turned God's house into a gay bordello.

Joseph D'Hippolito @ 12/15/2003 08:47 PM EST

Joseph,

I realize that Hill's comments were in line with what she believes. However, agreement with some of the specifics of her criticism ought to be tempered by and clearly deliniated from agreement with her broader view. One distinction that mustn't be lost is that, whereas Hill suggested that Christ has died within the Church, we shouldn't go further than admitting that some among the hierarchy (and many among lay Catholics) have "abandoned God," as you put it.

I also realize that you are correct about the reason for Rod's reaction, but that doesn't excuse me from suggesting that he tempter his just outrage.

Justin Katz @ 12/16/2003 10:46 AM EST