The Church Is Hierarchical For A Reason

The other night we watched a movie called The Whale, which was historical fiction of the account told by a cabin boy of the Essex in 1820 which Herman Melville based Moby Dick on. A theme within the film was that of the order of command--even though there were tense disputes between the captain and his second in command on decisions, the second in command always deferred to the captain. Ultimately, the captain is responsible for the ship and the welfare of the crew.  He calls the shots. He carries the burden.

When we think about our institutions--our government, military, law enforcement, and the Catholic Church herself--they are often able to weather crises because of this hierarchy of rank and chain of command. Ultimately, one man is responsible at the top, and those under him exercise their authority and are responsible for others under him.

When I moved to a Catholic Worker to help run a House of Hospitality in my twenties, this model of 'natural hierarchy' was eschewed. No one was really 'in charge,' but a democratization of decisions was adopted by the community. In reality, nothing really got done, and I found myself chaffing at this de-centralized model. It was similar to the commune-type model of the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle a few years ago, which was predictably doomed to failure and disbandment when no one is ultimately responsible. 

The natural order here on earth is reflected in the angelic hierarchy in Heaven, which St. Thomas enumerates as follows in rank order:

Seraphim 

Cherubim

Thrones

Dominions

Virtues

Powers

Principalities

Archangels

Angels

The model of the Church--Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, etc--lends itself to order (hopefully!) The Church is not a democracy, thank goodness. It has endured for two thousand odd years, and will continue to endure--but not because of democratic rule. Maybe that's why the Church in America is a bit at odds and in tension with our Protestant-roots in its founding; democracy (even in a democratic republic) is a different kind of model that the Church was not founded on.

And there was a reason Christ founded His Church with men; men are disposed to this natural order, this hierarchical structuring, which they respect and understand. Women are more disposed to democratic discussion and working things out through conversation and compromise. But women are not permitted to Holy Orders and do not comprise the hierarchy. Like it or not, this is what Christ ordained, and not without reason.

We may chaff under bad popes and insolent bishops, but we have to admit that this chain of command, and it must be respected. This is why in monasteries, obedience is a virtue to be extoled. Obviously our conscience must be followed and respected, but always in light of maintaining order in our souls and in our corporate environments. 

 "Order and virtue are synonymous terms," St. Francis de Sales wrote in The Secret of Sanctity, "Order is the guide of virtue, and virtue is the guide of order. Whatever good you do, if you do it not in order, you do it not well. If your life is marked by order, you will be happy; if your life is one of disorder, you will be miserable." (Advantages of a Rule)