Snapd
ragon
THE
P RTAL
April 2016
Page 5
Catholicism
without the crucifix
isn’t Catholicism
Empty crosses, a flying Jesus; Snapdragon is puzzled
by the lack of a crucifix in some Catholic Churches
We’re probably
familiar with some of the Protestant objections to the crucifix
as opposed to the empty cross. Among them is that Christ is no longer on the cross he is risen – so the cross should not carry a corpus. Some Protestants see the image of Christ
on the cross as a violation of the command to make no graven image. As a result, they use
plain crosses in their churches and in their jewellery. There’s also the contention that the crucifix is ‘Catholic’,
so displaying the crucifix is to make a statement in favour of Romish beliefs and practices –an obvious no-no
for Protestants.
A Catholic would never subscribe
to the second and third of these
objections clearly, but an increasing
number of Catholics seem to be subscribing
to the first. I have visited a number of churches
recently for Mass where the sanctuary crucifix
has been replaced by an image of the Risen
Christ, in which typically Our Lord is creepily
floating in front of a cross and sometimes with
no cross visible at all.
venerating an empty cross
In a couple of churches I couldn’t find a single
crucifix anywhere, apart from some brightly
painted ones lying on the CAFOD stall. Then I
recently became aware of the practice in some
churches of venerating an empty cross, rather than a
crucifix, on Good Friday, which really got me puzzled.
The common argument that the
Missal doesn’t actually say that a Risen
Christ or empty cross (or whatever)
can’t be used, so it is okay to have one, is
silly because the Missal doesn’t list all the
things that shouldn’t be done.
It doesn’t state, for example, that statues
of Pontius Pilate should not be placed in the
sanctuary, or images of the Buddha placed on the
altar. It speaks positively of what is required and
what is permitted, among them a crucifix, “on
the altar or near it” at least during Mass.
Amazingly, the rubrics for Good Friday
are less specific, speaking of just a “cross” to be
brought into church for adoration.
Catholicism without the crucifix
Good Friday without a crucifix? We adore the holy isn’t Catholicism
cross only because of the One who was fastened to it
and died for our salvation, surely? The wood of the
cross has no merit of its own.
There is to be a cross
So I went to the Roman Missal. For the celeb