As a body that looks powerful and acts powerfully, the Catholic Church seems to want your obedience. But it does not seem to demand it. (Unlike the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God that asks “authoritatively” for money in exchange for miracles and blessings.)
We owe obedience to God alone — which is really an obedience to our deepest, truest self. The Church carries on the work of Jesus Christ, whom we call the Son of God, because he has shown this to us.
Perhaps that is why, years ago, when I was younger, I had a distorted image of the Church. I saw it reverently at a distance. Now, I am no longer outside and I am part of the Church, that is, part of a community not an institution. The power of this diverse community comes from what binds their members together. This does not entail that such a community is powerful. In fact, following Jesus, it should reject such an influence and be solely at the service of humanity and the salvation it aspires to.
