Posted on 11/22/2008 6:31:54 AM PST by tcg
Perhaps Father Newman's statement could have been more nuanced. He could have clarified the matter by adding that, for it to be a serious sin, the Catholic needed to be fully knowledgeable about the Catholic Church's teaching on abortion and Senator Obama's voting record on the issue. However, this was not a pontifical statement written for the instruction of all Catholics in America; it was a bulletin column in a parish where there has been steady and consistent catechesis on the whole range of Catholic issues, including abortion.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
1. Loyal 2. Lame 3. Defiant 4. Demonic
These last paragraphs seem of import.
But the "defiant" category makes up the largest number of our respondents, and is the saddest category of all. Statistics show us that these are the Catholics who sealed Obama's victory. They are people who were poorly catechized over the last 40 years in America. They have been nurtured in the Protest Generation and told that it is fine, even noble, to disagree with the Church. They have been taught to act according to their conscience without taking the trouble or time to inform it.
Caught up in the trendy agendas of the day, they have jumped on the bandwagons of feminism, environmentalism, homosexualism, socialism, and sentimentalism -- mistaking their favorite cause for the Catholic Faith. When they are confronted with clear, concise, and consistent Catholicism they are shocked and angry, and their response is (if they haven't done so already) to leave the Church, preferring their own wisdom to the wisdom of God.
In the next 20 years, this sort of Catholic will become extinct. As America descends further into decadence and decline, the lines will be drawn between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. People will have to choose whether to serve God and His Church or the dark side. Catholics will have to choose to be fully committed or not. If they choose to be Catholic, let them be informed and involved and integrated. If they choose to leave the Church, then they should be honest and stop referring to themselves as Catholic.
Yes, we need the "red blooded Catholicism". This is what it should be. The Holy See stays with rightful thought but it breaks down as it is filtered down.
Personally, I think on a local level, there is an "avoidance" to offend the "defiant." Funds and the likes are worried about. I do respect they walk a fine line. I'm not okaying those worries, I just understand it to an extent. As has been said in these forums, it seems they enjoy having churches that are full. I do see this dilemma.
>>But the “defiant” category makes up the largest number of our respondents, and is the saddest category of all. Statistics show us that these are the Catholics who sealed Obama’s victory. They are people who were poorly catechized over the last 40 years in America. They have been nurtured in the Protest Generation and told that it is fine, even noble, to disagree with the Church. They have been taught to act according to their conscience without taking the trouble or time to inform it.<<
And whose fault is it for instructing them that way? Amd wasn’t this all a part of “opening the windows” after Vatican II?
It’s a little late for putting the genie back in the bottle - BUT you can still save the current generation. Bring back the old Baltimore Catechism. Insist on orthodoxy - not Liberation theology.
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My hubby, SirKit, has been saying for years that there was going to be a shakeout in the Church. The lines are being brightly drawn.
The New Catechism is a wonderful resource. It not only presents WHAT the Church teaches, but WHY She teaches it. I believe it is much more useful for Catholics in the modern world, who need to be able to explain their beliefs to non-Catholics, and have it make sense.
>>The New Catechism is a wonderful resource. It not only presents WHAT the Church teaches, but WHY She teaches it. I believe it is much more useful for Catholics in the modern world, who need to be able to explain their beliefs to non-Catholics, and have it make sense.<<
You may be correct; however, why was it necessary to create a NEW Catechism when there was a perfectly good one to begin with?
As to explaining the Catholic faith to others, it is infinitely more important that Catholics know what the Church teaches.
The mentality that permeated the Church in the 1960’s - “If it’s old, it’s out” - has put the Church and Catholics in the position they are in today - leaderless, faithless and ignorant.
But the Baltimore Catechism didn't explain WHY the Church teaches what she does. I believe that having a more complete understanding of the Faith grounds people in it even more. With the Church under attack in the larger society, it's important for us to be able to explain why we believe what he do.
My husband and I attended several meetings hosted by Fr. Alfred McBride, who discussed the editing of the Catechism. They were great, because it showed us just how important it was to have something that post Vatican II Catholics can use when we're defending our Faith.
My b-i-l is a priest, and he uses the New Catechism in his Confirmation Preparation classes. He said it works very well, with a little tweaking, for the teenagers.
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