Replies

You don’t wake up in a cold sweat worrying about how Rome will react to whatever you say or do?

Er.....that's a negative, John. Unfortunately!!

Ever heard the expression "AmChurch"??

Well the guy does work for the NCR, so they had to toss that one in there.

You don’t wake up in a cold sweat worrying about how Rome will react to whatever you say or do? Er.....that's a negative, John. Unfortunately!! Ever heard the expression "AmChurch"??

LOL. Funny and sadly true. I live in an 'Amchurch' diocese (but not the most lib), and few wake in that cold sweat. By the way his answer to that: "I don’t know any bishop who fits that description. " Sigh. I don't want to think of Bishops constantly sweating it out, but sheesh, a little respect for authority, a little obedience would be a start.

Even as numbers dwindle and the faithful are confused and their spiritual needs not met (just ask a local minister who actively woes some away, unusual in my mostly Catholic town), they steadfastly trod along pushing the 70's style idea of renewal. Rooted in a lib translation of Vat II.

Well the guy does work for the NCR, so they had to toss that one in there.

Exactly.

Yet you’re not nostalgic for the pre-conciliar church? Well, no! Not at all. I think the liturgical renewal, for example, is a wonderful thing.

They dread the idea that we might return in any way to a preconciliar church. I know several well-meaning Catholics who firmly believe this.

It's a last-ditch run for the finish for those who've worked for decades to push through a particular Vat II interpretation and anything less won't do. Even if that means faithful who are confused and longing for the kind of spirituality of Pre-Vat II.

**In essence, George argues that liberals too often function as “chaplains of the status quo,” taking their cues from the prevailing secular mindset, while conservatives often end up in a sectarian dead-end, clinging to a narrow and triumphalistic version of Catholic identity sealed off from the surrounding culture.**

A mouthful that say a lot right there.

Hopefully we can take some cues from our Protestant brothers and sisters and learn to contact and invite.

That’s it, folks. Contact and invite. We don’t have to proslytize to evangelize. We never know what will happen from the little seeds of contacting and inviting that we plant.

Many at our parish are very comfortable with this, but we have been working on it for about six years now.

Both liberals and conservatives, George says, focus far too much on the bishops – how much power they have, and the ways in which they exercise it – and not nearly enough on Christ.

There is something to this. When transportation and communication was much slower, did people pay so much attention to their bishop?

While the cardinal rightly focuses on the personal spiritual aspects, there are also structural consequences of this mindset.

One English writer, Carlyle perhaps, held that one genius aspect of the Catholic Church is its ability to incorporate both the "establishment," bishops, and the "insurgent life" in the form of the religious orders.

At present perhaps we expect our bishops to act like insurgents, when in fact that is not their charism. Combine a governing official with insurgency, and you're in trouble!

Rather, the revival of the religious orders is needed. That is the natural home for insurgency and revival. Right now we see the bad aspects of corrupt orders: they preach against the faith for the benefit of worldly concerns with little rebuke from their superiors or the local bishop.

If they were faithful, this same structure would enable them to preach the faith in opposition to worldly concerns, especially where the local bishop himself is lax.

(Side note: does anybody recall an account posted here on FR of a theology on tap event where Cardinal George (?) predicted major anti-Christian persecution within 10 years? I think it was posted in 2002-2003.