Posted on 04/17/2015 12:12:16 PM PDT by RnMomof7
I’ve mentioned that Roman Catholicism is so onerous because it puts its hooks in you at various times in your life – from baptism as a child, to “first confession” and “first holy communion”, then Confirmation as an early teen, then marriage, baptism of your own children, etc. It’s a programmatic cycle.
There is another point at which Rome is prominent, and that is at death. As the “Baby Boom” generation continues to age and die, people will continue to be focused on this phase of life, either as people focused on the end of their own lives, or that of their aging parents.
Paul Moses, a journalism professor at Brooklyn College/CUNY”, has written a piece for the Wall Street Journal this morning entitled “A Liberal Catholic and Staying Put”, which puts this in view.
Beginning the article with some comments from the atheistic “Freedom From Religion Foundation”, which urged discontented, liberal-minded Catholics to “Summon your fortitude, and just go”, he rejects this notion with the following comments:
To me, these invitations reflect a shallow view of the Catholic Church that reduces its complex journey to the points where it intersects with the liberal social agenda. Pope Francis’ pastoral approach has shown a more merciful, less judgmental face of the church—one that always existed but needed to be more prominent in the public arena.
After my father died last year, I realized that my instinctive resistance to these “just go” arguments—from the atheists, the secularists, the orthodox, the heterodox or anyone else—runs deep. It began when I observed how impressively the church was there for me in a moment of need (emphasis added).
Early on the morning after he died, I went to my father's parish, St. Peter's in lower Manhattan, to find out what to do to bury him. I found one of the priests in the sacristy after the early Mass. The Rev. Alex Joseph took my hands in his, spoke a beautiful prayer, told me of his own father's death years earlier and added, "Our fathers are always with us." I was much moved.
We decided to have my father's funeral in the Staten Island parish where he had worshiped for 25 years … Bernard L. Moses, who died at 88, had loved Father Madigan’s homilies, and to hear [Father Madigan] speak at the funeral Mass was to understand why. My father had advanced up the ranks of the New York City Housing Authority to director of management. Citing his concern for tenants, Father Madigan used the traditional Catholic term “corporal work of mercy” to describe what my father did. It explained for me, in those difficult moments, why my father, who was well-schooled in Catholic social teachings, had passed up the opportunity for a more pleasant career in academia, or a more lucrative one managing private housing, to work in housing projects instead.
Few of us, I think, live daily on the edge of eternity in the conscious way that the Puritans did, and we lose out as a result. For the extraordinary vivacity, even hilarity (yes, hilarity; you will find it in the sources), with which the Puritans lived stemmed directly, I believe, from the unflinching, matter-of-fact realism with which they prepared themselves for death, so as always to be found, as it were, packed up and ready to go (emphasis added). Reckoning with death brought appreciation of each day’s continued life, and the knowledge that God would eventually decide, without consulting them, when their work on earth was done brought energy for the work itself while they were still being given time to get on with it (pg 14).
Ever wonder what so many Catholics are liberal ping
I read somewhere that no protestant country ever went communist. How likely is it that living with a hierarchical, intrusive and controlling religion conditions people to accept a government of the same nature?
The author is completely ignorant of Catholics in America today. He takes one example of a liberal professor he has read about and then spouts ignorant statement after ignorant statement. I doubt he has ever visited a real life Catholic church or spent time talking to real Catholics.
Perhaps, but every country that has essentially given up its Protestant heritage has replaced it with progressive socialism, including Britain, Germany, and the US. Even in Israel, you basically have the religious parties and the socialist parties. If you can't have faith in God, you have to replace it with faith in the one thing bigger than yourself, the government.
“I read somewhere that no protestant country ever went communist”
First, no country ever “went communist”. They had communist governments imposed upon them by force. No people of any country ever willingly accepted or supported communism.
Second, you do not know of the former East Germany which was a Protestant country that was taken over and controlled by communists.
They all live it but deny it till their dying day.
No people ever willingly accepted Communism?
What about U.S.? On November 4,2008 to be precise.
They really didn't have much of a choice did they?
Catholic voting put JFK in office, Clinton and Obama.
It certainly is consoling to think of the historic Protestant countries this way, as bastions of faith and freedom: Latvia, Estonia, Finland, (oops, those three were Communist) the United Kingdom, northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway...
Look at countries south of the Rio Grande.....liberation theology couched in catholicism. that demographic will ruin this country.
“What about Roman Catholics in say, the Philippines”
The author said nothing about the Philippines. The article did not mention the Philippines.
I was commenting on the article.
“They really didn’t have much of a choice did they?”
That was my point. No country chooses to “go communist” as the author claimed. Read my original reply.
Thanks for posting again. It’s beautiful. Oddly, a friend of mine on FB posted it just yesterday.
That opened the door.
Besides, all we hear on these pages is how Rome is ONE CHURCH, so rather than narrow it all down to "Catholics in America today," let's look at the church as one organism.
In doing so, I can't help but wonder what is this all about:
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