'We Are Church' unhappy

Closed Cafeteria ^ | September 6, 2007 | Gerald Augustinus

[NYer]

As I mentioned, dissident lay and priest groups whined about Pope Benedict not meeting with them. Unfortunately for the 'We are church' group (largely the equivalence of boomers), then-Cardinal Ratzinger condemned the group's agenda by name. The New York Times, of course, lent them an ear:

“We are good Catholics, of course,” said Martha Heizer, vice president of We Are Church, a group that neatly symbolizes the troubles that Roman Catholicism faces in Europe. “We are in the church and stayed in the church.”

Planning for We Are Church began in Austria in 1995 and the organization has since grown into one of the largest and most vocal Catholic groups. The group asked, but Benedict will not meet with its leaders on this trip to discuss problems facing Austria in particular, but many other once solidly Catholic countries as well: declining Mass attendance, lingering anger over pedophilia scandals, an unmet desire for renewal of church life.

The problem is that We Are Church is a liberal group that embraces marriage for priests and ordination of women — two positions that earned the group condemnation from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in a letter he wrote in 1998, seven years before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI. The group, he wrote, has “an understanding of morality which directly contradicts Catholic teaching.”

This goes on for a while. Then, at the end of the article:

If in fact it is the pope’s strategy to ignore the liberal wing, not everyone is certain he is mistaken, either on doctrine or strategy. Like Cardinal Ratzinger, many conservative Catholics argue that some liberals stand against church doctrine and deserve isolation. Some liberals worry not about their orthodoxy but whether their time may be passing.

The Rev. Paul M. Zulehner, director of the Institute of Pastoral Theology in Vienna, noted that a recent survey showed the most excitement about the pope’s visit among Catholics under 20. He said the young were more conservative, and were not joining groups like We Are Church.

“Liberals are decreasing in numbers,” he said. “They are elderly people. They are people like me. They were involved and very hopeful that the church could make changes. But the church is not now a church of changes.”

[NYer]

They were involved and very hopeful that the church could make changes. But the church is not now a church of changes.

Note to Rev. Zulehner: The Church has existed for 2000 years because it holds steadfast to the Truth! Get with the program.

[starfish923]

The problem is that We Are Church is a liberal group that embraces marriage for priests and ordination of women — two positions that earned the group condemnation from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in a letter he wrote in 1998, seven years before he was elected Pope Benedict XVI. The group, he wrote, has “an understanding of morality which directly contradicts Catholic teaching.”

Hear whiny, high-pitched female voice: "But, he HAAAS to listen to us. We're impooorrrrtant."

His Holiness nailed it back then: “an understanding of morality which directly contradicts Catholic teaching.”

[m4629]

“Liberals are decreasing in numbers,” he said. “They are elderly people. They are people like me. They were involved and very hopeful that the church could make changes. But the church is not now a church of changes.”

Yes indeed. The "catholic Woodstock hippies" are over the hill and there won't be another Woodstock, errrrrr, Vatican III, but Trent II is more likely. Just a sorry chapter in the history of the Church.

[Salvation]

**They were involved and very hopeful that the church could make changes. But the church is not now a church of changes.**

I hate to tell them, but the Catholic Cafeteria is closed.

Try the Canon Law and Word of the Lord Cafeteria.

[fortunecookie]

They could actually change their name to ‘We are Church Unhappy’. As Pope Benedict closes the cafeteria doors, their attempts to push their agenda becomes more frantic. It will take years to undo their damage.