My parish was recently consolidated from three declining parishes. I am now working to help our new community become 21st century, American expressions of Christ--spiritually adult, prophetic members of the People of God who can elevate, and where necessary, correct our society and culture in the grace of Christ, without imposing our religion on anyone.
The odds are against us. Those of us who are left--in our diocese 4 out of 5 Catholics are not at Mass--are still caught in the decline. In very great part because the hierarchy failed to develop an adult, contempoary spirituality that would have fulfilled the teachings of Vatican II and provided the necessary context for the vernacular Mass, many of the laity are burdened by a marked deficiency of an effective knowledge of our faith and a culture of passive, devotional piety inherited from our medieval/immigrant past, As a result, though having reached the middle or upper-middle socio-economic level, many are trying to match their social and professional success with the outdated and ineffective faith they learned as children. For one thing, the mismatch results in a liturgy that bears little explicit fruit in the marketplace, where the Church belongs, and where instead there is a crying absence of a clear, strong, and vitalizing Catholic voice e.g., in today's schools, politics, economics, science and art. Jesuit Bernard Lonergan said we lost the intellectuals in the 17th century. Today, we've also lost any effective spiritual influence in our society and culture.
Yet, our only hope is in evolving into a spiritually adult, prophetic laity that can become sensitive to our own vocational reception of the sensus fidelium, and act on our own initiative, in spiritual concert with the whole People of God. The best we can expect from our well intentioned but poorly prepared clergy is encouragement for us to be the Church in today's society, where we are called to move Christ's saving work forward, one little step at a time. Despite the odds, what else are we to do?
With all due respect to (Most Rev.) Michael J. Sheehan
Santa Fe, N. Mex, bishops may have declared zero tolerance against priests who molested children but the ones who covered up the crimes, (bishops and priests) at least in the Boston Archdiocese, were all promoted and moved to other dioceses, including Cardinal Bernard Law who was moved to the Vatican.
I didn't leave the church because of clergy abuse, even though our Voice of the Faithful meetings had to be held in an Episcopal church for five years, because we were prohibited from meeting in our own parish in 2002.
I left when some bishops thought they had the right to deny Holy Communion to Catholics who voted for John Kerry in 2004. I'm anti-abortion, but held my nose and voted for Kerry mainly because I didn't think the world could survive another four years of George W. Bush.
I receive Holy Communion now in an Episcopal Church but am not an Episcopalian. I'm an independent who believes that the Eucharist is not limited to any church or religion.
Whenever we live our lives with integrity and compassion, the Holy Spirit is with us wherever we are.
My parish was recently consolidated from three declining parishes. I am now working to help our new community become 21st century, American expressions of Christ--spiritually adult, prophetic members of the People of God who can elevate, and where necessary, correct our society and culture in the grace of Christ, without imposing our religion on anyone.
The odds are against us. Those of us who are left--in our diocese 4 out of 5 Catholics are not at Mass--are still caught in the decline. In very great part because the hierarchy failed to develop an adult, contempoary spirituality that would have fulfilled the teachings of Vatican II and provided the necessary context for the vernacular Mass, many of the laity are burdened by a marked deficiency of an effective knowledge of our faith and a culture of passive, devotional piety inherited from our medieval/immigrant past, As a result, though having reached the middle or upper-middle socio-economic level, many are trying to match their social and professional success with the outdated and ineffective faith they learned as children. For one thing, the mismatch results in a liturgy that bears little explicit fruit in the marketplace, where the Church belongs, and where instead there is a crying absence of a clear, strong, and vitalizing Catholic voice e.g., in today's schools, politics, economics, science and art. Jesuit Bernard Lonergan said we lost the intellectuals in the 17th century. Today, we've also lost any effective spiritual influence in our society and culture.
Yet, our only hope is in evolving into a spiritually adult, prophetic laity that can become sensitive to our own vocational reception of the sensus fidelium, and act on our own initiative, in spiritual concert with the whole People of God. The best we can expect from our well intentioned but poorly prepared clergy is encouragement for us to be the Church in today's society, where we are called to move Christ's saving work forward, one little step at a time. Despite the odds, what else are we to do?
Bravo, to Archbishop Sheehan on his Dec. 3rd response to Commonweal & I second all the exclamation points that he made!!!! Also in the same issue it does no good to respectful dialogue for a former editor of Commonweal to state that Pope Benedict XVI " has so far proved oddly inept"!!!!
In truth belonging to the Catholic Church is not easy but impossible if we solely depend on our own self centered desires and wishes..It is only through total abandonment to Our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ that we can through obedience & humility cast off our false selves & renew our true selves united with Him in the Catholic Church.
To those who are struggling to stay within the confines of our Holy Mother the Catholic Church please take Bishop's Sheehan's advice " put your faith in the Mass & the sacraments of our Church"!! In doing so prayerfully you will soon realize that one cannot change the true meaning of dogma,moral practices, words & the Bride of Christ which is our Church.
In prayer & in the sacrament of the Eucharist may we all be drawn together as members in the One Body of Christ.
Harry D. Carrozza,MD.,FACS. Corpus Christi Parish Tucson,Az.