Whys about Vatican II

Attempting to answer  questions posed by a young Catholic about about events in the Church after Vatican Council II has to be somewhat experiential rather than theoretical: I mean we can only offer possible explanations, not firm facts. Accepting the inadequacy of such information these are my responses:

The jump in vocations after the Council reflected an enthusiastic response to the immediately evident changes, particularly in the celebration of the Liturgy in the vernacular and the involvement of many in the new ministries to which the laity were called. The Liturgy particularly opened up the richness of the Scriptures to many unfamiliar with them and the joyful celebration of the Eucharist accompanied by contemporary hymns involved the whole community in the prayer of the Church.  Leadership of such a vibrant community was extremely attractive to an idealistic young Catholic.

The departure of many from the active ministry of the priesthood was influenced by many different motives.

Why so hostile?

I read a lot of comments on articles and blogs by various Catholic  and non-Catholic columnists and I am troubled by the vicious tenor of so many of them. Many comments are thoughtful and reasoned statements of agreement or disagreement with the author and I appreciate reading such responses. But far too many are of the "argumentum ad hominem" type, "if you don't like the message attack the messenger", both his intelligence and his character. I supopose it is easier to call someone an idiot or a liar than to refute his arguments, but such a lazy response is in itself dishonest and is an admission of inability to point out the actual error of a position.

Such negative debate seems to be a feature of political campaigns this year and contributes to the polarisation of the various parties who seem more concerned with their electoral victories than the good of the nation. Each side is backed into a corner with no possibility of compromise, no ability to find a middle ground, nothing but a stand-off which leaves the economy at a standstill, the various departments of the government without any clearly identified goals and ordinary citizens frustrated by the lack of leadership.

Stop and Listen

I grew up in an Ireland which was 95% Catholic. We also had the Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, but that was about it. One of my memories when I first came to Florida was a billboard which read "Bartow's 37 Churches Welcome you."

It has troubled me over the years that Christians were so divided, so wasteful of their efforts to bring members to Christ in their particular church. I fantasized that the Christian Churches of a community should unite to give a presentation on the basics of Christianity over several weeks, followed by brief presentations in each church on what made their church more Christian. Unlike recent election primaries, I would hope that the most convincing presentations would focus on the many achievements of the other churches and their fidelity to the Gospel, while humbly admitting their own failure to live up to their mission.

About Authority ....

I frequently read comments posted by that most prolific writer, Anonymous. It irritates me, probably because I disagree with them, even when their subsequent comments disagree completely with their previous one. I'm not sure what it really is that is off-putting to me, possibly that a signed criticism carries more weight than an unsigned one. The writer is putting himself on the line.

Still there are reasons, sometimes substantial ones, why individuals do not want to identify themselves. It's a lot easier to append your signature to a statement or petition where you are one of many, than it is to stand alone in speaking up. Sometimes such action may jeopardize one's future or even one's current position. That's where age gives one great freedom. If you are near retirement, you can be pushed out without fanfare. I am inclined to think of some bishops who have received a gentle (or not so gentle) nudge into their twilight. But that frees them to speak out, unlike an otherwise pastoral cardinal who endorsed the papal teaching on birth control in Humani Generis but told a priest privately "I had to say it. It was expected of me." If you are retired, there's nothing "they" can do to you. If you are a prominent and respected theologian "they" can withdraw your license to teach as a Catholic theologian, and if you are a priest you are removed from the list of episcopabile.

Personal Attacks

If you don't like the message, attack the messenger

Here in Florida we're coming to the Primaries for many offices. We've had the most expensive and possibly the dirtiest election campaigns that I can remember. Yet we have almost no idea of what the issues are or how the candidates stand on them. Most of the candidates have simply told us how evil their opponent is.

Other things being equal that is definitely an issue. But other issues concern voters as well. I always thought that Jimmy Carter was a good man, personally more ethical and more moral than Richard Nixon. But I also thought that Richard Nixon served the country more effectively as President.

Scandals in the Church

Most media coverage of the church in the last decade has focused on the issue of clerical pedophiles both in America and in Ireland. In the last year or so it has also included Germany and Austria. The scandal has escalated as evidence of cover-ups by the Church hierarchy extending to the highest levels. Responses have ranged from outright denial, protestations of ignorance of the facts, or blaming of lesser authorities. This seems to be the only instance where church authorities endorse the principle of subsidiarity.
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This said, I found an interesting item in the news last week which seemed to get little play in the media.

THE SERVANT CHURCH

My favorite writers on the Church are Adrian Dulles and Edmund Schillebeeckx, neither of whom were notable liberals. Both have significantly influenced my concept of the Church as well as that expressed by the Bishops at Vatican II: Dulles in delineating various models of Church, Schillebeeckx in forming my vision of the Church as the Body of Christ who acts and speaks through it in the world today. Richard P. McBrien’s “The Church” is probably the best and most readable book on the subject in fifty years. When I started to formulate my vision for the Church of the future, not the heavenly New Jerusalem, but the church down and dirty in its members, I tried to put that vision in words in the context of the world today. I think it is the same vision as that expressed by Vatican II in the document De Ecclesia ("About the Church".)

My vision harks back to the early church we find in the Acts of the Apostles. It is the church described by Paul who wrote, “Have that mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus,

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE COUNCIL - PART II

Of the 70 draft documents submitted by the Curia for discussion, the bishops rejected 69 and asked that they be rewritten. The draft on the Liturgy was debated with massive support for sweeping changes. At an early session of the council an American bishop pointed out that most participants lacked fluency in Latin and offered to finance a system for simultaneous translation of the proceedings. At the suggestion of Cardinal Suenens, the bishops decided to start with the Constitution on the Church from which most of the other documents would follow. While the council was in recess in 1963, Pope John XXIII died and was succeeded by Pope Paul VI, a progressive committed to the ideas of his predecessor.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE COUNCIL - PART I

As a child and teenager growing up in Ireland sixty years ago, Catholicism was a very simple system: you said your prayers, did what you were told to do by the priest in his Sunday sermon and never really questioned it all: the symbols, the liturgy, the “bells and smells”.

But whether it was due to me or to the Church, in the post-World War II era through the 1950’s things began to change. Pope Pius XII, a cautious, conservative survivor of the upheavals and carnage of war, died in 1958. I vaguely remembered his election. This time the election of his successor, a seventy-six year old reputed moderate, Angelo Roncalli, Patriarch of Venice, was seen as a temporary compromise because of his age. His pontificate was to be one of the shortest in recent history, but also one of the most decisive. It put an end to the defensive mentality of the Church since the Reformation and the exaltation of the monarchical Papacy by the Vatican Council of 1870.

Let's Get Together

Fifty years ago John F. Kennedy was running for the Presidency of the United States of America.  He was a young, attractive and intelligent senator from Massachussets. However, he was a member of a group which had so far been unsuccessful in seeking the nation's  highest office --- he was a Catholic. This had  not  disqualified him from serving is the Navy and risking his life in his country's service in World War II, but for many citizens it barred him from the Presidency. Catholics were "second-class citizens."

Eucharist - a Mystery

Talk about sharing what your faith means to you! I can grasp why we never talked about religion when I was growing up in Ireland.  Mainly because we couldn't (or at least I couldn't) share our most intimate feelings with someone who might not grasp them. I lived in a parish where our pastor believed that children should receive the sacraments when they could express an understanding of them, not when they arrived at an age established by rules. Consequently, several of my classmates and I received the sacraments of Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation at the age of seven.

While I agree with his approach in theory, I cannot guarantee that I understood what the words really expressed. How many of us really can say that we understand the mystery of the Eucharist today?  Who can explain the mystery of transubstantiation? Can I explain my belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the bread and wine after the words pronounced over them by the celebrant at Mass?

Cursillo

The other day a friend asked me what I meant by saying that a Cursillo was the most significant event on my spiritual journey. I knew what I meant, but I could not express it in a nutshell. I think Catholics, particularly Irish Catholics, are not accustomed to giving personal testimonies or witness talks. Yet that is what Christ told his disciples to do --- to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. When I was younger two topics were taboo in polite society in Ireland: religion and politics.

But times change...

Where is the Church?

Welcome to my blog! I was born in Ireland, but I have lived much of my life in America, mainly in Florida. Those of you with an Irish background may find my blog title familiar, from the old Irish blessing "May the road rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back."

We all like to reminisce about the past and sometimes share our vision of the future. I recall sitting late by the fireside enthralled as my father and old friends shared memories of events and characters from their youth. In fact, I remember upon my arrival in New York sharing some of their stories with neighbors from home now living in the Bronx.

However, I want to share other musings from my concerns about the future and the past of an essential part of my life in both countries, the Church.