Russert , “structural change” and the heresy of
Americanism
Changing
the church: Catholic leaders urged to embrace greater equality
CASEY
ROSS The Patriot Ledger
‘‘I
want (church policy) to be my decision and your decision, not just the pope
saying what we want to do.''
NEWTON
- For two hours, they talked about the things that aren't talked about in the
Catholic Church. They talked about ordaining women, about fully accepting
homosexuals, about giving the laity a voice loud enough to influence the pope.
In
the end, the opinions of six panelists searching for a way to bring renewal to
a church in crisis were different, but their general conclusion was the same:
To re-energize ordinary Catholics, the church must show a willingness to
change.
‘‘There
must be recognition by the church of how much harm has been caused,'' said the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic
Charities USA. ‘‘And there must be a continuing process where we believe
people are right on the edge (of leaving the church), and if we don't reach out
to them, they will fall over the edge.'
'
The
urgency of the troubles facing the church was emphasized repeatedly last night
during a forum at Boston College that combined the analysis of top religious
scholars with the passion of students and local teachers.
The
event, which was to kick off the second year of the college's initiative to
examine the causes of the crisis and find ways to bring renewal, was attended
by hundreds of area Catholics and students. It was moderated by Tim Russert,
the host of the NBC news program ‘‘Meet the Press.''
The
discussion between the panelists, who ranged from a Boston College junior to a
New York Times columnist, centered on many of the fundamental tensions that are
tugging at the church and its members.
Students
Elizabeth Paulhus and Patrick Downes spoke of the need for openness in the church
and called on church leaders to consider ordaining women and granting greater
acceptance to homosexuals.
The
students also emphasized a need for equality and a more democratic
decision-making process from a church hierarchy that formulates its policies
based on traditions and cannon law, not the beliefs and values of contemporary
society.
‘‘We
need much more of the equality that we read about in the gospels,'' said
Paulhus, a Boston College senior. ‘‘I want (church policy) to be my
decision and your decision, not just the pope saying what we want to do.''
The
distance between the laity and church leaders has been highlighted by the sex
abuse crisis, which exploded in Massachusetts with revelations that as many as
1,000 children were abused by priests and church workers for decades.
A
report by state Attorney General Thomas Reilly found that abusive priests were
protected by church leaders who kept them in active ministry despite learning
that they had repeatedly abused children.
The
mistakes of the church leaders, which many believed were criminal, led to calls
from ordinary Catholics for a greater role in making decisions about the
direction of the church and formulating policies on everything from sexuality
to finances.
Sister
Mary Johnson, a sociology and religion studies professor at Emmanuel College,
said the church must open itself to the values of its members. ‘‘We have to
pay attention to people like Peter and Liz,'' she said, referring to the BC
student panelists. ‘‘The best teachers are people who listen. We
have to teach our bishops that.
''
The
Rev. Hehir said he does not believe there can be immediate, radical changes in
the church, but he said there must be a change in the way the leadership deals
with ordinary Catholics.
‘‘We need to treat adults as adults in the church,'' he said, drawing strong applause from the audience. ‘‘We have the most educated laity in the Catholic Church in 2,000 years. I'm not calling for revolution, because I don't think that works. But there are a range of issues that can be discussed.''
The
panelists also explored several issues on the periphery of the sex abuse
crisis, such as the rapidly diminishing number of young men entering the
priesthood. The shortage of priests had become an issue before the crisis and
became more severe as revelations began to snowball.
Now,
of 19,000 Catholic parishes in the country, 2,500 do not have a resident
priest.
‘‘And if things progress as they are, 6,000 parishes will have to close'' in the near future, Sister Johnson said. ‘‘Many of the finest men who serve in the church are in their 60s, and there are not a lot of young men coming behind them.''
Casey
Ross may be reached at cross@ledger.com.
Copyright
2003 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted
Friday, September 19, 2003
Date Sat, 20 Sep 2003
07:21:39 -0400
From Richard Blanchard
<rblan@trysb.net>
To Comments@FaithfulVoice.com
Subject Russert and confer. on "structual
change"
This
shows clearly that "the most educated laity in the Catholic Church in
2,000 years, including Fr.Hehir, have no understanding of what an act of faith
is all about. They have, perhaps lost their faith.
The
youngs students mentioned along with Fr. Hehir do not know what it means to a
disciple of the Lord.
"The
students also emphasized a need for equality and a more democratic
decision-making process from a church hierarchy that formulates its policies
based on traditions and cannon law, not the beliefs and values of contemporary
society."
The
above statement shows how well "uneducated" the laity in the year
2003 truly are.
They
have lost the essence of being a disciple which means to accept the Lord's
teaching. They apparently do not accept the Holy Father as the Chief infallible
teacher on matters of doctrine and morals.
What
a tragic state of affairs that most bishops in America have let the faith
in the Church go the way of apostacy.
Defend
The Faith
http://members.trysb.net/dtf@trysb.net
Webpage
Manager
Date Sun, 21 Sep 2003
13:30:40 EDT
From DocFrey
To Comments@FaithfulVoice.com
Subject Structural change
What
all of the apostles of change forget is that the Church has a mandate from
Christ to preach the truth, not only truth in doctrine, but also truth in
morality. Sin remains sin and no amount of pontificating by "change
agents" can make it outherwise. This is the same sin that has led to
all schisms and heresies: the sin of pride. I will do thing my
way. VOTF and its adherants have lost sight of the meaning of Catholic
faith and morals. It's really too bad no one was there to remind
those participants of the truths of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Peter Frey , PA
Date Sun, 28 Sep 2003
13:32:21 EDT
Subject Re: Russert ,€œstructural
change? and the heresy of Americanism
God's
ways are high above the ways of man. His ways lead to everlasting life. The ways
of man lead to perdition. Do we want to save souls for a better life in this
world, conceding to the wants and wishes of man or do we want to save souls for
the Kingdom of God, leading people to desire to find and do things according to
the ways of God? Since when do the beliefs and values of contemporary society
outweigh the ways of God? He didn't change His ways at the time of Noah. He
didn't change His ways at the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why does contemporary
society think we are so much smarter than He?
I
thank Faithful Voice for being here. We need to remain focused on Christ as I
believe your site helps us to do.
God
Bless! , Helen
Date Sun, 28 Sep 2003
12:40:39 EDT
Subject "catholic" colleges
It
is so evident from those comments that many on our Catholic campuses have no
clear understanding of the "sensus catholicam" and what is involved
in being a faithful follower of Christ through his church. But the fault
does not lie entirely with the young, but with their philosophy and theology
professors who have inculcated false ideas about the Church. Dr. Peter
Frey