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Saturday, October 29, 2011

CATHOLIC DISSENT BORN OF THE LATE 1960'S AND PERSONAL CHOICE AND TO HELL WITH SCRIPTURE, TRADITION, FAITH, MORALS, HOLY OBEDIENCE & MASS ATTENDANCE


Cafeteria Catholicism and their understanding of the Mass:

I can remember the late 1950's and early 1960's Catholicism. My father was firmly rooted in it having been born into a very strong Catholic family and Catholic farming culture in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

The foundation of the Church in the USA of that time was:

1. Holy Obedience to the faith and morals of the Church and to her Magisterium in this regard.

2. Fear of God and an ever greater fear of damnation

3. Love of God and neighbor, obligations to God and neighbor and to one's promises and vows made before God and neighbor

4. Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation

5. Penance especially on Fridays

7. Marian devotions, the Holy Rosary, other devotions and veneration of the saints

8. Praying the faithful departed, visiting them frequently at the cemetery and burying the dead with a Christian burial.

9. Strong catechesis in the Baltimore Catechism and a desire to memorize as much of it as possible as the foundation of a future adult faith

10. Strictness in Catholic schools, at Church and a disciplined Catholic life in the world striving to avoid scandal at all costs

Of course there was much more than just these ten things.

The Spirit of Vatican II appealed to Catholic teenagers and those in their 20's and 30's who had developed serious "authority" issues with the more dogmatic and "black and white" approach to authority that existed not only in the Church but within Catholic families, fathers in particular who had to have a strong Catholic identity in terms of fatherhood and as head of the family and thus the disciplinarian.

To those who did not like being told what to do, how to think and how to behave, the spirit of Vatican II liberated them from:


1. Holy Obedience to the faith and morals of the Church and to her Magisterium in this regard.

2. Fear of God and an ever greater fear of damnation

3. Love of God and neighbor, obligations to God and neighbor and to one's promises and vows made before God and neighbor

4. Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation

5. Penance especially on Fridays

7. Marian devotions, the Holy Rosary, other devotions and veneration of the saints

8. Praying the faithful departed, visiting them frequently at the cemetery and burying the dead with a Christian burial.

9. Strong catechesis in the Baltimore Catechism and a desire to memorize as much of it as possible as the foundation of a future adult faith

10. Strictness in Catholic schools, at Church and a disciplined Catholic life in the world striving to avoid scandal at all costs

Just think of Humanae Vitae and the "straw man" it became to encourage Catholics to reject the papacy's authority and thus the authority of the Magisterium. Think of those who took leadership roles in promoting the theology of dissent that Humanae Vitae provoked: Rev. Charles Curran, the Berrigan Brothers, Rev. Hans Kung, Rev. Richard McBrien and a whole hosts of lesser want to be's.

This led to cafeteria Catholicism, where even orthodox Catholics wondered if all they had believed prior to Vatican II was false, not just areas concerning Church disciple and the manner in which the sacraments were celebrated, but also basic non-negotiable teachings of the Church such as transubstantiation, the resurrection, virgin birth, Immaculate Conception and the Church's moral teachings on everything pertain to sex, adultery, fornication and sex with minors, just to name a few.

If you start questioning everything about your faith (and dissenting theologians, priests and nuns, especially those in Catholic High Schools and colleges dogmatically taught Catholic young and older people of that period to do so) then is it any wonder that the most staunch of Catholics and Catholic families prior to the Second Vatican Council succumbed to the most dogmatic drivel of the late 1960's. Is it any wonder they left the practice of the faith for Cafeteria Catholicism and now do not even attend Mass or care to refer to themselves as Catholics? To those of my generation and slightly older 55 and above and to "our" children and then their children, we've lost almost three generation of Catholics to this insipid way of thinking and the great legacy of Catholicism's true meaning.

From about 90% of Catholics attending Mass on Sunday prior to the disruption of the spirit of Vatican II in the early 1960's, today we have about 19% to 25% of Catholics actually attend Mass every Sunday. Of those there is a great variety of attitudes toward the Faith, Morals and Discipline of the Church and her hierarchy.

Of those who do not attend Mass, their personal conscience is so malformed by dissent and apathy that it has made them practical agnostics. This is the fruit of the spirit of Vatican II. Don't eat of it, it is poison and death dealing.

Today, dissenting theologians, other clergy and some religious are still trying to get rank and file Catholics to hate authority and what many now are calling "monarchical Catholicism" . Some of the straw men they are using in addition to Humanae Vitae are the corrected English translation of the Mass, the authority of the Church that "bullied" it into being, women priests, married priests, gay marriage, pro-choice acceptance and on and on it goes. But thank goodness for real Catholic blogs that promote the truth. We don't have to follow the monarchy of dissenting theologians and the drivel they spew. We don't have to be caught up in perpetual adolescence as it regards legitimate authority! We don't have to succumb to the secular forces of government and society that has so afflicted and diminished the Truths of God in Protestant denominations.

9 comments:

Bill said...

I like the rant ;)

Let us not forget, either, the role of liturgists in the post-Vatican II tangle. Our own wrote a few weeks ago that there is no need to kneel. Where do they get this stuff? Better, why do we have a liturgist at the parish? Since the priest is to say the black and do the red (I read that somewhere...) it wold seem there is not so very much need for a liturgist.

During my time in RCIA we were urged to read the documents of Vatican II. When I read Sacrosanctum Concilium I was astonished. With this foundation, whence came the rupture. But then I came to the loop holes of 36-41, and although they seemed clearly intended as provisions for mission lands, I could see that these were the justification for the banishment of Latin. But truly, can the catechists have read the same documents? And come to such vastly different understanding of them?

Motivation for the Council was, as I recall, all bound up with a desire for ecumenism, and to welcome our lost brothers back to the fold. Instead, we have lost members steadily since. That puts the post-V2 changes on par with Federal legislation, producing the opposite to the announced intent.

My parish seems filled with folks of around my age who appear to take to heart the motto "we are Church". Charity forbids my declaring an opinion of them.

Robert Kumpel said...

As I read this, all I can think of is that, when we die, we will come face to face with authority and we will have no choice but to submit and give account.

There seems to be a distorted view of authority. I once heard someone say that authority can be compared to an umbrella. It protects us. However, when the authority has holes in it, we may get hit ourselves. We must not only submit to authorities that are valid, but we must also pray for them, especially when they have "holes".

Anonymous said...

As it came from the top down, any reform must be mandated from the top down. Subeterfuge with the new translation is despicable. It continues on some blogs. God help the Church.

Ave Verum said...

Huh? Whew, Father, talk about global condemnation!
The most serious, faithful Catholics I know are over age 55... The real problems I know about are with those who came of age (high school & college & seminary) in early 1980's, and even there you can find great exceptions (I have two adult kids from that era who are very serious Catholics and both married Catholics).
But, yes, when there are problems, there is always a seed of rebellion present.

TK said...

This post is too real for me. Growing up in the 50-60's, it was just like this. Since I had complete faith in our priests, I didn't realize they might not have it right, and I was sorely misled. I always stayed Catholic and did the bare minimum (precepts) but it was more a one-on-one with God. Too many priests and bishops were saying different things and I was very confused. Since we didn't have internet or very many books, there was no where to turn if you weren't a theologian and had access to information. I thank God daily that I had a huge conversion of heart about 7 years ago and I'm where I should be now. I pray mightily for the salvation of souls.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

TK people our age were there and know this. We were duped early on, but no more and not by anyone bringing up the old dissent in new ways to discredit the legitimate authority of the Church in the areas of faith, morals and discipline in order to promote their own twisted views of things. That's the monarchy of dissent and stay as far as possible away from it. It's no good.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Ave Verum, didn't mean to blanket the older generation back then. Our parents were confused about what was happening in the Church and they were authority oriented and thought dissenting priests and some bishops were leading them into new ways, but they were confused and when we their children who would have rebelled anyway used the changes in the church to confound and make our parents even more angry, well you have a recipe for disaster.

TK said...

Father,
I hope I didn't come across as anything but completely obedient to the Roman Catholic Church and it's leadership. I am grateful for these good Catholic blogs for teaching and correct information, and I put my trust in God that He will keep me safe. I'm back on track, so to speak.

Anonymous said...

Gee Frajm - you wrote all about MY Priest & MY church - and you haven't even visited! Are you clairvoyant or is my situation just that sad? -pgal