As I post this from First Things, we are all horrified how a ship which has lost its navigation and steering abilities and in the darkness crashes into a bridge support causing the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore to collapse entirely and in a few moment and that captured by camera.
When I went to the seminary in Baltimore in 1976, this bridge was nearing completion and opened for traffic in 1977. It is truly shocking to see its complete destruction in a matter of a few moments.
The Church today is in a similar situation and in fact is in a crisis not seen since the Great Schism or the Protestant Reformation. The barque of Peter is without proper navigation and either intentionally or through naïveté being steered into the world, the flesh and the devil.
Here is Archbishop Charles Chaput’s critique of Cardinal Fernandez and what is happening to the Church in the past 11 years:
CARDINAL FERNÁNDEZ MISLEADS
…The pope’s obvious distaste for U.S. Church leadership and American Catholic life may be rooted in a lack of knowledge, and it’s deeply frustrating. But his critical attitude toward wealthy nations of the Global North, and especially the United States, is not unwarranted.
In Francis’s defense, we also need to remember that over a lifetime of ministry, a priest will hear thousands of confessions. Many will involve sincere persons struggling with impossibly complex circumstances. Francis is keenly attuned to their burdens. Merely quoting the catechism in such cases offers little solace. It also lacks humanity. The temptation to confirm, or at least to soothe, otherwise well-meaning people in their sinful behaviors and relationships can be intense.
This helps to explain the pope’s frequent complaints about backwardism, rigidity, and “fixism” in Catholic thought. It explains his many criticisms of a purportedly unforgiving clergy. It explains his dislike for “doctors of the law” and his loose approach to canonical issues. It explains his irritation with the intellectual gravitas and precision of his immediate predecessors. It explains his studied ambiguity on certain matters of doctrine and ecclesial discipline. It explains his refusal to live in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, his disdain for some of the normal formalities of his office, and his habit of feeding confusion with imprudent, and even provocative, public comments. It also explains his peculiar hostility for the old Latin Mass and the alleged reactionaries who “cling” to it—some of them, yes, bitter backsliders and nostalgia addicts, but others who are merely young persons and families seeking beauty, stability, and some connection with the faith’s past in their worship.
It becomes hard to avoid the conclusion that an undercurrent of resentment is one of the distinguishing and most regrettable marks of the Francis pontificate. Regrettable, because it damages the dignity of the petrine office. Regrettable, because it creates critics and enemies, rather than reconciling them. Regrettable, because it undercuts every pontificate’s central task: providing a credible, faithful source of Catholic unity. And the advisers, apologists, and ghostwriters who surround this pontificate have been instrumental in adding to the problem...
1 comment:
Nice picture of Curley, Larry and Moe
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