There seems to be two types of heresy most rampant in the Catholic Church over the last 45 years - those who believe the Holy Spirit left the Church during the Second Vatican Council and those who think that it was the first time He showed up.
When I was a child - back in the early 80s whenever I did something such as genuflect, talk of the "Body of Christ" rather than "special bread" or say how much I loved Gregorian chant and the Latin Mass I would be told by various elderly ladies that we don't say and do these things any more.
There was a nativity play at a "Catholic" school in my home town and one parent asked why there wasn't an angel appearing to Mary and was told by a "Catholic" teacher that "we don't talk about angels anymore." I spent almost half of my life being told, "That was the old church" or "in the new church we ... don't do that."
In my experience the biggest obstacles to unity, to evangelisation and works of charity are those liberal "Catholics" who seek to spend time, money and resources seeking rebellion and sowing confusion and error.
It was a breath of fresh air therefore to have the Catholic Faith reaffirmed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church under Blessed John-Paul II and for Pope Benedict XVI to focus on the hermeneutic of continuity.
It is blatantly absurd for a Catholic to discount everything that happened either before or after the council and to claim that a new church appeared in the 1960s doesn't make someone a traditionalist or a liberal - it means they don't believe in the Catholic Faith as revealed by Jesus Christ to the Church He founded and promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail.
I was delighted therefore to hear that Pope Francis has very strongly reaffirmed the importance of the Council of Trent and the hermeneutic of continuity.
Some people may be surprised by this but I just think we can reply in the affirmative to the question: "Is the Pope a Catholic?"
Well put. You are not alone in the experiences you relate as having happened to you.... be assured of that! We put seven children through the Catholic school system and as far as their religious education was concerned, we started in trust and not a little naiveté that they would receive the continuity of teaching that I had been gifted. By the time the last child started school we had experienced a complete about face. Not quite cynicism but not far off. Thanks a bunch all you teachers whom I could name but wont! Something else... you know what ? It ain't changed that much. I know that from listening and talking to my granddaughter.. in that order.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kevin. There are likely to be eternal consequences to those who undermine the Faith in this way. Let's pray for them.
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