Post by guillaume on Jan 26, 2009 22:10:19 GMT
A comment for Alive!
Need for Renewal
There is need for a massive renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland. This is not primarily about setting up new structures or reforming old ones.
We need, above all, a renewal of faith, a more personal commitment to Christ, a greater desire to let our lives be shaped by the Word of God and by the teaching of the Church.
We must recover an awareness of the Church as the Body of Christ, and clearly grasp that we are like Christ only if we have a deep love for the Church, despite its members’ many sins.
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue recently stated that “the idea of obedience and humility toward God’s truth are totally alien to many people in this age of assertive individualism.”
They approach God’s truth, he said, “with the attitude of consumers, who pick and choose according to taste and personal comfort.”
That is true of many Catholics in their personal lives. It is also true, however, of many Catholic “leaders”, including priests, lecturers, teachers, theologians, politicians and journalists.
They are blind guides leading the blind. And their notion of “loyal dissent” is a self-deceiving absurdity. Loyalty to the Church includes, of its nature, loyalty to Catholic teaching.
Only a renewal of faith will ensure that everything in the Church, sermons, colleges, magazines, courses, and so on, is put at the service of proclaiming the Gospel.
Any dilution of Church teaching is a betrayal of Christ and of a leader’s calling. It also betrays the faithful. We all have a duty to see that such treachery is brought to an end.
alive.ie/comment.php
Need for Renewal
There is need for a massive renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland. This is not primarily about setting up new structures or reforming old ones.
We need, above all, a renewal of faith, a more personal commitment to Christ, a greater desire to let our lives be shaped by the Word of God and by the teaching of the Church.
We must recover an awareness of the Church as the Body of Christ, and clearly grasp that we are like Christ only if we have a deep love for the Church, despite its members’ many sins.
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue recently stated that “the idea of obedience and humility toward God’s truth are totally alien to many people in this age of assertive individualism.”
They approach God’s truth, he said, “with the attitude of consumers, who pick and choose according to taste and personal comfort.”
That is true of many Catholics in their personal lives. It is also true, however, of many Catholic “leaders”, including priests, lecturers, teachers, theologians, politicians and journalists.
They are blind guides leading the blind. And their notion of “loyal dissent” is a self-deceiving absurdity. Loyalty to the Church includes, of its nature, loyalty to Catholic teaching.
Only a renewal of faith will ensure that everything in the Church, sermons, colleges, magazines, courses, and so on, is put at the service of proclaiming the Gospel.
Any dilution of Church teaching is a betrayal of Christ and of a leader’s calling. It also betrays the faithful. We all have a duty to see that such treachery is brought to an end.
alive.ie/comment.php