Review: 'The Francis Effect' | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: That the left has fewer resources is natural because the status quo is essentailly the established Church, which is playing defense. Emphasizing the interplay between the two is where history happens and it effects the world at large because the Church, even in the United States, is part of the establishment. That St. John Paul II was a defender of the establishment, indeed the pre-Vatican II establishment, is apparent from anyone who knows his history or goes to Mass under the new translation. The role of the reactionary press, like Weigel and Neuhaus, is simply a detail - easy to ignore if you skip their writings - something many on the left find easy to do. Still, St.John Paul priests were also defenders of the status quo, especially about sex (the Church seems obsessed with a sexual revolution no one talks about - mostly because the progessive side one and there is no going back) and proffer the usual counter-revolutionary position - that change will confuse the faithful.
The reality is that the Church's desire to live in the past, while the reality on the ground is something different, is the real problem the Church must face. Francis is unwilling to leave the Church there. While some tenderness with the faithful is necessary, counter-revolutionaries need to be called out since they know what they are doing, especially the bishops, who need to finally put on their big boy pants and quit living in the past. That we now have a Pope that is dealing with reality will force them to equate loyalty with change rather than with defending the status quo. A key point of this book is that he names names about the Conference. Let us hope they are up to it. It would be embarrassing to the Church in America (and themselves) if they are not.
No comments:
Post a Comment