Wednesday
21Oct2009
Bishop Nickless: Exorcise the "spirit of Vatican II"
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 | Karen Howes I couldn't have said this better myself.
The world is indeed converting the Church instead of the other way around. I'd even argue that this started happening decades before Vatican II, and that this council was a symptom, rather than the cause, of the spiritual rot we've been seeing for so long.
Reader Comments (7)
Sodom and Gemorrah thats where we are Karen!:(
I think the catholic church has many more demons to worry about after maintaining a vicious past throughout history (the slaughtering of my ancestors, the Covenanters), including modern times (sexual abuse of children from priests).
The Catholic church will never live that down.
Angel, I actually think Sodom and Gommorah were a couple notches better than what we have today.
Steve, with all due respect, I think it's unfair to issue such a blanket condemnation of the Catholic Church. Are we to pretend that Protestants were/are tolerant and never "vicious"? Persecution went the other way too-- i.e., Protestants persecuted and killed Catholics, especially during the so-called English Reformation.
Are we also to pretend that there aren't sex scandals in other churches? There are. Regarding the sex scandals involving clergy in the Catholic Church, this is frankly a result of that spiritual rot I mentioned in the post; basically, a homosexual subculture was allowed to take root in many Catholic seminaries since the 60's. The problem isn't so much pedophilia as it is homosexual ephebophilia (attraction to adolescents).
The Catholic Church has done FAR more good in the 2,000 years of its existence than evil. She's been responsible for the salvation of countless souls, as well as the foundation of western civilization.
I think Sodom and Gomorrah were a sweet haven compared to the world as it is today, especially the United States. Which is why I firmly believe we are living in the end times. The church makes way too many compromises to make a difference any more.
The Bishop's point is well taken; too many things are read into VC II that simply are not there. It has been taken as a license for all manner of innovations that were never intended. It should be narrowly construed and not pushed beyond what was clearly stated.
People have had a tendency to take the statement of John XXIII about "opening the windows to let in some air" as a license to do just about anything and everything. I don't think that was ever intended, but it certainly got out of hand.
It's funny how people always want to change the church and remake it to whatever suits their fancy. It never occurs to them that the kingdom of heaven is not a democracy where we can vote ourselves in and vote out the stuff we ain't all that big on.
Leticia, I have to agree. When I look at where we are, I can't see ourselves going on this way for too much longer.
Dr. D, you nailed it. So many things that have been done (namely, liturgical abuses) have been done in the name of VII, but really have nothing to do with it.
MK, I know. I don't understand why, if one doesn't like the way a church or organization is, he doesn't simply leave. Surely with something like 30,000 churches in existence, these people could find one more to their liking.