Tuesday 31 July 2012

"Brick by brick" is too slow


At least, it’s too slow in England and Wales.



There is rather an air of defeatism in the blogosphere at present.
 The Church seems to be in ‘one step forward, two steps back' mode and that is not good.  

Of course, some will say that it’s all in the hands of Almighty God and that the Holy Spirit will act as and when it is deemed appropriate.
But that doesn’t stem the desire to get things moving, to see some real advances being made in the face of secular governments intent on destroying Faith and Family.

And, of course, when governments attack the Church it’s like a wild beast savaging a dumb animal, it is a signal for all and sundry to join in; the eroticists, humanists, atheists and the rest of the hyenas and jackals.

And who will watch the watchers? Who challenges the Bishops of England and Wales on vital matters?

Is there, I wonder, a need for a ‘society’ type of structure to organise and lobby, to promote orthodoxy and to confront both society and the wayward Bishops?

We do not have (in England and Wales) any form of organised and cohesive action group to take on matters of liturgical abuse, wilful actions by the Bishops or the re-evangelisation of the bulk of Catholics in the pews.

We do have individual recourse to both the Papal Nuncio and to Rome but, with the best will in the world, it’s rather like stuffing a message in a bottle and chucking it into the ocean.
You may get a response but it could take years and will undoubtedly be from the wrong person!

It is not uncharitable to describe the bulk of Catholics in England and Wales as being ignorant. It is a fact and one that should worry the Church authorities.
It is not wilful ignorance so much as institutionalised ignorance where all fundamental knowledge has been eradicated or overlooked.

Catholic bloggers live in a rather sense heightened world, we have Catholic news and information at our fingertips and, within seconds, we can view events and happenings in both the Catholic and the secular world.

But ask an average Catholic if they ever read a blog let alone a Catholic one and you will be met with a blank stare.

Ask them about the Holy Father’s Moto Proprio or what is meant by “Extraordinary Form” and you will receive more of the same.

Take this a few steps further and explain that reception of Holy Communion by hand is only available on an indult basis and you will probably be booted out of the door.

Of course, there is no particular reason why the Catholic layman or woman should read Catholic blogs but, if their only source of current Church affairs is from The Tablet and The Catholic Times…you get my drift.

In addition we have genuine corporate amnesia with regard to the changes and effects that have taken place since the early 1970s and their relationship to what went on before the Second Vatican Council.

And, of course, the bulk of Catholics have known nothing more than what they have been fed upon for the past fifty years. No one born after 1960 can have much experienced based concept of the pre Vatican II version of Catholic social and spiritual life.

So what issues would such an organisation tackle?

Here are the five main areas:-

  1. Catholic Education or, rather, the lack of it
  2. Re-evangelising the Faithful
  3. Confronting the Bishops (unswervingly but charitably)
  4. Developing Latin Mass centres
  5. Social Teaching and Justice


There may be other areas and you may reasonably argue with regard to other points but this is a start.

But, as to how it could be achieved…….that is for another post (unless anyone cares to suggest a path forward?).

12 comments:

  1. Richard,
    Excellent post-you are absolutely correct in your statements! Our weak and gutless Hierarchy of England and Wales should have spoken out on these issues years ago! However, what can you expect from this Conference of Apostate Bishops (maybe with the exception of one or two)-Woe to These Shepherds who are not feeding The Lord's sheep!

    Michael.

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  2. "It is not wilful ignorance so much as institutionalised ignorance where all fundamental knowledge has been eradicated or overlooked."

    Wonderfully perceptive, imho. Thank you

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  3. Vatican II and what has happended since was covered by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, "until he who restrains is removed". The Holy Ghost has distanced Himself. This is the "terrible chastisement" that Sister Lucia of Fatima, mentioned in the 1957 interview with Father Fuentes. The result is a catastrophic loss of faith. And why are we being chastised? God's wish, that devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary be established throughout the world, as requested at Fatima, was rejected in favor of a new kind of Catholicism that has man as its focus instead of God. Stand fast and hold to tradition.

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  4. Thank you Father (EFPE) and thank you Steve.

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  5. What you say is true, and the situation is even worse in Ireland, with the Church leadership refusing to oppose the vicious and profound public attacks on the most fundamental aspects of human nature and morality - the sacredness and inviolability of all human life, the sacredness of marriage and the family that springs from it, the sacredness of motherhood and fatherhood, the necessity of God and religion. If Bishops who refuse to do their most basic duty in respect of the faithful and society in general (and in fact assist the enemies of life, marriage, the Natural Law and the Church) continue to be appointed, and are not removed or disciplined, then what are we to do??? Some Bishops' only public announcements are attacks on Natural Law morality, the Faith and the faithful.

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  6. Totally agree. Are you going to the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma meet? If so, may be this is one for that forum to mull over?

    I could really do with the sort of organisation you are suggesting. The liturgy at my Church (not able to go further afield) is such that, if the Hail Mary were removed from the bidding prayers Protestants would not realise it were a Catholic Church if they happened to come in by accident!

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  7. Malvenu - yes, I'll be there, Deo volente, but the Guild does not have, per se, a Traditional v Modern agenda. That is why we need a new organisation with a specific task.

    Thanks Lynda, English and Welsh Catholics owe such a debt to Irish Catholicism, sad to see it in its present state.

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  8. Ok, but is there not within the Guild the expertise and the will to form such an organisation or even to get an idea out there that others could be attracted to in order to start such an organisation? Even if there is not a trad v modern agenda there must be a united will to protect and promote orthodoxy, no?

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  9. Malvenu - agreed, my view entirely. Richard

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  10. Several points you made are known in our hearts. I offered my services here in England and in Ireland to teach catechesis and was turned down for being too conservative-that is, I believe in the teachings of the Catholic Church. I have applied for jobs only to find out the liberals were in charge and I would have been a bad fit anyway. As to education, I have gone to the Internet, as one priest told me last year, "People in my parish do not want catechesis." I was astounded. He was correct.

    The arrogance of the ignorant remains a strong defense against those who do not want to repent of contraception, irregular marriages and even active homosexual life-styles. The blogasphere is the main place for catechesis in many areas. We must keep this up.

    Please continue your good work, as we all try and do. It is a worthy martyrdom.

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  11. More and I not only blame the hierarchy, but my own peers. Two links here-one in the other:

    http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/laity-and-sippy-cups-2.html

    And I should have said the arrogance of the ignorant is the defense FOR those unrepentant Catholics....sorry, even I get emotional sometimes.

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  12. Richard - I was away on holiday and missed this. You quite properly write of "Catholic Education or, rather, the lack of it", and I think all informed Catholics would agree.

    However, I would suggest that the problem is a national one. I read 5 or 6 years ago of some opinion poll in the UK which revealed that more than 70% of respondents thought that Winston Churchill was a soap-opera character.

    Where do we start?

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