Or you can't be Catholic and >fill in the blank<
Concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Francis said today:
“It is a bad thing that Christians are divided, Jesus wants us united, one body. Our sins, history has divided us. For this we must pray that the Holy Spirit bring us together again". - Angelus message.Is anyone listening?
Probably not anyone associated with The Remnant and other 'restricted' sites.
I was reading a blog post from a writer who recently challenged Mark Shea on Facebook over something 'gay' related. No surprise there. I noted the critic referred to Shea as a neo-Catholic. I never really knew for sure what that meant - but it made me wonder, 'how can there be unity among Christians when the Catholic Church is divided into factions?'
I Googled neo-Catholics to find out what it means. I got more than I asked for from The Remnant.
Neo-Caths, Rad-Trads, Trads, Progressives, oh my!
The terminological problem is that two groups of Catholics claiming to be "simply Catholic" differ markedly and sometimes dramatically in matters of theology and praxis, a development not seen until after the Council. The termsneo-Catholicism and neo-Catholic are intended to express the difference between traditionalists and those Catholics who adopted progressive theological views and new practices after the Council even though the Church has never actually commanded any Catholic to do so. The resulting dynamic tension throughout the ecclesia between two essentially orthodox constituencies, one of which did not exist a half-century ago, has no parallel in Church history. - Remnant
And you can't be Catholic and ___.
Really?
Not interested ... how's that for disinterested.
I don't think little children
make these types of distinctions.
I like this from Little Therese:
"I leave to great souls and lofty minds the beautiful books I cannot understand, much less put into practice and I rejoice that I am little because children alone and those who resemble them will be admitted to the heavenly banquet." - S. Therese of the Child Jesus
If I had a dime for every time someone called me a neo-Catholic… Nevermind.
ReplyDeleteI've seen it put this way.
ReplyDeleteThere are two kinds of errors Catholics can make:
1) One can deny the See of Peter has the power to bind.
2) One can deny the See of Peter has the power to loosen.
The first group is represented by Fr. Richard McBrien (RIP). The second group by those who would wield the term "neocatholic".
The divisiveness of course comes about when either group accuses faithful catholics of belonging to the other erroneous one. C.S Lewis and Satan's pairs of lies etc etc.
For a slightly dated but still good debunking of the term neo catholic, see http://www.mark-shea.com/tpotnct.html.
Terry,
ReplyDeleteI remember when I entered the Church leaving Protestantism and division behind for unity. I also remember when Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and Jack Kerouac were the real deal. OK, maybe not so much the last one but still.
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think1ing,
if only it were that simple. Inherent problem; you and I think we are "faithful catholics" in contrast to others and, so it goes, all my children, as the world turns
P.S. On the first Sunday of the week of prayer for Christian unity, after mass, I visited, for the first time in 12 or 13 years the second to last Protestant congregation that I was on staff with. It was quite day. In many ways I care not to detail here, it was healing, restorative. Label me any way you, whomever you may be, like. :)
ReplyDelete