Monday, October 6, 2014

Role of the Family from AOP

3 comments:

johnnyc said...

Father why say 'in the life of the 'contemporary' Church"? Why not in the life of the Church? It is wording such as this that makes me uneasy about this Synod. It seems to imply that the teachings of Jesus and His Church needs to conform to the times. There does seem to be a liberal faction within the Church that, one gets the impression, believes that to be true.

Fr. Tom Provenzano, SDB said...

While the Truth is always the same, the world and the Church pass through epochs. Since Trent the Church has been on a Counter-Reformation footing, concerned with defending the Faith and preserving correct liturgical practice when both things were in dispute/under attack. I am a proponent of the "hermeneutic of continuity", but as George Weigel has pointed out we are now in a new phase. Whether we want to call it Evangelical Catholicism, as Weigel does, or the Vatican II Church, as most progressives do, the old order has passed and the Church must exist in a contemporary scene that simply doesn't share Gospel values on a myriad core issues. The answer is not to adopt the values of the age but learn to communicate the truth better. The married couple from Australia who spoke to the Synod yesterday said that while Church documents are beautiful, they are written in an "alien language" that the people can't readily understand. So, we are called to speak clearly and live honestly so as to better evangelize.

I understand your fears, but I think that there are progressives licking their chops and conservatives wringing their hands, but neither side (or most of us, including me) really understand yet what Pope Francis is all about, because BOTH sides are still wearing pre-Vatican II glasses, whether they know it or not. But that's a topic for another day.

Pray and keep the faith.

johnnyc said...

Well I was affected by Vatican II.....One day I had nuns and brothers teaching me, the next day lay teachers. They all left. Retreats sitting in rooms with black and strobe lights and 'group' sessions to get to know ourselves but no Mass and nary a word about Jesus. The liberals did much damage to the Church after Vatican II and unfortunately still are.

Well if the documents are written in an alien language then how do they know they are beautiful? I seriously question this stuff what is coming out of the Synod so far.

Regarding the Synod.....Father, Jesus called sin a sin. Why are trying to re-define the word? Or find a replacement?