We spoke yesterday of the Holy Father's recent publication of a Motu Proprio on the 'Roman Liturgy prior to 1970'. In the days immediately prior to the departure of the Pope for his annual vacation period, the Vatican offices seem to have been very busy preparing a series of documents which have been released in the past days.
On Tuesday, July 10, 2007, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office which is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that various issues related to explaining the Faith are clarified and maintained free of error or misinterpretation, published a series of Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church.
Like the media reports surrounding the publication of the Motu Proprio, there has similarly been an abundance of commentary on this most recent document issued by the above-named Congregation. Many would have us believe that the Church is once again taking steps backward rather than continuing on the path of reconciliation with other Churches and ecclesial communities which have been separated from the Roman Church during the past number of centuries.
In order to truly appreciate the value of declarations such as this, the reader of Church teachings and documents must be able to see the larger picture which sometimes spans a number of months, years and even centuries. This is very different from the modern day media which seeks to provide immediate answers to current affairs.
Joseph Ratzinger chose the name Benedict on the day when the Cardinal electors appointed him as the Successor of Peter. He did this because he has desired ardently to promote reconciliation and peace in the Church. Like his fifth century namesake, he has recognized a number of areas in which the present-day Church can benefit from clarifications in order to remain faithful to the call of the Divine Master to continue the mission of proclaiming the Good News to the world today.
From time to time, the Church needs to clarify its teachings and precepts, much like a ship which needs to correct its direction on occasion as it travels through the waters of the ocean.
According to the Commentary on the document, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the same day as the document itself was published, the Responses essentially summarise the teaching of the (Second Vatican) Council (1962-1965) and the post-conciliar magisterium, (presenting) a clear reaffirmation of Catholic doctrine on the Church.
Shortly after his election as Pope, in his first message to the Church and during his Apostolic visit to Turkey, Benedict expressed a desire to continue promoting dialogue between the Catholic Church and other Churches and ecclesial communities. Dialogue can only occur if the positions of the respective voices are clearly understood. In the words of the explanatory note, if such dialogue is to be truly constructive it must involve not just the mutual openness of the participants but also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic faith (as well as all other participants in the discussion). Only in this way will it be able to lead towards the unity of all Christians in “one flock with one shepherd” (Jn 10, 16) and thus heal that wound which prevents the Catholic Church from fully realising her universality within history.
In the light of this explanation, the Responses issued by the Congreation for the Doctrine of the Faith can in a sense be understood as a clarification of certain points, so that further dialogue can take place. How the dialogue will proceed, and what fruits will be borne remain to be seen.
2 comments:
I still think that the Church is spending way too much time on 'technicalities'... Instead of 'correcting the direction of the ship' ever so slightly, I would suggest that it's time it looks around and see how to make sure it stops from sinking! Isn't it time to think about how it can become RELEVANT to most Catholics, instead of spending so much energy fine tuning things people don't actually care about??
Can't we talk about REAL issues in PLAIN language please? Or does the Church still think most people are not educated enough to 'get' what they are saying? We 'get' it, you know... however, most of us don't have the time or the inclination to read half a dozen complicated documents to understand what the Pope MEANT in the first one.... *sigh*
All I know is, from a pure public relations point of view, the last few publications from the Vatican have been a disaster...
Dear Anonymous:
A) With 120 members, on day one, understanding multiple languages, I agree they could probably get by with strictly "community".
But in Christ's Church of today, with a billion people in 100's of countries ~2000 years later, you need the "structure" along with the "community". Church can't have one without the other. And, with that structure comes "technicalities". You may focus on the community aspect if the structure displeases you. Fortunately the structure does eventually translate to community.
B) The ship will not sink. I know this because Jesus told us so, that
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I believe everything Jesus said to be true. I do believe another ship will sink however, that is to say a culture of death ship that has no regard for Divine/Natural/Church law. Empirical evidence would bear this out if you choose not to ignore it.
C) I think the holy father has reached out to some very loyal, faithful and pious Catholics here, and it's just awesome to have them back fully. I may check out one of the Masses myself with the old Missal I inherited from my father. What a sense of belonging to worship almighty God in the identical (thanks to the addressed technicalities) fashion as my parents and ancestors.
God Bless!
signed,
-Lost in the Cosmos
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