So hesitant to make a new post, since the first thing you should read on this site is Paul Lisicky's incredible interview. Scroll below or click here!
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Added Ron Hansen, Brian Doyle, and Rev. James Martin, S.J. to the forthcoming interview list. That's a pretty amazing trifecta. Really looking forward to sharing their words with everbody.
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America magazine is always a great read, and a new article "On Their Way Out: What Exit Interviews Could Teach Us About Lapsed Catholics" is an informative piece.
I wholeheartedly agree with the concept, and I do think Paul's interview speaks to these concerns. Many people leave the church for good reasons, and yet the absence of faith is something that causes them regret. So many good people have been "lost" from the church in this manner that I hope the church could take notice. I'm sure the church has, but the exit interview concept is a tangible way to begin dialogue.
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Another curious thing I'm noticing: people seem to miss the pre-Vatican II sense of ritual and solemnity at mass, as well as the post-Vatican II sense of revolution and revision. It's an interesting paradox: the church has turned away some people who loved and supported its social justice arm (for lack of a better word, a 'liberal' element of the church) and also loved its sense of ritual and tradition (again, for lack of a better world, a 'conservative' element of the church).
Catholics are complex, our faith is complex, and it really resists any attempts at normalcy or definition. I'm thankful for that.
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I should give a shout to my parish, St. Joseph's in Newton, NJ. Father Brian Sullivan is the priest, and save for Father Joe Celia of St. Pius in Selinsgrove, PA (priest during my college years), I've never met a more caring, effusive pastor. Frs. Brian and Joe (may Fr. Joe rest in peace!) share the intangibles needed to lead a faith community, a parish, and a school. I can vouch for the fact that mass attendance is way up (and not only at Christmas!) and the services breathe with a shared energy, a common goal. Beautiful to see and experience.
Hi! Welcome to the blogosphere! You are so right about Catholics & Catholicism being complex. As you described, I was and am attracted by both "liberal" and "traditional" aspects of the church. I am also repelled by many (many) things, but as the man said, where would I go? Even as a convert I feel an indissoluble bond with the church, that would be there even if I left. The best I can come up with is that if a corrupt church was good enough for St. Francis and St. Benedict and St. Teresa and St. (in my opinion) Romero, it's good enough for me. I am also comforted by the fact that so many of the best Catholics have been excommunicated. Being in conflict with the hierarchy seems to be more of a mark of holiness than of heresy. ;)
ReplyDeleteI grew up thinking that Catholics were the most liberal folks on earth. Imagine my surprise when I found out that wasn't true everywhere.
ReplyDeleteMy pastor is actually a blogger! Talk about awesome. :)
http://clevelandpriest.blogspot.com/
Sylvia, your words ring true, and I agree with your clever final sentence!
ReplyDeletePen--thanks for sharing the link! And Catholicism has so many shades: it's amazing, the complexity.