How Not to Kill a Story.

29 Dec. 2010

This article was published in The Age 5 Jan 2011. See:

Church Needs to Answer Critics.

It responded to an Age piece published 24 December 2010. See:

Website censors criticism of Pope

Recently Catholic Church authorities censored an article posted on the popular website CathNews.com. The article, “Reflections on an Ordination Golden Anniversary”, was a reminiscence by a priest after fifty years of ministry. By midday the link no longer worked. Enquiries discovered that a Church “Higher Up” had prevailed on the CathNews editor to pull the link.

As the censorship became public it became the story. However the main issue is not the censorship - rather the case that the pulled article was arguing: that the Church’s leadership has lost its way but is not willing to discuss or even consider that there may be a point. This is precisely the mentality that got them caught in the headlights with the paedophilia crisis. They ignored, even demonised, the victims in order to protect the institution which, in this case, was indefensible. They seem to have an unhealthy institutional firewall against any criticism at all. When will they ever learn?

Meanwhile loyal Catholics have charged the bishops with compliantly following regressive Vatican policy which they believe is harming the Church. It would be disloyal NOT to criticise.

The Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) came to a climax in 1965 with its decree on The Church in the Modern World. This recognised the new society that had emerged after World War II. It recognised that the modern secular state is not only here to stay but a very favourable environment for proclaiming the Gospel and, indeed, more in tune with the freedom of the Gospel than a state where Catholic Religion is established. Bishops tend to revert to established religion style when questioned or criticised. Hence the censorship attempt.

Max Weber taught us a century ago that bureaucracies tend to turn habits into values. Is that what has happened with priestly celibacy, women’s ordination and denying Holy Communion to remarried divorcees? These now burning issues were not issues in the old world. And what about homosexual love, IVF and contraception? Does forbidding them enhance the values taught by Jesus or simply stick to old rules out of habit? A vast number of loyal Catholics say it is time for review.

A vast crowd of priests and laity who passionately love the Church are alarmed:

•     at the fundamentalism pervading the mentality of the Roman bureaucracy and many bishops;

•     at the bully culture of Rome which surfaces in turn in the management style of so many bishops;

•     at the favoured status given to authoritarian New Movements. These include Opus Dei, the Legionaries of Christ (now discredited and under reconstruction) and the Heralds of the Gospel (Google them.)

•     at having a new and unsatisfactory translation of the liturgy about to be foisted on them due to power politics at the top.

This last confrontation may well backfire. Many priests are simply not going to introduce the new translation. They say that if the Anglican new comers and the Latin Mass groups can keep their liturgy and language, so can they.

Getting people to change their minds is always hard. Jesus had difficulty getting his message accepted. Maybe it is time for today’s Church leaders to listen to the voices and reconsider. They might just be converted. Maybe there is no need to kill the story.

The censored article can be found on www.theswag.org.au or on http://tinyurl.com/2fu2n7c

Comments

[online writing]

The story not kill if you will support articles that give you interest. it will help the writers to continually do stories.

[moncler outlets]

I "like" you on Facebook. Would love these for my oldest boy!

[The Hermes Birkin]

I like ANMJ on FB & just subscribed to the email feed! :)