Today's announcement of an Apostolic Constitution aimed at accommodating long-suffering Anglicans is welcome news.
Why?
Several reasons:
It is truly ecumenical, but not in the way most dreamy, fringe Catholics -- like
Cardinal Kasper -- will understand. For most modernist Catholics, their definition of ecumenism is, "
What 'unnecessary' aspects of Catholicism can we give up to be more like the people at Bob and Marge's social club they call a church? They have such a good time at their services and the baby sitting co-op is to die for!" These are the "nice people" crowd..."
As long as you're a nice person, it doesn't matter where you go to church!" Well, grab a dictionary and look up the word
nice. You'll note is originates from the Latin verb
nescire, which means "not to know". Now, that being the case, you won't be so eager to hear someone say, "Jane, your kids are
sooooooo nice!" or "You are the nicest person in our
cul de sac, Fred!" will you?
Lastly, it puts the notion of ecumenism being Catholics and Orthodox changing to be like modernist, secular Protestants (God love them...) on it's ear. Hopefully for good. Why even the "Spirit of Vatican II" crowd doesn't read the part of
Lumen Gentium -- one of the few dogmatic proclamations of Vatican II -- that says,
"This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity."It is counter-intuitive, and will throw most modernist Catholics, particularly the activist ones, off balance. In fact, I am already seeing "
Crewman Norman" behavior from the expected mass media sources, including Time, New York Times, etc. If you don't recall that beloved Star Trek episode,
I, Mudd, where Norman melts down,
refresh your memory at youtube. To summarize, if people think one thing is true, then have to deal with an opposite truth, well, they tend to melt down. Let me develop this line of thinking further...
Modernist proposition #1: "
Ratzinger is der Panzer Papst."
Panzers don't finesse, they flatten. Benedict is a brilliant theologian and much more intelligent than his opponents in his own Curia, despite allegations of being politically naive by many. The solution that he has approved for the Anglicans seeking relief is, frankly,
rather progressive. Rather than "
parking Roman tanks on the Archbishop of Canterbury's lawn" and forcing any interested Anglicans to cross the Tiber on crocodiles' backs, he and his closest
advisers applied their knowledge of the Gospels, Tradition and Canon Law to find a
charitable solution to a problem that nobody else could envision, namely, dedicated
ordinariates for Anglicans. Allowing returning brethren to retain their liturgical practices and clergy, with the outstanding questions of how bishops and ordinaries will differ, of course, is not conversion by the sword.
Modernist proposition #2: "
Since any Anglican priest who redeems this offer can be married, now they'll have to allow married priests in the Catholic Church!" This is an interesting one, since the Catholic Church already allows married priests. Yes, Georgia, there are hundreds of married priests in the Catholic Church, you just don't know as much about your Church as you should. For centuries now, the Oriental Churches, also know as
Eastern Catholics, have allowed married clergy. Yes, centuries. And yes, they are Catholic. I haven't audited this
article about Eastern Churches, but the info should be close enough for you to get the point. Further, nearly 30 years ago, John Paul II created a
Pastoral Provision in the United States to allow for the acceptance and training of Episcopal clergy who wished to enter the Catholic Church. So this idea isn't so new or radical, is it? You just weren't paying attention, with us
kicking the USSR's tail in Lake Placid, were you? Most large cities have an Eastern Rite Church that holds Divine Liturgy every Sunday, but I see very few Catholics interested in married clergy seeking them out. I wonder why? The sacraments are the same and the communities are very welcoming to Latin Rite Catholics. Confession and Communion can generally be shared on your first visit and services are generally in English, almost exclusively, in fact.
Could it be that these persons are less interested in the diversity of Catholicism than the diversity of Modernism and its convenience? (hint, hint...) Again, it's a free country, but if you are saying you want X, don't reject X when it is in your midst. If you want Y, don't let the door hit you on your way out to seek Y.
It is merciful. Mercy is not exclusive of giving people who have material needs material things. There are spiritual and corporal works of mercy, some aspects of which are reflected in this act. Specifically:
Instruct the uninformed: By putting this pastoral solution into the "marketplace of ideas" some will learn that the Church is truly a welcoming mother, not the spoiled queen she is often portrayed as. She welcomes all who will accept her embrace and the Truth she offers. If one person finds peace as a result this act, it is of inestimable value.
Comfort the sorrowful: Thousands of Anglicans have been cast aside by their denomination as being "out of date", "not with the times", "nostalgic" or even "stupid" because they truly believe the message of Christ as handed down from their fathers and their fathers before them, while the so called leadership of their denomination pursue policies built on sand, rather than rock.
Matthew 7:24-25 -- "
Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock, And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock."
Modernism is worse than sand, it is more like a vapor. You can feel its presence when it arrives, but before you know it, it has passed and is gone.
It proves the wisdom of Galatians 6:8 -- "For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting."
For a time, Henry VIII, founder of the Church of England, was called "The Defender of the Faith" for his defense of the Church during the initial stages of the Reformation. His lust eventually separated him and his nation from the Church. This pursuit of the material world has logically run its course and spent itself, to the point where the overwhelming majority of those considering themselves Anglicans have lost any contact with the spiritual aspects of their faith and have unhesitatingly embraced doctrines preoccupied with the physical and sexual aspects of their being, just as Henry VIII did nearly five centuries ago.
Henry's act created a generation of martyrs. I pray that this act may inspire a generation of saints.
Pax tecum.
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