The problem with religious leaders changing their story, or changing the set
accepted beliefes is
But change is an absolute necessity. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC), or any
church or any other human organization, needs to be able to react to events
in the world around it, and needs to grow and change over time. The RCC
is not a perfect organization; as an organization of people who are by
definition imperfect, it by definition cannot be perfect. But it can keep
moving in the right direction.
The problem was that the RCC had become non-reactive. It had picked a
way of relating to the world around it and had not changed that way of
reacting in a very long time. It was still behaving as if it existed in a world
where most people couldn't read and where most countries were ruled by
monarchs. It was using a very outdated mindset as its way of interfacing
with the world around it. The Vatican II Council was all about re-examining
that mindset and all of the implications that went along with it. It had been
so stangnant for so long that the changes required were revolutionary, not
evolutionary.
Quoting from a talk John Markey gave at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Vatican II found at: http://www.seattleu.edu/theomin/InstitutesandSymposiums/Vatican%20II%20talk%20-Markey-final.pdf or http://makeashorterlink.com/?O16554D36
The Church also rejected a kind of "trickle-down" theory of grace whereby
God gives grace to the Pope and then he passes it on to the bishops and
they give it to the priests, etc. The heirarchy of the Church is a sign and
a form of service to God's offer of grace, and a servant of the Body of
Christ, the Church. But the heirarchy does not own or control grace that
it can dispense or withhold at will.
This great recovery and renewal in the understanding of grace helped the
Church radically reinterpret the liturgy, the sacraments, its institutional
governance, its understanding of sin and its consequences and, most
important of all, its relationship with other Christian denominations, the
Jewish people and people of all other faith traditions.
...The Council also recovered the central New Testament metaphor of
the Body of Christ as the primary and organizing image of the Church.
This image reminded the Church that it is a living dynamic community
that changes, grows and develops over time....[The Holy Spirit] showed them the way to recover and restore the
liturgy, to redefine the relationships central to the life of the Church, to
open the gates of the Church to [a] waiting and needy world and to
break free from the bonds of late medieval and Baroque notions of
power and government that had so corrupted the Church (and sadly
continue to) and keep it from fulfilling its true mission as a Sacrament
of the Reign of God.
...the revolution is by no means over.
In other words, going back to my original point a few emails back in this thread, the RCC is an organization that can and has make the changes it needs to make to get better. It is an organization worth saving, but that will require the members of the Church to continue the "revolution" to make things better. Many have accused Pope John Paul II of trying to slow down or even reverse this revolution; Markey believes that he is trying to reverse parts of it even while furthering other parts.
On the one hand, as regards the internal life of the Church, John
Paul II does represent a reaction and an attempt at a "restoration" of
the pre-Vatican II values and sensibilities.... On the other hand, in regard
to [the] Roman Catholic Church's relationship to the wider Christian and
non-Christian world John Paul II has genuinely seized this vision of the
Council and .... has intuitively grasped the Church's genuine universality
and internationality.... He has reached out to people of other
denominations and other religions in ways that have made real inroads
to new understanding and deeper levels of unity. He has spoken out
strongly, consistently and persuasively on human rights and social
justice issues and has been able to do so at mass popular gatherings
and at the highest and the most exclusive levels of power.
So in other words, as I said before, the RCC and Pope John Paul II, for all
the problems they have, are a net positive influence in this world. And only
by participating in this great revolution within the Roman Catholic Church
can I have a part in ensuring that the negative contributions made by
members of the Church continue to be discouraged, minimized, and even
marginalized, and the positive contributions continue to be encouraged, so
that this Church in the future becomes ever more and more a vehicle to
make strong positive changes in the world, especially in the fields of human
rights and social justice.
By the way, the talk given by Markey is called "George Washington, Napoleon,
JP II and the Future of the Vatican II Revolution." The link above is to a 24 page
pdf file containing his entire presentation, and it's a fascinating read from start
to finish.
Reggie Bautista
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