A HISTORY OF CAFETERIA CATHOLICISM From Catholica.com.au, an interesting take on how the dissent of many of our saints and martyrs have shaped Catholicism into the Church that we know today.
COULD REFORM OF THE CHURCH MEAN SCHISM? If there was ever a time for the hierarchy to recognize its collective failure and accept the fact that they are all in this together, that time is now.
IS IT OK TO BE A CAFETERIA CATHOLIC? Evangelization requires real dialogue in the church—as well as an open door to those on imperfect journeys of faith.
MORE CATHOLIC THAN THE POPE The truth is all Catholics are cafeteria Catholics. Conservative Catholics were quite willing to ignore John Paul's and Benedict's strong statements on justice and peace, and progressive Catholics are happy to ignore Francis' opposition to women priests
THE POLITICAL CRISIS OF "CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICISM" When faith is harnessed to a political ideology, it withers. And something truly terrifying can occur; believers can confuse the ideology with faith itself.
WAS IT BETTER BACK THEN? The reduction of Catholic tradition to an imaginary medieval Catholicism has significant consequences for the intellectual life of the Catholic Church in the United States, and for the way it perceives and responds to the social and cultural changes of the last fifty years.
WHY WE CAME. WHY WE LEFT. WHY WE STAYED The reasons people join the church and remain in it are as complicated and various as the reasons others leave it. If nothing else, the decision to belong to the church and believe in its claims is not a trivial one.
AN OPEN LETTER TO CARDINAL CUPICH On the eve of the Vatican Conference in Rome on abuse prevention, Catholic Reform groups have come together to write an open letter to Cardinal Cupich, one of America's chef envoys, urging specific actions to issues that need to be addressed.On the eve of the Vatican Conference in Rome on abuse prevention, Catholic Reform groups have come together to write an open letter to Cardinal Cupich, one of America's chef envoys, urging specific actions to issues that need to be addressed.
CHURCH REFORM REQUIRES DECENTRALIZATION, SYNODALITY On the agenda of the most recent meeting of the Council of Cardinals was what might be the most important issue in the reform of the Roman Curia -- the decentralization of decision-making in the church.
DIALOGICAL DISTURBANCES BY DESIGN For those of us committed to transforming the organization of the Roman Catholic Church, we now have evidence for an effective strategy.
DISSENT AND DIALOGUE IN THE CHURCH Dissent in the church is as old as the argument between St. Peter and St. Paul described by Paul himself in Galatians. Another account is also given in the Acts of the Apostles.
INVITED OR NOT, HERE THEY COME 'Every action creates a reaction.' So there you have it. That's exactly what's going on in the church right now.
WHEN NOT IN ROME The word periphery has an interesting history; it was part of a formula conceived by Yves Congar, O.P., when he published his important book True and False Reform in the Church in 1950. This book argued that authentic reform in and of the church comes about most effectively when the “center” is attentive to ecclesial life on the “periphery” and that this mutual responsiveness is achieved most effectively through councils
NARROWING THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH Who counts as an “authentic Catholic”? When a beleaguered minority rejects others and isolates itself, the result is weakness and fragmentation instead of strength through communion
THEOLOGIAN SAYS CHURCH NEEDS BOTH SYNODALITY AND PRIMACY In the Eastern Churches, the synod is an important law-making body, but in the Synod of Bishops it is a purely advisory body for the universal Church, under the direction of the pope.
IS THE DECLINE OF RELIGION THE DECLINE OF GENEROSITY? Sure, religious households give more money away than unaffiliated households. But do they ever question why poverty and hunger and homelessness continue to soar in this supposedly "rich" country?
THE RETROGRADE INTRANSIGENCE OF CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS If there were any doubts that Pope Francis is a stealth reformer of the Roman Catholic Church, the apostolic exhortation, "The Joy of Love" should settle the matter.
IT TAKES MORE THAN A GREAT REFORMER TO REFORM THE CHURCH Today's Catholics are more ideologically diverse from each other and in some countries they are even quite polarized politically. Culture, agendas, history stand in the way of the most able of popes.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH NEEDS A RADICALLY TRADITIONAL REVOLUTION If Catholics knew their own history and knew a bit about their sister churches in the East, they would know that the structural reforms they desperately need today are already being lived out in other Christian bodies.
LAY PEOPLE IN THE RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH Real reform happens when lay people, who are the vast majority of the Church, assimilate and live it, when the "living stones" of the Church are renewed in holiness.
‘CRISIS’: THE KEY WORD FOR THE REFORM OF THE CHURCH If there is one word that sums up in a nutshell what the world is experiencing, it is “crisis.” The crisis is no longer a commonplace of conversations and of the intellectual establishment; it has become a reality shared by all.
CHURCH REFORM - SYNODALITY TAKES FLIGHT In what is potentially the boldest move since the second Vatican Council, Pope Francis has announced a two-year-long, Church-wide process of consultation and discernment.
CATHOLIC CHURCH IS FAILING TO EMBRACE REFORM The Catholic Church has yet to make positive progress towards being able truly to listen to the voices of minority voices and the laity as a whole...
POPE AT 85: NO MORE MR NICE GUY, AS REFORM HITS STRIDE After spending the first eight years of his papacy gently nudging Catholic hierarchs to embrace financial prudence and responsible governance, Francis got tough, and appears poised to keep it that way.
CHRISTOPHER LAMB ON THE CHURCH’S RADICAL REFORM The premiere podcast installment by Christopher Lamb of a series dedicated to the global synod and Pope Francis’s vision for a global Church.
TOWARD A “DEEP REFORM” OF THE CHURCH The need for reform in the Church, the role that synodality might play in it, and the dangers of the abuse of religion in politics.
THE REFORM WAS REAL: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE AT VATICAN II Contrary to those who fear that the magisterium is undermined by any hint of discontinuity, the ability to change, self-correct, and sometimes even repent increases the credibility of the Church.
TRADITIONALISTS, REFORM AND WOMEN More Catholics in more cultures are better educated and less willing to put up with autocratic clerics, especially amid ongoing — even increasing — sex and money scandals.