Catholic “Ghetto”: a good thing?

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I generally don’t read Crisis Magazine, but I couldn’t resist an article titled “The Catholic “Ghetto” as a Last Resort”.

I’m curious about two things:
  1. Whether others read it differently than I do? In particular, while Mr. Grassl proceeds from the idea of (as the title puts it) Catholic “ghetto” as a last resort, I find that he frequently says or at the very least implies (?) that that is really the direction we *should *go in any case – and indeed that we never should have moved away from it in the first place.
  2. To those of you who belong to “non-Catholic religions” (Islam, Lutheranism, Hinduism, Presbyterianism, etc.), do you also have advocates for moving in a “ghetto” direction, and if so to what extent?
Thanks in advance and God bless,
Peter Jericho
 
I haven’t read this article, but is this what others have called the Benedict Option?
 
The Supreme Court refused to define minimum standards. In his opinion, Justice Alito suggested that to be a “minister, “an employee need not be ordained. Rather, he wrote, the exception “should apply to any ‘employee’ who leads a religious organization, conducts worship services or important religious ceremonies or rituals, or serves as a messenger or teacher of its faith.”
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What if Catholic colleges and universities train their faculty and staff in the principles of the faith and, as part of their employment contract, expect them to live (rather than benignly neglect) the respective mission statement, including the largest mission statement of all: “Therefore go and teach all nations…” (Mt 28:19). Surely it can be expected of employees of a religiously-affiliated organization to follow its religious beliefs. If they do so actively and credibly, would this not qualify as cause for exemption?
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Why should a professor of English when discussing a novel or a professor of economics when explaining the function of markets not bring to bear the richness of Catholic teaching on virtue, sin, charity, and justice? Why should a physician or nurse not also cater to the spiritual well-being of patients by spreading the Good News, even if it is only through a few words of encouragement or a short prayer? Are we not all called to give witness, according to St. Peter’s admonition: “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15)?
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Why does this even have to be written? All Christians are called to go forth and make disciples. People have been using the lay/clergy distinction to say “not my job” for far too long. This is why Evangelicals are so much better at evangelism. They don’t get to say “not my job”.
 
theropod said:
I haven’t read this article, but is this what others have called the Benedict Option?
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Good question. Let me start with this quote from Father Longenecker:
What might a “Benedict Option” parish look like? The pastor and people would decide priorities based on the immediate needs of the parish members. As hostility grows from those outside the Church, relationships of trust would be developed within the family and parish. If an aggressive secular agenda is promoted in public schools, the parish school and religious-education program will become a main priority. As classical education disappears, the parish school will become a repository for the ancient learning. As such, a “Benedict Option” parish would see itself as countering, rather than accommodating, the surrounding culture. Such a community would be distinctive and clear in its purposes and principles — even odd. Members might be distrusted by those outside the community — including other Catholics who have compromised with the prevailing culture.
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Now, having said that, I must say that out of a dozen or so Catholic parishes in my town that I have been to over the last several years, there is one where parishioners would undoubtedly read the above and say “Hey, that’s a description of our parish.”

And maybe they would be right. I don’t want to be one of “those” in the sentence “Members might be distrusted by those outside the community — including other Catholics who have compromised with the prevailing culture.” but I have to confess that, after attending mass there a number of times and listening attentively to the homilies, I decided that it is not something I want to do again. (Don’t ask me to explain why. There wasn’t any Trump-esque bombshell that was dropped. It’s just one of those things where “you had to be there” – repeatedly, in fact.)

Unfortunately I need to get off my computer shortly, so let me wrap this up by saying that I cannot really give your question a firm answer, either affirmative or negative, both because there’s room for interpretation (I think Father Longenecker’s description creates an opening for “ghetto” type thinking, but maybe I’m just being pessimistic?) and anyhow I believe it was Rod Dreher who first coined the term “Benedict Option” so what I quoted above might be an alternate take on it.
 
The idea that Catholics should wall ourselves off from the world directly contradicts everything in the Gospel.
 
runningdude said:
The idea that Catholics should wall ourselves off from the world directly contradicts everything in the Gospel.
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It’s not really about cutting ourselves off from the world; it’s about creating a community structure wherein we are free to uphold our Catholic values. We would still interact with the outside world, do our missionary work as best we’re able, etc.
 
I have been a part of or acquainted with a few Catholic ghettos: homeschool groups, Parish school, charismatic community, Latin Mass community, Opus Dei, Regnum Christi, homesteaders.

Some are more reclusive than others.

My take is that just as there are different types of charisms for those who take Holy Orders, there are different callings for laypeople.

In other words, it’s a BIG church and it needs all kinds of communities and people will feel called to different lifestyles.

Some priests and nuns are cloistered, some are hermits, some are missionaries, some work in hospitals or are dispatched with the armed forces or work in slums or with drug addicts and prostitutes in Times Square.

The same can be true for lay people and we should avoid saying, “THIS is the ‘perfect’ Catholic community that all are called to.”

Each one has it’s place and serves a particular need.
 
roseofshannon said:
I have been a part of or acquainted with a few Catholic ghettos: homeschool groups, Parish school, charismatic community, Latin Mass community, Opus Dei, Regnum Christi, homesteaders.

Some are more reclusive than others.

My take is that just as there are different types of charisms for those who take Holy Orders, there are different callings for laypeople.

In other words, it’s a BIG church and it needs all kinds of communities and people will feel called to different lifestyles.

Some priests and nuns are cloistered, some are hermits, some are missionaries, some work in hospitals or are dispatched with the armed forces or work in slums or with drug addicts and prostitutes in Times Square.

The same can be true for lay people and we should avoid saying, “THIS is the ‘perfect’ Catholic community that all are called to.”

Each one has it’s place and serves a particular need.
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This is how I look at it. 👍 Catholics are called to service whether it is working within a small community or, as for most lay Catholics, out in the world.
 
I feel like I missed something here … am I to understand that homeschool groups, parish schools, charismatic communities, Latin Mass communities, Opus Dei, Regnum Christi, and homesteaders are Catholic “ghettos”?
 
Peter_J said:
I feel like I missed something here … am I to understand that homeschool groups, parish schools, charismatic communities, Latin Mass communities, Opus Dei, Regnum Christi, and homesteaders are Catholic “ghettos”?
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Maybe “reservations”?
 
It’s a thought-provoking and intriguing article (and an evidently discussion-provoking one too).

But, I can’t help but feel that taking such an “option” in the face of a (somewhat perceived rather than realised) onslaught of secular culture is to entirely abandon our calling to be disciples (as best we can be) to the world.

We’re not living in the reign of Diocletian when for the very survival of the Faith (never mind ourselves), we have to resort to in camera meetings, prayers and masses, for fear of our incinerated bodies lining the Appian Way (or the I-95 for that matter).

I don’t think forming developing a persecution mentality is very healthy, either for the Church or ourselves. We don’t preserve and promote our Faith by hiding it away from where the Evil Secular State (or whomever) can’t reach it. We have to reach out and shout it. Even in the face of ridicule or distrust.

I ultimately suppose that I agree with those who argue for taking evangelism (though probably not evangelicalism) a little more seriously - taking it upon ourselves rather than trusting that other people in the parish/diocese/country/Church will do a little bit more to make up for our own lack. This doesn’t mean we have to try to be “relevant” on the one hand or “dumb-down” doctrine on the other. It means above all I think ostentatiously and warmly leaving the door open (metaphorically anyway, at least in winter) for all, and encouraging and welcoming all inside, rather than condemning those who for whatever reason don’t wish to cross the threshold.

Does this mean sometimes compromises have to be made in order to fit comfortably in a wider society? Absolutely. It’s what the Church has done for centuries. Do these compromises mean we have to change our own teaching or go against our own traditions? No.

I apologise for being a little inarticulate (have to rush of!), but I think advocating however hypothetically for resolving ourselves into little Catholic Ghettos where we can hide copies of the CCC from prying eyes in order to covertly pass it all on to our children, is more than a little absurd, and I just had to say so…

I imagine I won’t be back on the thread until after the New Year so I wish everyone who reads it in the meantime a very happy, peaceful and blessed one, and I also look forward to further thoughts on the subject 🙂

God bless,

Murmurs
 
PS. I also wonder if this kind of hand-wringing persecutorial thinking which from some quarters (not meaning CAF) is kind of a primarily American obsession, rather than one that’s particularly useful for a wider discussion. That said, of course I recognise most members of this forum are Americans so perhaps it’s also importantly and internally relevant!

🍿
 
Murmurs said:
I don’t think forming developing a persecution mentality is very healthy, either for the Church or ourselves.
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Interesting, interesting. This may or may not relate, but one thing that bothered me about the Grassl article (cited in the OP) is that it seemed like (again, I’m open to hearing others’ opinions) instead of saying “I know some Catholics will think I’m going to promote a ghetto mentality, so let me lay those concerns to rest …”, he pretty much dismissed those concerns out of hand (almost to the point of mocking them, e.g. “And if the direction be the “Catholic ghetto”, so be it.”).
 
ProdglArchitect said:
It’s not really about cutting ourselves off from the world; it’s about creating a community structure wherein we are free to uphold our Catholic values. We would still interact with the outside world, do our missionary work as best we’re able, etc.
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That may be the case, BUT, the author chose the word “ghetto”, a word with more baggage than most. I can only conclude that the author is proposing something radical.
 
When I heard about “Christian Ghettoism” in the past I was taken aback because I had always equated the word “ghetto” with slums.

Now I’ve come to understand that it can also simply mean:
“a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure.”

I believe Mary and Joseph lived in a “ghetto” where their culture was distinct in religion, dress and customs from the surrounding culture.
 
Someone has to preserve Western Civilation.
Is the Ghetto option really that different than the monastery system which saved it last time it was this threatened?
 
I don’t think we can separate ourselves from the world around us, but at the same time we must set a standard for our worship. It seems that Catholic worship is continually being watered down by the surrounding culture and we are accepting it because that is what we do with everything else. Maybe there should be a very sharp line between what is Catholic/Christian and what is not. We aren’t just like everyone else with some fellowship on Sunday and some nice humanitarian ideals. Christianity is a radical idea. Everyone claims love as an ideal. What makes Christianity different? Are we just really enthusiastic humanists?
 
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