I listened for about 30 minutes and I have to say I was bored. It didn’t seem to hit on the controversial stuff. Then again, I’m tired and hot, so my attention was probably lacking. I’ll have to go back and listen to it another time…or maybe we could have folks continue to discuss what they heard/what they thought of what they heard right here!
No, it wasn’t the heat or your fatigue. I, normally a big fan of CAL, was very disappointed. (I listened to virtually all of it.) Far too much talking by both the host and Staples (especially Tim), mostly talking alone or back and forth with each other, with precious little opportunity in a 120-minute show, for callers. (There were also LOTS of sales pitches for products, etc., not related to the topic at hand.) Then, when they finally got a sedavacantist on at the end, Staples was so eager to talk over him and provide “answers” in substitute for the caller, that it took the host (Coffin) to intervene. I was actually waiting for 2 hours to hear (as you said, Lucky7) the key concerns. After all, there aren’t splinter groups for random reasons, they come from somewhere, and they have been a response to actual events, to actual leadership, and to actual perceived lack of leadership.
The last caller got fuzzy when being pinned down as to whether Roncalli (John XXIII) was a genuine Pope or not, but his main objection, IIRC, was to Paul VI, for the language in some of the V2 Council documents. (Which is exactly what I expected.) When Coffin further asked for specifics, Fr. said that his main objection was the definition of the Church as The People of God. Finally (last few miniutes only of program), Staples directly responded to him, saying that ‘Church as God’s People’ is biblical and Sacred Tradition, not an invention of V2.
Then the caller got more specific about the issue of heresy & baptism, disagreeing with Staples that previous Councils affirmed the baptized as permanently part of the Church, regardless of level of heresy or schism. I believe that Tim said that Leo XIII(?) affirmed that long ago, while the caller said that heretics were called “not part of the Church” or “separated from the Church.”
Here is what I think the tributary of concern is, regarding status of “baptized heretics” (or baptized heterodox). It is a concern allied with “The Church” = “The People of God.” In itself, the equation is (I agree with Tim) not a revolutionary concept. Again, though, as many of us have said repeatedly on this forum, it was the way The People of God understood their position and their authority/autonomy (after all, they’re “Church”), and how they were never corrected from assuming that membership = authority, that has been (still is, frankly) the source of the problem.
Yes, “we” are Church. But the obligation is one of obedience, the privilege is one of graces, community, and resources. That distinction has been blurred, both immediately after the Council and through today. Add to that, the inclusion of the heterodox and self-styled heretics as “fully” or “equally” Church, and such distinctions are too subtle for those who wish to manipulate the situation, or remain in ignorance or rebellion. The result is a level of internal chaos for the Church, when it is the Church herself who proclaims order as an essential principle and, as a human-divine organization, needs order in which to operate.