Iowa bishop blasts 'spirit of Vatican II,' calls it 'a ghost or demon that must be exorcised' [CWN]

[puppypatrol]

I hope God assigns this bishop to an even bigger diocese or archdiocese!

I hope not too soon. He’s my Bishop and we desperately need him here.

I also doubt that this particular Bishop would ever knowingly deviate from true Church teaching, but I don’t think he would necessarily agree with some of what your statements imply. I don’t think the Bishop would say that any error within the Church, particularly the American Church, actually emanated from the Council. I don’t think he would agree that “The American Church is allowing heresy to continue.” I don’t think he would agree that any particular group within the Council attempted to hi-jack it or that the original spirit and intent of the Council has been concealed. I don’t think the Bishop would accept the view that adherance to sacred dogma necessarily means unchanging in practice or in understanding of the dogma. I think the Bishop is actually saying that certain changes in practice and in growing understanding of dogma are part of our tradition as Catholics and we should not see those necessary changes as separating us from that tradition.

If you read the whole letter, what he is talking about is those people who take Vatican II and turn the words around and misinterpret them to meet what they want it to mean. He wants Catholics to read Vatican II and understand it as the Magisterium teaches it.

He also talks in this letter about the Catholic Church Evangelizing within before we try to evangelize outside of the Church. We have to know and understand what the Church truly teaches before we can teach others. Parents are especially charged with this since they are the first and most important teachers of the new generations of Catholics.

It is an awesome letter and I would recommend it to everyone.

 

[Tigg]

Received this today in an e-mail:

The bishop said the cultural upheaval of the 1960s and 70s precipitated a shift in perspective about the Church, and it began to seem that “nothing was certain or solid” in its teaching or liturgy. “Sometimes,” he said, "we set out to convert the world, but were instead converted by it. We have sometimes lost sight of who we are and what we believe, and therefore have little to offer the world that so desperately needs the Gospel."

This “hermeneutic of discontinuity,” said Nickless, “emphasizes the ‘engagement with the world’ to the exclusion of the deposit of faith.” “This has wreaked havoc on the Church, systematically dismantling the Catholic Faith to please the world, watering down what is distinctively Catholic, and ironically becoming completely irrelevant and impotent for the mission of the Church in the world,” he said. "The Church that seeks simply what works or is ‘useful’ in the end becomes useless."

Bishop Nickless goes on to state that, “we have sometimes lost sight of who we are and what we believe, and therefore have little to offer the world that so desperately needs the Gospel.”

“Our urgent need at this time is to reclaim and strengthen our understanding of the deposit of faith,” writes Nickless. He adds that our mission is twofold — both within the Church (ad intra) and to the world (ad extra). He then sets forth a plan for “reclaiming and strengthening our faith, identity and culture as Catholics.”

That plan includes the following:

1. A renewal of reverence, love, adoration and devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament within and outside of Mass, regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1. Strengthening catechesis on every level, beginning with and focusing on adults, with Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church as the primary sources of formation.

1. The protection and building up of holy families.

1. Fostering a culture where young people can more readily respond to the radical calls of ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life.

1. Acknowledging and embracing the missionary character of the Catholic Faith and the vocation of all Catholics to be, not only disciples, but also apostles.

Above all, Bishop Nickless calls the faithful to “great acts of renunciation.”

Here is the pastoral letter in its entirety:

scdiocese.org/files/Pastoral_Letter_updated100809.pdf