Once Catholic Austria now taken over by liberal priests

[OriginalJS]

I believe the Church to be in alarming shape; Mass attendance continues to dwindle and churches continue to close, only 30% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence, an overwhelming number have been divorced and re-married without benefit of an annulment, they contracept, and yet receive communion. Volumes have been written about the current crisis and loss of faith. Even Benedict recently spoke about the “dimming” of the light of Christ.

Look at the long term. Times change; things change. The Church has been through tough times before and has made changes accordingly. (e.g the Council of Trent.) Every institution run by humans needs constant course corrections. Most recently course corrections were adopted at Vatican II. Now a new cadre of more traditional priests is hitting the street. We’ll watch to see how this works out, but it may not be very speedy.

 

[1holycatholic]

Where does the Church teach this?

It’s a tautology.

 

[Tigg]

Look at the long term. Times change; things change.

BUT moral truth does not change, nor the Deposit of Faith, no matter how badly the enemies of God wish it to be true.

 

[OriginalJS]

BUT moral truth does not change, nor the Deposit of Faith, no matter how badly the enemies of God wish it to be true.

This is true, and they aren’t changing. In all the things I have read along these lines there has not been one plausible explanation of a change to any moral truth. Nor have I seen any explication of a change in the Deposit of Faith. That is why I don’t worry much about current political winds. What difference does it really make to the spiritual state of the Mass attending, observant, Catholic if some people in positions of authority are flawed? My answer is none.

 

[Tigg]

Oh, I feel error and confusion abounds and it is weakening the faith; even good Catholics are being misled. One example would be “The Consistent Life Ethic” in which a moral authority said all life issues have an equal moral weight.

We can never cooperate with an evil agenda and I’m very worried about the current political winds which tout all manner of progressivism, humanism and secularism in a push toward an authoritarian state which would deny the existence and dependence upon an omnipotent God and place itself as the Arbiter of Truth.

What difference does it really make to the spiritual state of the Mass attending, observant, Catholic if some people in positions of authority are flawed? My answer is none.

Surely I have misunderstood your post. You can’t be referring to the bishops whose main job is to teach, sanctify and govern the faithful!

 

[Truism]

To reply to the OriginalJS comments: You get on a plane. Winds are strong. Turbulance ensues. The plane is hijacked. You wind up in enemy hands in a foreign country and then have to try to get out of captivity and stealthily work your way back to your homeland, if you are able to do so. You can’t get on another plane so you have to rely soley on your wit and your two feet.

Does this sound like a good trip?

Yes, the trip was originally scheduled and didn’t change official course. (Church Doctrine). Political winds were ignored. (political agendas within the Church,inconsistent with the Church teachings) You are hijacked. (Heresies and outright maliciousness) None of the passengers respond. Did it get better? No! Now you are worse off and can rely solely on yourself, not knowing whom to trust. Whether you can return safely home is not known. You are disoriented and ill fed. If you do get home, you are distraught to learn that most of your fellow passengers are permanently lost.

Do you not see how your passivity in the face of an attack can lead to greater problems? The Pilot (the Pope) needs help from us, the passengers.

May we all have a safe and soft landing!

Jesus I Trust in You.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

I am sorry but i have to disagree with you. i dont think the things have ever been so bad is today. most problems have always been outside the Church and not within as it is today.

Really? At least we all agree who the legitimate Pope is today. At one time in history there were 3 men claiming to be Pope.
In days of yore Cardinals would poison and murder one another.
Popes had children.
Many bishops had adopted Arianism at one time.
At early Church Councils bishops would actually assault one another.
And that’s without going into the bishops and priests who defected during the Protestant and English reformations.

homosexuals penetrating the Church and forward their agenda, when was this ever present in the Churhc?

Yes. There’s moral theology works going back centuries that lament this very thing .

Absolutely. Arianism was among the first. There’s also Gallicanism and Jansenism. Heresies adopted by bishops and clergy is nothing new.

 

[Ockham]

There have always been threats from within the Church (Judas). Scratch the surface of many liturgical committees in our parishes and you’ll find people who support female ordination, divorce, homosexuality, etc. What changed during the “spirit of V2” and Pope Paul VI’s reign was respect and enforcement of authority. Many abuses were tolerated and some event legalized. Heretical priests were not punished and in some cases promoted. That’s why the damage they’ve done won’t be repaired soon. Retirement and/or death will hopefully bring in new, more traditionally minded leaders and in a few generations we may get back to where we departed.

 

[mdgspencer]

I agree that things are now changing for the better, however slowly.
I lived through the 1960s and 1970s. Those were dark times. Beginning in 1965 a wave of craziness swept through the Catholic Church in the West like a tidal wave. Soon, half the Catholics in the U.S. stopped going to Church to take one example of what happened. then And too for another example those were the days when gay men were put into the priesthood, the results only apparent in the last few years. No one seemed to do anything to put things back on track and those in charge didn’t even seem to see that there was anything wrong. I worked at a Catholic University in the U.S. where dissenters took over. No one seemed to care.
But starting in the 1980s the Pope for his part began to change the course of things. If you think some things are bad now, you should have lived then when no one seemed to be responding to deal with these problems and, in fact, no one in authority in the Church in the United States seemed to notice the evils that were proceeding to engulf the Church in the West.