Pope: U.S. Catholics must lead Church revival (per Abp Vigano)

[markomalley]

From the St Louis Review:
Pope Benedict XVI wants the Catholic Church in America to be in the forefront of reviving Catholicism worldwide, the apostolic nuncio to the United States said in Columbus.

“The Church in the United States should lead the entire Church in the world” in a revitalization effort, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said. “This is a great task, but you have the determination and the grace to do it. This I know is the vision of the Holy Father regarding the Church in the United States.”

The archbishop was speaking to an audience of seminarians and benefactors of the Pontifical College Josephinum at its annual rector’s dinner April 23. He called on the American Church to go beyond its mission of evangelizing the United States and "to be missionaries not only to the Third World, but especially to the countries of Europe.

“Christianity (in Europe) in some way has lost its strength and needs an example,” he said, noting “very positive signs of growth” in vocations to the priesthood and the religious life in the United States.

Glad to hear the Holy Father has confidence in us. Now if he would just help us out with those Catholic-in-name-only politicians (by removing the “name only”), we might be able to do something.

 

[YoungIreland]

I think that the Irish church (and others) could learn a lot from America, though in many ways, it is in a far worse position than we are (fewer people going to Mass, higher proportion of Cafeteria Catholics, etc.) . Also, many orthodox American Catholics (in my own experience, I must stress) tend to reject the Church’s social teachings and vice versa with social Catholics. So while America is an example to follow, it should be noted that adopting US ideas and customs is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and that cultural differences, IMHO, should be respected (subject to objective moral standards, naturally )

 

[markomalley]

Also, many orthodox American Catholics (in my own experience, I must stress) tend to reject the Church’s social teachings

A clarification: many conservative American Catholics tend to reject a left-wing interpretation of the Church’s social teaching.

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

A clarification: many conservative American Catholics tend to reject a left-wing interpretation of the Church’s social teaching.

Exactly.

 

[the_phoenix]

A clarification: many conservative American Catholics tend to reject a left-wing interpretation of the Church’s social teaching.

This.

 

[YoungIreland]

There’s nothing wrong with rejecting a left-wing version of the Church’s social teaching, I was simply saying from my own experience that many American Catholics seem to favour laissez-faire economics, that’s all. And no, I am not a socialist or an enemy of America if anyone asks.

 

[markomalley]

There’s nothing wrong with rejecting a left-wing version of the Church’s social teaching, I was simply saying from my own experience that many American Catholics seem to favour laissez-faire economics, that’s all. And no, I am not a socialist or an enemy of America if anyone asks.

Got it. Never thought you were doing anything else but asking an honest question.

There are far too many people who are more than willing to condemn to an eternity in perdition those who do not advocate large, bureaucratic, centralized government “solutions” to social ills. Even here on CAF. If you have heard that type of reaction from “social justice” Catholics to those of us, like myself, who are right-wing knuckle draggers, I think your question is a very pertinent one.

 

[Brendan]

There’s nothing wrong with rejecting a left-wing version of the Church’s social teaching, I was simply saying from my own experience that many American Catholics seem to favour laissez-faire economics, that’s all. And no, I am not a socialist or an enemy of America if anyone asks.

And even then, I have yet to meet anyone who actually favors laissez-faire economics. Rather, what I have seen are those who have no objection to regulation, just at levels substantially less than most Europeans favor.

For example, in the purchase of a car, I have yet to meet an American who not desire or demand accurate information on safety feaures in the car, mileage etc… In a true Laissez-Faire economy, there would be no ‘truth in advertising’ regulation requiring that the information provided be accurate. An auto seller could give inaccurate or misleading data with no legal recourse.

But a conservative economicist would not desire the government mandating a particular mileage for the class of car and would leave that decision to the purchaser and market demand.

Do you see the difference?

 

[zab]

Our Lady of America, pray for us.

 

[YoungTradCath]

In the sense that America has a lot of clout, and if the Church here ascends to a magnificent level of priestly/sisterly/brotherly vocations, liturgical beauty, and an overall complete restoration of Catholic identity, I can see Catholicism in this country being a strong influence in the world for Church revival.

However, as it currently stands, I’m not sure I would want the Church here to be emulated worldwide, because I don’t think we’re anything special. And I certainly do not want the Church here or anywhere else in the world to emulate our secular society, which is complete trash.

 

[zab]

In the sense that America has a lot of clout, and if the Church here ascends to a magnificent level of priestly/sisterly/brotherly vocations, liturgical beauty, and an overall complete restoration of Catholic identity, I can see Catholicism in this country being a strong influence in the world for Church revival.

However, as it currently stands, I’m not sure I would want the Church here to be emulated worldwide, because I don’t think we’re anything special. And I certainly do not want the Church here or anywhere else in the world to emulate our secular society, which is complete trash.

We are not there yet, but by the response given to some of our political candidates running for office who have not been afraid to stand up for moral issues and freedom issues, I can see that we are on our way. There has been good response but perhaps not enough. Many are concerned that we are in danger of loosing our freedoms in this country. But if America falls, what then? We in America are being called, to defend life from conception to natural death, to support marriage between a man and a woman, to live chaste lives according to our state in life. Our Blessed Mother has appeared many times grievieng and pleading for us to live chaste lives and to pray for the conversion of sinners to bring peace to the world. The Immaculate Conception is our patroness here in America. And she has pleaded for us. Will we answer the call?