Progressive or conservative?

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Ontheway

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I have come upon RC parishes that describe themselves as “progressive”. That term has been used to describe certain types of Catholics to distinguish them from “conservative” Catholics.
I am not sure how the term “progressive” is used when it describes a religious community. I often assumed that it refers to their politics, but I could be way off on this.

Is it even possible to be politically progressive and remain faithful to the magisterium?
 
Progressive and conservative are labels invented by the enemy to try to divide us.

We are Catholics.
 
PluniaZ said:
Progressive and conservative are labels invented by the enemy to try to divide us.

We are Catholics.
Click to expand...
Actually, the enemy uses the very notion of pretending those terms don’t matter to succeed.
 
Ontheway said:
I have come upon RC parishes that describe themselves as “progressive”. That term has been used to describe certain types of Catholics to distinguish them from “conservative” Catholics.
I am not sure how the term “progressive” is used when it describes a religious community. I often assumed that it refers to their politics, but I could be way off on this.

Is it even possible to be politically progressive and remain faithful to the magisterium?
Click to expand...
It would depend on the community.
 
Ontheway said:
I have come upon RC parishes that describe themselves as “progressive”. That term has been used to describe certain types of Catholics to distinguish them from “conservative” Catholics.
I am not sure how the term “progressive” is used when it describes a religious community. I often assumed that it refers to their politics, but I could be way off on this.

Is it even possible to be politically progressive and remain faithful to the magisterium?
Click to expand...
I have to imagine that the use of the word “progressive” is an attempt to express the parish’s political views.

I honestly cannot think of a liturgical reason or a valid theological reason to use that word.

NOTE: it’s also important to make sure such a parish is actually part of the local diocese. There are a number of schematic “Catholic” churches around the country that are often in communion with the “Old Catholics.”

These “Catholic” church sometimes have names like “Liberal Catholic Church,” “Progressive Catholic Church” etc.

And sometimes they simply have a misleading name like “St. Miriam Parish” (which is an “Old Catholic” church near me).

I pray this helps. God Bless
 
SuperLuigi said:
Actually, the enemy uses the very notion of pretending those terms don’t matter to succeed.
Click to expand...
Good Morning,

It dawned on me Sunday that the second reading may actually be addressing this topic.

Here is the reading:

Reading 2, Romans 8:9, 11-13

9 You, however, live not by your natural inclinations, but by the Spirit, since the Spirit of God has made a home in you. Indeed, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

11 and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead has made his home in you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

12 So then, my brothers, we have no obligation to human nature to be dominated by it.

13 If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the habits originating in the body, you will have life.

It is the Spirit that unites; we are united through Eucharist, through common belief, through acts of mercy between people, in many ways. These are of the Spirit.

It would be overstatement to say that opinion itself is “of the flesh”, but it could be observed that divisiveness over politics or differences in value set is indeed “of the flesh”. After all, our values are formed by our affiliations and experiences. We naturally trust people who share our values and resentments. When these common values and resentments divide us, the division is due to our very nature, is it not? Is there any doubt that people lining up and congregating according to political leanings is a habitual behavior?

So, is the labeling of “Progressive” and “Conservative”, and subsequent “subflocking” (for lack of a better word 🙂 ) of the Spirit, or of the flesh?

I am thinking that we are called not to drop our values, but to transcend the whole natural human flocking phenomenon, as Jesus surely did.
 
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