Saying bishops 'scared,' panelists urge laity to take lead

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Saying bishops ‘scared,’ panelists urge laity to take lead
http://cdn.ncronline.org/files/imagecache/leadimage_full/Reese_0.jpg
Jesuit Fr. Thomas J. Reese in a Nov., 2009 file photo. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Panelists at a recent Woodstock forum in Philadelphia urged lay Catholics to grab the reins and set the course for the church’s future.

“We are becoming a do-it-yourself church” for the laity, said Jesuit Fr. Thomas J. Reese, one of three senior fellows of the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington who spoke at “The Future of the Church: A Woodstock Forum on Sources of Hope,” held at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia Dec. 5.
…]
On the church’s immediate prospects for the future, “maybe God knows what she’s doing,” he said. “If you don’t have clergy, maybe the job’s yours.”
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:eek:
 
1holycatholic said:
Saying bishops ‘scared,’ panelists urge laity to take lead
http://cdn.ncronline.org/files/imagecache/leadimage_full/Reese_0.jpg
Jesuit Fr. Thomas J. Reese in a Nov., 2009 file photo. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Panelists at a recent Woodstock forum in Philadelphia urged lay Catholics to grab the reins and set the course for the church’s future.

“We are becoming a do-it-yourself church” for the laity, said Jesuit Fr. Thomas J. Reese, one of three senior fellows of the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington who spoke at “The Future of the Church: A Woodstock Forum on Sources of Hope,” held at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia Dec. 5.
…]
On the church’s immediate prospects for the future, “maybe God knows what she’s doing,” he said. “If you don’t have clergy, maybe the job’s yours.”
…
:eek:
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Fr Reese, SJ should probably just stick to writing books. Vatican and Archbishop were both great, unique works, but everywhere else I see his name, it is always in some kind of rabble-rousing.
 
1holycatholic said:
**
On the church’s immediate prospects for the future, “maybe God knows what she’s doing,”** he said. “If you don’t have clergy, maybe the job’s yours.”
…[/INDENT]
:eek:
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WOW, I didn’t see that.

Looks like after the commission the Holy See appointed to reform the Legion of Christ is finished with Fr. Maciel’s mess, they should set to work on the Jesuits… 👍
 
Sigh…this kind of thing makes my transition from Anglicanism to Rome so much sadder. 😦 Heretical clergy and lay control doomed us…I know you guys have the Fullness of Truth, but clowns like this seem all too familiar. :mad:
 
The_Sentry said:
Sigh…this kind of thing makes my transition from Anglicanism to Rome so much sadder. 😦 Heretical clergy and lay control doomed us…I know you guys have the Fullness of Truth, but clowns like this seem all too familiar. :mad:
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QUICK! Go to YouTube and watch a few Fr. Corapi vids! Or, listen to Fr. Mitch Pacwa. Out of 402,000 priests worldwide, it is only those sadly in need of prayer who make the news. Remember also the reasons for your transition.

Christ’s peace.
 
The_Sentry said:
Sigh…this kind of thing makes my transition from Anglicanism to Rome so much sadder. 😦 Heretical clergy and lay control doomed us…I know you guys have the Fullness of Truth, but clowns like this seem all too familiar. :mad:
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Watch the video linked to in my signature. There are many good clergy in the Church. And remember, one of Christ’s handpicked 12 went bad.

As po18guy mentioned, pray for this priest and all priests.
 
Jesuit … God as ‘she’ … Woodstock … lay involvement … [Zzzzzzz]
 
Dear Fr. Reese,

I’ll be glad to take over.

First, I’ll start with your Masses in particular. Latin only please, no EMHC’s, with chant.

Secondly, you are now only permitted to preach on the evils of abortion and contraception.

Finally, except for when you are vested for Mass, your priestly attire will be sackcloth, died black of course.

Those will do for now, you’ll hear from me when I think of anything more.

BTW, Thanks for the sugesstion and your support in my taking over :rolleyes:

Yours truly,

Brendan
 
Brendan said:
Dear Fr. Reese,

I’ll be glad to take over.

First, I’ll start with your Masses in particular. Latin only please, no EMHC’s, with chant.

Secondly, you are now only permitted to preach on the evils of abortion and contraception.

Finally, except for when you are vested for Mass, your priestly attire will be sackcloth, died black of course.

Those will do for now, you’ll hear from me when I think of anything more.

BTW, Thanks for the sugesstion and your support in my taking over :rolleyes:

Yours truly,

Brendan
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The law of unintended consequences. :whistle:
 
He said a welcoming attitude, implemented in concrete welcoming practices, is lacking in most Catholic parishes and is one of the major weaknesses in U.S. Catholic practice today.
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“When was the last time you entered a Catholic church and actually were welcomed?” he asked. “Our churches and our liturgies are boring. That, I think, more than theology, is what is driving our people away from our church.
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:eek: Our liturgy is boring? Forgive them Father, they know not what they say!

You know, perhaps the panel is correct, after all. I think good orthodox lay Catholics are the ones taking the lead in defending the Church. Who screams the loudest at the nonsense we see and hear on an almost continual basis?
 
The_Sentry said:
Sigh…this kind of thing makes my transition from Anglicanism to Rome so much sadder. 😦 Heretical clergy and lay control doomed us…I know you guys have the Fullness of Truth, but clowns like this seem all too familiar. :mad:
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Don’t be sad, have hope! Here you’ll get front-row seats in the battle between good and evil, unfolding right before your eyes! Your prayers will be so much more effective when you can see the battles taking place!
 
po18guy said:
QUICK! Go to YouTube and watch a few Fr. Corapi vids! Or, listen to Fr. Mitch Pacwa. Out of 402,000 priests worldwide, it is only those sadly in need of prayer who make the news. Remember also the reasons for your transition.

Christ’s peace.
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All priests are in need of prayer, not just the small handful of wayward ones.
 
*TITLE I.

THE OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS OF ALL THE CHRISTIAN FAITHFUL (Cann. 208 - 223)

Can.212 §3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.*

I consider myself a defender of the Magisterium and work hard at understanding the Church’s stance on matters of faith and morals. I have no interest in upsetting the structures of the Church or “modernizing” its dogmas and rubrics. And, I served a stint on my parish council and have done whatever my parish and Church has asked of me in humble obedience. However, Canon Law (see above) seems to obligate me to communicate the the Church (respectfully of course) my thoughts on matters on which I have some serious expertise. This I have done in the past. I think that often the hierarchy ignores its educated laity especially in matters of political prudence, public relations, and communication. Perhaps some bishops are “scared” but I think it more likely that they are poorly trained or educated in many of the mundane things that goe into running large and complex organizations in a secular environment. No one goes into the priesthood because they like budgeting and personnel matters. I think this lack explains a lot of the response of the clergy to the sad scandals that have plagued the Church. If, as Canon Law says, that I may have an obligation to “make my opinion known” then it seems to me the clergy have an obligation to listen and perhaps even provide channels for such discussion with the laity. This is not some sort of “creeping Protestantism” but is a continuation of a long tradition in Church history of laity responding constructively to Church crises. “Be not afraid” as a recent and blessed pope insisted. This should apply to all of the Church including the hierarchy when confrontring new challenges and solutions,
 
I think the tide is turning. Have hope. These oddballs are failing.
 
Alex111 said:
According to some, the clergy shortage is a deliberately engineered crisis. The “laity-ization” and feminization of the Catholic Church is deliberate. See for example this article:

gkupsidedown.blogspot.com/2010/12/magic-circle.html
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Wrong. Let me say this clearly: 2000 years ago, there were only 11 priests on the face of the earth, and the Church did just fine. The Priesthood is somethng that operates in the realm of Grace, we do not control it in any way. God gives us the priests we need. If we have 10,000 in America, it’s God’s will. if we have 100,000 in America, it’s God’s will. We are not capable of tampering with it. Paul’s conversion is just one example of the proof of this principle.

I was always a fan of Fulton Sheen, and in one of his talks he asserts that we have seen the “end of Christendom” or rather the end of Christianity as the dominant geo-political force in the world. In short, we are in a time that is very much like, if not more rapidly becoming like, the earliest days of the church. In that time, lay leadership and participation was common. Paul relied heavily on laypeople, men and women, in his ministry.
 
STANMOL said:
Wrong. Let me say this clearly: 2000 years ago, there were only 11 priests on the face of the earth, and the Church did just fine. The Priesthood is somethng that operates in the realm of Grace, we do not control it in any way. God gives us the priests we need. If we have 10,000 in America, it’s God’s will. if we have 100,000 in America, it’s God’s will. We are not capable of tampering with it. Paul’s conversion is just one example of the proof of this principle.

I was always a fan of Fulton Sheen, and in one of his talks he asserts that we have seen the “end of Christendom” or rather the end of Christianity as the dominant geo-political force in the world. In short, we are in a time that is very much like, if not more rapidly becoming like, the earliest days of the church. In that time, lay leadership and participation was common. Paul relied heavily on laypeople, men and women, in his ministry.
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First off there was 12 but that is a minor point. As for the Church doing fine, it was fine as there wasn’t parishes where there was no Priests.

Regarding God’s will, we need to remember that there is free will and that our free will can and often does, go against God’s Will.

A few years back Michael Rose wrote a book called Goodbye good men and how the shortage of Priests was artificially contrived on the part of radical nuns who were in charge of Seminary admissions.
 
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