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Guest
I think one thing Catholics of every rite and viewpoint can agree on is that so many of us have been assimilated into mainstream culture and incorporated it into our lives as Catholics. I heard it last week on Al Kresta’s radio program, for example. Typically, I’ve heard it said by conservative Catholics who express their disappointment in those Catholics who are more focused on social justice issues and read “rags” like Commonweal and the National Catholic Reporter. But I think the allegation that, but for conservatives, Catholics have swallowed mainstream culture whole is wrong. Not because liberals and moderates haven’t swallowed much of mainstream culture, which they have.
Beyond that, and to me an even larger problem, is the issue that we have almost dropped the need to be “one church,” an exhortation made by different New Testament figures. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul bemoans the fact that the Corinthians have split into factions, claiming leadership by different leaders… Apollos, Paul, Cephas (Peter). He reminds them that it’s not Paul who died for their sins, but Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 11, the institution of the Eucharist, begins with the scolding by Paul of the Corinthian Church for some members eating before others (this is generally agreed by historians to reflect a rich/poor divide). He tells them that they need to eat together (a particular point of Pauline teaching that echoes in many of his letters, including Galatians and Romans).
Above and beyond all that is Jesus’ statement, “blessed are the peacemakers,” a title for people I don’t see very often. Instead, conservatives lambast liberals for hypocrisy and supporting a culture of death, while liberals decry conservatives for putting truth before love and for undermining the teachings of Vatican II. Almost universally, I’ve heard both conservatives and liberals say that the “other side” doesn’t care about human dignity, and are consumed self-satisfaction.
I think much of this ideological division in the Church comes from the fact that all of us have consumed the divide that our political leaders and political parties want to engender. American culture in general is divided by political persuasion, with Rachel Maddow and Glenn Beck fans only listening to their own news. I think the two political parties have promised all sorts of opportunities for Catholics and other Christians to “make change from within,” but have largely used religious people to populate their electoral efforts. And even prominent Catholic thinkers seem to follow the partisan line: George Weigel was a prominent apologist for the Bush administration during invasion of Iraq, and Joe Biden seems to pay lip service to a faith in which I can see little influence in his political proclamations. And it seems to me that in beholding ourselves to the two-headed partisan beast that we’ve resolved our cognitive dissonance over voting for otherwise awful policies by minimizing their moral and social import (e.g., war vs. abortion; contraception vs. climate change).
This division is reinforced by “parish shopping” where everyone find the parish that lets them worship alongside people who share their lifestyles and values.
Overall, I think this division is horrible for the Church, and counter-Biblical. I would like to ask everyone’s opinions on how we can overcome this utterly poisonous division. I think everyone here is acting in good faith, so I ask that you respond in like fashion. What do you think we can do to overcome this division in the Church?
Beyond that, and to me an even larger problem, is the issue that we have almost dropped the need to be “one church,” an exhortation made by different New Testament figures. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul bemoans the fact that the Corinthians have split into factions, claiming leadership by different leaders… Apollos, Paul, Cephas (Peter). He reminds them that it’s not Paul who died for their sins, but Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 11, the institution of the Eucharist, begins with the scolding by Paul of the Corinthian Church for some members eating before others (this is generally agreed by historians to reflect a rich/poor divide). He tells them that they need to eat together (a particular point of Pauline teaching that echoes in many of his letters, including Galatians and Romans).
Above and beyond all that is Jesus’ statement, “blessed are the peacemakers,” a title for people I don’t see very often. Instead, conservatives lambast liberals for hypocrisy and supporting a culture of death, while liberals decry conservatives for putting truth before love and for undermining the teachings of Vatican II. Almost universally, I’ve heard both conservatives and liberals say that the “other side” doesn’t care about human dignity, and are consumed self-satisfaction.
I think much of this ideological division in the Church comes from the fact that all of us have consumed the divide that our political leaders and political parties want to engender. American culture in general is divided by political persuasion, with Rachel Maddow and Glenn Beck fans only listening to their own news. I think the two political parties have promised all sorts of opportunities for Catholics and other Christians to “make change from within,” but have largely used religious people to populate their electoral efforts. And even prominent Catholic thinkers seem to follow the partisan line: George Weigel was a prominent apologist for the Bush administration during invasion of Iraq, and Joe Biden seems to pay lip service to a faith in which I can see little influence in his political proclamations. And it seems to me that in beholding ourselves to the two-headed partisan beast that we’ve resolved our cognitive dissonance over voting for otherwise awful policies by minimizing their moral and social import (e.g., war vs. abortion; contraception vs. climate change).
This division is reinforced by “parish shopping” where everyone find the parish that lets them worship alongside people who share their lifestyles and values.
Overall, I think this division is horrible for the Church, and counter-Biblical. I would like to ask everyone’s opinions on how we can overcome this utterly poisonous division. I think everyone here is acting in good faith, so I ask that you respond in like fashion. What do you think we can do to overcome this division in the Church?
