THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The following is a prescription for renewal of the Roman Rite within U.S. Catholic Church. It's bitter medicine to be sure, but I am certain it will result in her long-term and sustained renewal....
- Formerly drop the Church's (501c3) tax-exemption status, or else allow the federal government to revoke it, then begin selling off hospitals, clinics and parish buildings that can no longer serve as Catholic institutions functionally. This will help shore up the loss of income resulting in decreased donations, and simultaneously reduce the financial overhead of various dioceses.
- Immediately clean out all leadership in convents and monasteries that do not cling 100% to traditional Catholic teaching and practice. Then hand these monasteries and convents over to those religious orders that have been faithful to traditional Catholic teaching and practice, informing those nuns to make full use of this new space immediately, expanding their reach and growth as quickly as possible.
- Order that all these convents put an emphasis on teaching sisters how to educate children, particularly in the elementary skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. In other words, prepare them to become school teachers.
- Order that each parish with a school begin making preparation to receive into permanent residence religious sisters for future school teachers. This will allow the convents and monasteries to serve primarily as training centres for formation, while many (not necessarily all) religious brothers and sisters will eventually find themselves in permanent residence at a local parish and/or Catholic school.
- Instruct all priests, young and old, that they are to catechise the faithful in their Sunday homilies in the evils of sin, and the means of salvation, and the need for regular sacramental confession. Likewise, the bishops SIMPLY MUST begin publicly excommunicating those high profile Catholics (particularly politicians and celebrities) who unrepentantly give cause for public scandal in the Church.
- In conference of the bishops, no longer constrained by the (501c3) tax-exemption status, a political outline should be drawn up each election year, stating the Church's positions on various issues and candidates. This political outline must be read from the pulpit of every Catholic parish on a given Sunday before an election, and a printed copy provided to each parishioner of voting age.
- Last but not least, each bishop should take care to make sure that each and every parish is following the most strict liturgical standards for their celebration of mass and other liturgies. In addition, the local bishop should make sure that the faithful in each region of his diocese has ample access to the Traditional Latin (Tridentine) mass. Furthermore, each bishop should do a bi-annual audit of the doctrinal teachings of each parish for the next ten years, followed by a five-year audit after that, so as to insure the faithful are receiving proper Catholic formation in each parish.
Please feel free to copy and distribute as you see fit.
25 comments:
awesome - I'm for all of these
I have long been thinking that Christians as a whole cower under the federal requirements of non-profit organizations, and keep silent on important issues and elections for fear of losing tax-exempt status. Let us "pay Caesar what is Caesar's" and speak out with the full voice of our Faith!
---todd
http://catholicsojourner.blogspot.com
Sounds good! I would add one thing however: perpetual adoration in every parish.
Are you kidding me or are you some kind of fanitic???? I agree with you politics 101 but this where nuns should turn over their properties if they don't do what the church says is absolutely rediculous. I can just see now the orders that you would keep. Probably the one's in full habit??? sounds crazy to me and I am sure Jesus would agree with me.
Are you kidding me
NOPE
or are you some kind of fanitic????
GUILTY AS CHARGED. If being faithful to Catholic Tradition makes me a "fanatic" then I proudly wear that label as a badge of honour.
I agree with you politics 101
Glad to hear it.
but this where nuns should turn over their properties if they don't do what the church says is absolutely rediculous.
If they don't obey the precepts of the Church then they are not authorised religious communities. I suppose they could just stop calling themselves "Catholic" instead, keep their properties, and accept excommunication from the Church.
I can just see now the orders that you would keep. Probably the one's in full habit???
YES, at the very least.
sounds crazy to me and I am sure Jesus would agree with me.
Not sure about which "Jesus" you're talking about. The one I am familiar with likes his brides to wear the uniform of the king and wants them to follow the teachings of his Church.
Sir Knight, youlr proposition #5 still seems too much imbued with "social justice catholicsm" Instead, homilies MUST focus on the gospel lesson of the day and preach the necessity of virtue vs. sin, defining "sin" as primarily an offense against God, and not against "the community" That we must strive for spiritual perfection, frequent use of the confessional, no communion without it. Teach the 10 commandments, and the theological virtues. Get rid of homilies dealing with "the poor" which Christ said we will always have with us. While you correctly idenitify the responsiblity of the bishop to assure orthodoxy, there must be severe sanctions for failure to do so, and Rome must also scrupulously examine those it appoints as bishops. Liberals need not apply. Pete Frey
Thanks Pete! I'll look into rephrasing that point.
Catholic Knight....I am 100% on board. As for "Anonymous"...be part of the Soulution not part of the problem. Your prescription for renewal is amazing...is this all your own work? It's incredible and concise. With the church shaking off some of thse properties and consolidation of parishes maybe we can get back to building "True" places of worship and contemplation not the "Bland" gathering spaces we have now. Off topic.....we also need to promote the various rites of the church to include the "eastern" rites.
\\In addition, the local bishop should make sure that the faithful in each region of his diocese has ample access to the Traditional Latin (Tridentine) m\\
Even Byzantine and other Eastern Catholic bishops?
A note about the garb of holy poverty: it's expensive!
A Carmelite friend of mine told me that his ONE habit cost $225. And women's habits are even more expensive. Like it or not, women are NOT taught how to sew as little girls, and "holy obedience" does not convey skills the obedientiary does not have. This was the big mistake before Vatican II. Women who had NO aptitude or talents were forced into teaching or nursing.
Of course not the Eastern bishops. This has nothing to do with them. I'm talking about the US Catholic Church insofar as it pertains to the Roman Rite parishes and dioceses. If I intended to include the Eastern rites I would have mentioned them.
Actually a couple hundred dollars for a habit isn't a bad price really, when you consider a sister will only need two or three of them to last her several years. The average American housewife spends two to three times that much on clothing in a year between herself and children.
As I mentioned in the perscription above, not all religious sisters and brothers would be required to leave the convent or monastery. Some obviously shouldn't for various reasons. The emphasis however, should be on servicing parish school, where the need is most desperate in the Church today, and it most certainly is an area where the sisters and brothers can make the most profound contribution.
Sir Knight,
I am with Pete on point five also. you, my brother in Christ, seem to have forgotten the jewel of the Eastern Rites and Anglican Ordinariates and have made no provision for how we are doing it now; what we are doing, or how we live our lives. Our monks and nuns ARE already doing what you propose, in schools, hospitals, parishes, nursinghomes all run by, in our case, the Marounite Rite and have NEVER stopped doing it! Our priests have guts to speak the truth, and our parishioners give of their abundance or poverty accordingly to keep us self-funded. the Chinese communities are also magnificent at self-reliance in this way (though they need a rite of their own; they're not european, not Latin...Manchurian rite, my good Fathers in the Vatican, and Manchurian rite now!
Re the cost of habits, If I can buy good beautifully made modest dress from the likes of www.thekingsdaughters.com for a quarter of what my fellow commenter has mentioned above for a habit, surely talented Christian clothierres can set up businesses such as the above ordinary Christian clothierre to clothe our monks and nuns in quality, subsidiarist, fairly run and employing enterprises. Plain dress makes the ideal habit and breaks the monopoly on ridiculous prices. Our Marounite sisters wear Pinafore (jumper)/blouse combos in summer, or long skirt and blouse with jacket or cardigan in winter. Simple veils in order colours. Look at those sold by TKD mentioned above. They're not ashamed of the King's uniform, and its still a lovely habit but without 'overkill' of beautiful, but complex headdress etc, too much drapery in cut of sleeve and tunic, materials not suited to hotter climes etc. . Tapping my finger and pointing at you re 'Where's the East and Albian in all of this, forgotten us, my friend??
Blessings,
Sarah,
Australia.
I guess I should have been more specific. The perscription is for the Roman Rite within the US Catholic Church, not the Eastern rites or the Anglican ordinariates. I have since revised the first sentence in the post to reflect that. I have also taken Pete's suggestion and modified point 5.
PRAISE GOD FOR ALL THE SOLDIERS FOR CHRIST WILLING TO SPEAK THE TRUTH. I AM PRAYING THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR POINTS COME TO FRUISION IN MY LIFETIME. THANK YOU FOR THE SPECIFICS. ROSALINDAL
I would add to that the keeping and restoration of truly Catholic architecture and the selling off of non church like modernist monstrosities. Many people have been converted simply by the inspiration of Cathedrals like Notre Dame. Los Angeles and San Francisco Cathedrals on the other hand should be sold off as warehouses.
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“We Did Not Leave The Church…The Church Left Us” What If The Catholic Church Returned Home (Reprint From Catholic Knight)
http://k2globalcommunicationsllc.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/we-did-not-leave-the-church-the-church-left-us-what-if-the-catholic-church-returned-home/
Pete Frey -
I priests preached the Ten Commandments during the homilies, they would in effect be teaching social justice...the Catholic way, not the marxist way...so in effect I agree with your post, but let's be honest; if we all followed the Ten Commandments and not Hollywood and DC over the last 40~50 years, there would have been no hijacked social justice by the commies, radical 60's priests and "nuns gone wild".
With regard to point 2, since the publication of the recent visitation to the US female orders, the more defiant of the sisters are, even now, taking legal advice on how to retain control over 'their' assets should the Church try to retake them. There is a real fight in the offing.
Sir Knight,
I have two things to add as a Canadian, having seen how the education system works in my own province as well as our hierarchy.
4b. Eradicate all teacher's unions. If this is not done, the union hags will clamor and complain when religious sisters and brothers and priests come in and "steal jobs" and will happily work for a lower salary, when those teachers every contract cycle, being greedy and selfish for more money and perks and benefits. They will be a major obstacle to your point 4.
6. This is where I say your 6 should not exist because .... All bishops' conferences should be squashed due to continual proof of fiscal mismanagement of charitable donations, an inability to be Sheperds of the faith and abuse of power and prestige that comes with it. Fine have them meet once a year to review and reform major country issues with regard to responding to faith crisis, but NO FINANCIAL overseeing or promotion of social justice causes. They've lost my trust on that.
Also when My 6 happens, the bishops will be smacked with a side of humility that will make them see being a bishop isn't a powertrip, but a responsibility in the Church once again and your point 7 can be achieved to fruition. Though there will always be a few skulls lining the road to Hell as St. John Chrystostom says.
I have no problem with making religious orders conform to Vatican teachings, but I do object to your plan of what to do with the confiscated convents and monasteries. Naturally, some are teaching orders, and these should be encouraged as much as possible, but your prescription essentially ignores the fact that we have different orders for a reason. Not every woman called to service as a Sister or Nun is called to teach. Some are called to the contemplative life, others to active service to the poor and yes, some to teach and still others to other various, legitimate forms of service within the Church. To place so much emphasis on charism, is to distort the very nature of legitimate religious orders and vocations.
Actually, $225 is not that bad, comparable to a moderately priced business suit.
Item 5, second sentence. That alone would work wonders.
8 (or include it as part of 2). Immediately clean out all leadership and professors in Catholic universities that do not cling 100% to traditional Catholic teaching and practice, or revoke authority to allow them to publicly represent themselves as Catholic universities (kind of like ex-communicating, I suppose, but I don't think you can ex-communicate an institution, or maybe you can?).
a small point of spelling, Mr Knight. it is PREscription, not Persection. Yes, I know, Mr Knight my own multiple typos etc etc, but this looks like just a plain missmisspelling of the word on your otherwise quite lucid mastery of the tongue of Shakespeare. Pete Frey
Thanks Pete. That one escaped my proof read. I wonder why the spell checker didn't catch it. Weird.
Re # 1: Yes the church must be free to conduct its own work: the salvation of souls. Financial dependence, even if partial, gives the government too much power over the Church. What is happening to the Orthodox Church in Greece is instructive:
"Under a 60-year-old treaty, the state agreed to pay priests' salaries in exchange for large amount of church property ... more than 10,000 priests are now on the government payroll". Now, due to the financial crisis, Athens will "fund only one new priest to replace every 10 who retire or die, causing shortages".
The whole article is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/20/bc-greece-church-idUSL6E8FIA3O20120420
I have been told that some European countries also pay Roman Catholic priests for their services to the Church. Although this isn't happening in English speaking countries, we have our own funding issues. Regardless of form, they sap the ability of the Church to operate as it should.
The realm of finance is one area where the "separation of Church and State" is legitimate!
Mr Knight, are you falling down? or did you simply gloss over my intentional mis-spellings? ( a small joke, no doubt) Pete Frey
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