Guilt shortage dooms reform of the reform

Thank you for this message of hope . I loved the quote from John XXIII !

Thank you - Alleluia - and blessings! Vatican II helped me discover a God of Joy - a Resurrected Christ who wanted to praise love not pain and suffering. Christ forgave our sins but the Catholic Church pre-vatican II gave us guilt.

Amen!! Exactly!! Thank you for writing it so beautifully!!

Gene you're on a kick lately, but I love it. I am from your generation and a former priest and educated in Catholic schools and loaded up with guilty, but lucky to have escaped. Now, the question is: How do we liberate the rest of the brethren....the ones still sitting in darkness of the pews? The light won't come from the current crop of JP II youth who would never speak a sermon such as you have here, but oh how necessary!

The conservatives will never win.
Their white elephant "cultural center" to JPII was a DISMAL failure, nobody went because it appealed to nobody except a few. Same w/ the Church today. They make lots of noise because of the internet and a few well placed bishops but the vast majority find them, well, low browed and scurrilous!

The irony of the restorationist mindset is that the bishops have no sense of guilt about their abuse of power, when they made obedience to Rome more important than protecting children from pedophile predators. The "Protect the People from Scandal" dictum from Rome is still in effect, (It has never been repudiated or denounced.)so bishops are still obligated and free to keep secret any scandal.

The leaders of the restoration prize uncritical, blind obedience over love as the highest ideal. They arrogantly preach obedience to a restricted, limited view of "their truth" with condemnation of any dissent. The isolation of bishops from common people and their "elevated" status perpetuates their "right" to abuse their power and "Lord it over the simple believers."

The bishops in Rome have no shame and they perpetuate their arrogance by carefully controlling the selection process of bishops so that they are all cookie cutter cutouts of B16's medieval mind. He has "no guilt" but will try to restore guilt through his self righeous restorationists, hence the coming emphasis on re-establishing the medieval "Catholic Identity" mind set and the Vatican's re-writing of history in its denial of the reforms of Vatican II.

Blind obedience has no shame and the use of "the end justifying the means" involves no guilt in the thinking of the Vatican. Hence the guiltless arrogance of the Inquisition continues to live in Rome.

Amen to everything you say! I grew up in the pre-Vatican II church and rejoiced mightily when good Pope John XXIII called the council. What a disappointment it has been to watch all that beauty being trampled upon.

The document on Religious Freedom is one of the major documents of Vatican 2 and one of the most neglected. It needs to be applied within the Church if we expect it to be applied by others. Living that, and the one on Scripture interpretation would actually reform the Church.

So much of our “tradition” is based on faulty use of Scripture, and then not allowing people to be “seekers of the Truth” rather than “Seekers of “CERTAINTY’

Angry much?

Dear Daniel:

The rest of the brethren of our generation are not still sitting in darkness. Wisdom comes with age. You and I and many others came to that wisdom and faced a choice. We made one choice, others made another.

It is the JPII youth that are in darkness, unaware that the Church and the world awoke from that dreamworld of pre-Vatican II unquestioned authority and clerical privilege fifty years ago.

I will save this latest of your writings, along with the others! You hit several nails on their heads.

I hope you are right Eugene re the title of your column..... but the reformers will not give up until the congregation is so small and unable to contribute the money needed for their lifestyle .....

Yes, making me/us feel guilty has been the cornerstone of their preaching - not love.

"I am from your generation and a former priest and educated in Catholic schools and loaded up with guilty, but lucky to have escaped. Now, the question is: How do we liberate the rest of the brethren....the ones still sitting in darkness of the pews?"

I think you touch an important point, which is that this seems to be a highly generational issue. That is to say, anything that appears to be a recovery of "tradition" (read: pre-Vatican, darkness, guilty, sin), is a seen as a major regression and a betrayal of the Council, while younger Catholics, who do not have your emotional baggage or hang-ups (nor your history), and who have been raised in the post-Vatican II Church (I suppose you could derogatorily refer to them as JPII youth, who may not be sitting in darkness, it should be said), see the Reform of the Reform, and the recovery of Catholic practices, as a way to recover a more traditional Catholic identity that is still faithful to tradition, but not bogged down with the pre-Vatican II crud that you lambast.

This isn't to say that you are wrong (I thoroughly believe that the negative excesses of the pre-Vatican II Church were exactly as you describe them). But a new generation can recover more traditional practices and devotions, without having guilt or sexuality, and the accompanying emotional backlash, coming to mind (of course, the meaning and place of guilt could be considered generationally as well). Frankly, its too early to tell what the fruits of the Spirit and the Reform of the Reform will be, but I suspect the Church will still survive.

Thank you very much for this wonderful article. I agree with the guilt piece. I would add that those who need the reform of the reform is because many lack the maturity off faith that allows them to think for themselves. They want to be told what to do and when to do it. I hope you are right that the reform of the reform will not succeed...it sure seems to be working in my diocese.

The bitterness of your writing is telling. You judge, you belittle, you condemn, all in the name of your "open" and "progressive" version of Catholicism. Yet it is YOU who fail to convince by your argument but more by the narrow bitterness of your recriminations.

Wonderful article, guilt is what these bishops are hoping they can get back the power to control us.

A very intuitive piece from a man who has played a significant role in awaking us the genuine joys of being a member of a church, which "has always made room for, forgiven and offered comfort to sinners." Catholic guilt has given way to Catholic charity. Catholic power has given way to Catholic service. But this is nothing new. For every smug and insular bishop or pope, there has been nursing sister, St Vinnies’ brother, Care-and-Concern worker, teacher in a Catholic school, or simple parishioner who has reached out to “the single mother and her baby, the homosexuals, the smelly, the 'different'.” For every self-righteous Pius IX there is a self-sacrificing Mother Theresa. In their service of the lowly and dispossessed, ordinary Catholics, members of the SVDP or Care and Concern or religious engaged in education of poor, hospices for the dying, drug rehab centres, and homeless shelters, make Christ “visible” in their outreach for Christ’s “Church”.

Thank you, thank you. Tears of joy filled my heart and washed my spirit. You all know who is the saint. Yes, John the XXIII.

Thank you for your absolution. The weight of "Catholic guilt" has, at times, almost crushed my spirit, but no longer. It is the purveyors of this nihilism whose souls are in danger. Hope they recognize it before it is too late. Remember God grants his mercy while we live; administers justice when we die.

I have been a priest for 40 years. I did not become a priest out of guilt and did not remain a priest out of guilt. I remain a priest today because it gives me joy to serve God and God's people. And I will embrace the changes in the liturgy with the same enthusiasm with which I embraced the one made at Vatican II and thereafter. The words we speak, after all, are minor compared to the work of God's Spirit alive within us. If you can't let go of your bitterness, it may be you who's living in the past, laden with guilt.

This article is right on target! And I think that, in their heart of hearts, many "reformers of the reform" understand this. And while they would, of course, prefer a return to guilt and scrupulosity, they will settle for the folks in the pews keeping their heads down and their mouths shut while they "go through the motions".

People feeling too little guilt are very dangerous to those around them.

Dr. Kennedy: Thank you! Your writing is insightful and provocative. The quote from Pope John XXIII leads one to wonder: why has he not yet been declared a Saint? We all know he is a persona non grata in the Vatican. Vatican II was a God-send for humanity. The reformers of the reform have gained some admirers; however, I suspect most Catholics will find the surface promotion of the "good ole days" lacking the substance of a deeper faith. After nearly 60 years of journey, why am I still a Catholic? Because of the Gospels, Sacraments and the writings of Drs. Kennedy, Kung and Greeley rather than any papal pronouncements.

When I pray I look up, not down. Pray is up lifting and comes from the heart. Speaking prayers such the rosary may not be sincere prayers. One single Holy Mary express with true sincere and meaning has greater meaning than 53 Hail Marys.

The only essential part of the Mass is the consecration of the bread and wine. The prayers preceding ans ucceeding the consecration may not be the sincere prayers with a full understanding of the celebrant. Each of the faithful, even with structured prayers, really pray their own prayers. If we ask each of members of the faithful what and how they are praying throughout the Mass we may find just as many prayers as there are members of the faithful present.

Also Christ lived among simple people not among the elite. Christ chose simple people as His Apostles and disciples. The Gospels were written for simple people and are not theses. The current translation of Lord's prayer that we pray does not really express our pleads with humility but it is translated as a prayer of demands.

The Virgin Mary's apparitions were to simple people, not to the elite and well educated.

Nonestly, the church in returning to the literal translation of antiquated Latin does not understand how the faithful really pray. The faithful pray with their hearts and spirits.

Having been born in 1965 I guess I am too young to completely grasp the obsession that Catholics age 70 and older have about guilt. Mind you, my grade school principal, a now retired Sister of Saint Joseph, enjoyed handing out particularly humiliating punishments, but I always took that as a function of her personality, not a problem with the church.

I mean no disrespect to those who commented that this is an opinion that brings hope, but I just do not understand that. It reads like the rant of an old man who never forgave or outgrew some childhood slight. Mr. Kennedy, if some member of the Church, particularly a professional Catholic (priest, sister, brother), contributed to your own guilt, I am truly sorry for that and I hope you find a way past it. Perhaps we deserve better, but the clergy and sisters are just as flawed and sinful as the rest of us and sometimes more so.

It is rather embarrassingly obvious that this was written by someone who needs to denigrate those who disagree. The description of those of us who long for reform of the reform fits some preconceived notion or narrative, but does not even remotely resemble anyone I know. Putting aside the decidedly odd assertion that liturgical reform is motivated by guilt, I just have not met a reform advocate with an unhealthy or otherwise noteworthy attachment to guilt. We do not frequently discuss intimate relations, but I have never heard any inkling of guilt for enjoying our spouses sexually. If we attach any guilt to sex it is because we do not think we are good or generous enough with our spouses in the bedroom, but not because we enjoy the pleasures, affection and fun of sex.

Contrary to the narrative being spun here, we do not hate Vatican II. Personally, I am excited to be living in the wake of what will obviously be one of the most consequential ecumenical councils in our history. We do, however, wonder how any rational reading of Vatican II took us from the Latin Mass to the liturgy circa 1975 that much more closely resembled a United Church of Christ service with a double portion of cheesiness added on. Some of us, though I am not one of them, prefer the Extraordinary Form. Most of us would actually like to see liturgy resemble the vision set forth by Vatican II as expressed in its documents. That would be a dignified liturgy in our mother tongue, but with a generous use of Latin that has the effect of emphasizing the universality of the church because it sounds the same in Philadelphia, San Salvador, Venice, Saigon and Kinshasa. It also would connect us to our brothers and sisters who led our way because it would sound familiar to those who lived in 59, 482, 970, 1487 and 1867. It would preserve the simple glory of chant that is so much part of our liturgical patrimony. Somewhere in the process those who implemented Vatican II forgot or ignored that Latin and chant played big parts in the vision of the council. We just want a chance to implement the actual writings of Vatican II.

We would like the priest to pray in the ad orientem posture to show to all that the liturgy is an act of God that is focused on Jesus and His sacrifice, not the presentation the celebrant is putting on for us. (We know the dangers of priests that think too much of their personal importance in the church.)

In haste to find common ground with our separated brethren those who brought forth the experiments of the 70's forgot the actual directives of Vatican II and acted ashamed of the unique offerings of Catholicism.

How guilt with an emphasis on guilt about sex would fuel a desire for a reform of the reform is incomprehensible yet Mr. Kennedy asserts this strongly without ever explaining how his guilt engine works.

Thank you, Gene. God be with us on our journey of love.

Gene, thanks for this remembrance that few of us can still conjure up. Think of the generations who have no recollection of the truth of what you're saying! But you are dead-on. And it gives hope to all of us older folks who have seen Vatican II demolished by recent popes panicked by the idea of "losing control." Your words are an assurance that they have indeed lost control. And the "smaller Church" that Benedict longs for is exactly what he and JP II deserve—one with an increasing percentage of rapists, embezzlers, and tormented people—the "faithful" who will not trust their own minds and the Spirit who is constantly trying to get through to them. Thanks for trying to liberate them.

Reform the reform, or not; you who stay "Catholic" will not please God because you reject His Word! And if you don't believe in salvation, by grace through faith [I Corinthians 15:1-4] AKA the gospel, you will be lost- forever.

"To make the human sojourn on earth less sad."
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Such a worderful thought made my day! As your article, that explained to me so much about myself! I'm almost 60, and I was raised in the age of guilt. As a privileged son of a wealthy family, I went to a good Catholic private school. A big part of our Cathechism classes were about sin. One of the practical exercices: to write every day our sins, in litle bits of white paper, like ticket raffles, that after were rolled and doubled. Everyday, we had to invent something, like:I ate two pieces of fruit instead of one; my words towards my eldest sister were not kind enough, etc. The aim: to put all the children's sins in a huge basket and, during our regular pilgrimation to Fatima - all dressed in white, as a sign of purity - to offer them to Our Lady.

When I left school to go to a higher grade, my first confession with my parish priest was really traumatic: he was a very fat and irascible man, who confessed the childrem alaways after lunch (I had to put my hand over my nose to protect myself of the stench of red wine and garlic). Used to my old sins, I was without words when the first thing he asked in a harsh tone was: "And what about the sins against purity?" I was ten by then, and I was so much ashamed because I didn't understood what he meant!

In our family, we ate meat at frydays, because we had money to buy a special permission from the Vatican. But there were other kinds of sins: if someone close died, we couldn't watch TV, hear music or play. I remember the sadest Christhmas of my life: because someone of the family had died, we coudn't have a tree, run, make noise, laugh.

All my life I felt guilty for not being able to thank God for the gift of life (I still feel it). Because, I had such a lonely childwood - there were no children of my age in my family, and I was not allowed to play with boys of a lower class -, that during my first years I remember to be always sad. Later, in my late teens, the diagnostic came: I suffered from a form of cronic clinical depression. And all my life was dedicated to fight the disease - that runs in the family; I'm not blaming anyone -, and trying to lead a decent and honest life, helping and loving the people who surrounded me and who never suspected my inner suffering. That's why, some of them were so much unkind, because they didn't understsand that something was wrong: I never wanted to burden others with my anguishes.

All of this - sorry - to reach the point. In a way, I feel guilty again, because of my angry feelings towards what's happening in my beloved Mother Church. On the other hand, I was always a fighter - if I was not, I woul be dead or insane by now -, and I can not even imagine that another generation will have as their daily bread that awful sense of guilt that spoils all kind of joy and small pleasures. Not all was bad: my inner suffering tought me compassion and to pay atention to other people's sufferings and the need of social justice.

Thank you for making me feel that I'm not alone! God bless you!

Thank you. Even though I am probably of an older generation, I am now repulsed when The Catechism of the Catholic Church is quoted as to what we should or should not do, or what we should think or not think. The creation of guilt has been an effective weapon. No more!

Why are you so full of hate for the Church? Why do you despise the faith of your fathers and mothers? And why do you believe the Church should conform to the standards of the world, rather than the other way around?

I was raised Protestant before converting, and I've never seen, read, or heard such vitriol against Catholicism as you write here week after week. I would suggest you become Protestant if you hate Catholicism so much, but not even Protestants think the Church is as bad as you do.