First of all we have to stop being afraid of each other. ... For some Catholics any mention of Opus Dei, or Mother Angelica or the Legionaries of Christ produces a frisson of horror. ... To those of you who feel that I say: Do not be afraid. God has promised the Kingdom. We are on the way there. We do not know how or when it will come, but one day all injustice and oppression will be ended and we shall rejoice in the perfect freedom of Christ. We will reach the home for which we long, even though every bishop in the world belonged to Opus Dei.
[Others] may see menace in every liberated feminist nun, in every bearded and sandaled priest. A copy of the National Catholic Reporter brings on the trembles. ... But to those Catholics, we too can say: Do not be afraid. The church is not about to crumble. Even though every bishop in the world was a hippie, the church will survive. ...We cannot tolerate polarization any longer. It is wounding the life and the mission of the church. Healing division requires of us, first of all, that we understand the distress of Catholics who are not like us. We must get some sense of their root shock, their loss of a feeling of being at home in the church. We must open our minds and imagination to what they endure. And when conversation seems to be getting nowhere, then we need to go deeper, until we reach a level where our fundamental insights and intuitions may be reconcilable.
Amen. Do yourself a favor and read the rest.
7 comments:
Good read, thanks Susan.And it can be extrapolated.From unity within Catholic Church to unity within Christianity.
I will make an entry on my blog about your post.
But if we all just got along, what place would there be for Catholic bloggers??
Oddly enough, I think I've come along way in understanding "the other side" through blogs.
We don't all need to drink the other's kool-aid. But respect would be good I think for us all.
But then again, this is a pollyanna feminist sister-wanna-be speaking.
Thanks for sharing, Susan! A terrific read, and I actually feel encouraged. I particularly like what he says about the tension (and challenge) inherent in the name "Roman Catholic" -- we need to value both sides of our religious identity!
Awesome. Thanks for the link. (Groovy blog too)
Awesome article...I'm actually feeling somewhat more hopeful for the Church, if people listen to the guy.
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