COMING UP ON CATHOLICA: a powerful adult commentary on forgiveness and sin... (Main Forum)

by Brian Coyne , LINDEN, NSW, Thursday, June 28, 2012, 14:46 (325 days ago)

I have often felt, flowing out of that 1979 observation of then Cardinal Ratzinger, that "the Christian believer is a simple person: bishops should protect the faith of these little people against the power of intellectuals", that a large part of the institution's problem today in maintaining contact with its baptised constituency in the Western world is that adult people resent being treated as children and imbeciles — as "little people" and "simple people". I honestly believe a large part of the exit out of the pews in the Western world can be put down to this "put down" of the lay people the priests and bishops are trying to communicate with.

I often hear the whingeing of the Temple Police and insecure elements that the world is becoming too "liberal" and wants "easy solutions" and they urge the church leaders to offer a more difficult pathway. In reality what they are often wanting to urge on people is actually tripe and kindergarten-level "difficulty". I think the pathway I discern I have to take to "follow Jesus" today is a gzillion times more onerous and "difficult" than anything offered by the temple police and the "we are so faithful to the magisterium" elements in the institution or the sort of tripe you read on that other website from the likes of Fr John George and his little peanut gallery of followers.

For the last few hours I've been working on the layout for a commentary from Fr Dan Donovan that he sent me a week ago which, I think, is a powerful illustration of the alternative that I think many people are seeking. This is a powerful piece of writing and adult catechesis or adult faith formation on this difficult issue of discerning right from wrong, apologising for our actions when we screw up, seeking forgiveness and a discussion of "cheap grace" and "costly grace" — or social conformism/following all the social rules and the difference between that and actually "following the Way offered by Jesus Christ".

His commentary was triggered by his reading of the recent glossy "Pentecost 2012 Message" offered by Cardinal Pell to the people of Sydney on "Forgiveness and Sin". In part what Fr Dan writes is a critique of the shallowness of the Cardinal's attempted catechesis but I suggest it is rich in adult insight. If the institution instead of attempting to treat the vast bulk of their baptized constituency as "simple people" and "little people" who had to be "spoon fed" their beliefs at around the level one educates children in a kindergarten, and instead attempted the sort of adult conversation you'll find in Dan Donovan's commentary I think we'd all be in a far better place.

As a preliminary to Fr Dan's commentary, readers might like to have a look at the Cardinal's comments on the subject. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the glossy printed version online as a pdf document (and the copy I have does not contain all four pages) but you can read the full text on the Sydney Archdiocesan website at: www.sydneycatholic.org/people/archbishop/homilies/2012/2012525_1890.shtml

This commentary coming up I think many of you will find "sits well" with the current discussion on the forum about ethics and the discernment of moral behaviour.

Brian Coyne
[Editor & Publisher]