Punditry

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A U.S. Jesuit theologian said the best milieu for interreligious discussions with his Buddhist friends is over a hot plate of cheese enchiladas.

Jesuit Father James Fredericks, professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said people often talk of interreligious dialogue as being based on big spiritual mysteries, "like the Holy Spirit or some transcendent reality, but no, the foundations of interreligious dialogue in Los Angeles are cheese enchiladas."

Sharing a meal is not only "the basis for dialogue, it’s the fruit of a dialogue" that even involves the Catholic food service workers at the university’s kitchens "who, in loving service, do the best job they can to cook these enchiladas for these monks from Sri Lanka," he told Catholic News Service Sept. 27.

Father Fredericks was one of dozens of experts invited to speak at a Sept. 25-28 conference marking the 40th anniversary of "Nostra Aetate," the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on interreligious dialogue.

The gathering, which brought together more than 350 people from more than 20 countries, was co-sponsored by Georgetown University in Washington, the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College and Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.

Interreligious dialogue needs to be nourished by friendship and even "playful activity without an agenda," said Anantanand Rambachan, a professor of Sanskrit at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.

He said "interreligious dialogue is an adventure of ideas without winners and losers" and cautioned that real dialogue does not result in either "conversion or convergence." [Source]

I seem to remember Jesus saying something like "That they may be one", not that they may have an adventure of ideas. What is the point of dialogue if it doesn’t result in conversion or convergence. Interfaith dialogue that does not remove barriers to true unity and that does not seek to clarify where we actually do agree and where we don’t is rather pointless. Of course I don’t expect much from groups like Georgetown and the Catholic Theological Union conducting a conference in Los Angeles where syncretism is more the order of the day. Being a syncretistic ecumenist is one the easiest jobs there is.

I think I like the late Fr. Hardon’s approach much better.

True ecumenism is the Christian unity that Christ Himself revealed. It is the unity which is not merely verbal but real. It is the unity which preserves all the essential elements of faith and morality prescribed by the Savior for those who are to be His followers in truth and not only in name.

True unity necessarily requires a clear and deep understanding of the premises of belief and practice required by the founder of the Church who died on the Cross because He refused to compromise with the truth. True unity is certainly animated by a deep Christian love. But this love must be founded on the truth which the Roman Catholic Church has preserved for twenty centuries and for which millions of her followers have shed their blood.

True unity is impossible without union with the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter on whom Christ promised to build His Church.

Check out Rick Lugari’s new blog De Civitate Dei (or City of God for the Latin-challenged like me) which replaces Unam Sanctum. I especially thought the quotes he has under "The buzz around town" to be pretty funny, especially the one from St. Terese. He is also the wit behind Musum Pontificalis.

He links to an article about Newton parishioners holding a vigil to protest Fr. Cuenin’s resignation.

"It has all the earmarks of a witch hunt and must be stopped," said Margaret Roylance, an Our Lady parishioner.

Sometimes it seems from the news stories that the only time a vigil is held in Boston is when a church closes down or a pastor is forced to resign. If only we could get all of their energy expended in sit-ins and protests involved in prayer for vocations and for the Church. Now of course Fr. Cuenin is, shall we say, not exactly a stalwart defender of the faith. It does seem though that the term "witch hunt" is appearing more and more. It was used in connection with the resignation of America magazine’s Father Reese, the seminary visitations, and now Fr. Cuenin and just keeps popping up. The term witch hunt is disingenuous to say the least. It is more like a fox hunt or should I say a Matthew Fox hunt. Their implication is that the search is for something nonexistent. I only wish a heterodox hunt was as firmly in our imagination as any historic witch hunts were. And if you are going to make the case for a with hunt, Fr. Cuenin would not be my first defense exhibit.

Now I kind of like the idea being a heterodox hunter, though not in a inquisitional sense. The thought of going out with a group wearing orange vests, funky hats, and water guns filled with Holy Water sounds fun. Now we wouldn’t need hunting jackets with suede elbow patches for reinforcement. More like pants with knee pads for prolonged praying. We could put up a priest stand in a church on one of the columns and pray in quiet until we see are target and then unload our Holy Water Blasters at him. Though I don’t know how they would react to being tied up to the roof of my car, but I would guess much better than being mounted on a wall in my living room. Now of course being a heterodox hunter is not much sport. It is kind of like going on a hunting safari at a zoo. Unfortunately being a orthodox hunter would be much more challenging.

Now of course this is in jest and I much more admire the actions of our Holy Father Benedict XVI:

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI met with one of his fiercest critics, the Swiss dissident theologian Hans Kueng, in yet another sign the pontiff wants to reach out to prominent Catholics who fell from grace under his predecessor.

In an interview with the Associated Press from his home in Tuebingen, Germany, Kueng called Saturday’s meeting "extraordinary" but said that it was wrong to speak of reconciliation.

"I am sure that this will be seen in the Catholic world, and even more than that, as a hopeful sign because it shows that [Benedict] has more positive intentions than maybe what was seen at the beginning," Kueng said.

The two former university colleagues met for several hours and had a friendly theological discussion, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement Monday. He said the two did not discuss the "magisterial" differences that divide Kueng and the Catholic Church.

Wow meeting with the SSPX, Oriana Fallaci, and now Hans Küng he must sure have some diverse and interesting conversations. Our German Shepherd is truly a shepherd who tries to bring in some of the flock who have strayed.

… As a result of their differences, the meeting Saturday was very significant, said the Rev. Richard McBrien, a liberal theologian at the University of Notre Dame.

"That the new pope granted him an audience – and such a lengthy and friendly one at that – indicates that he intends to be more of a [conciliator] than was his predecessor, at least insofar as it affects members of the Catholic Church itself," McBrien said in an e-mail message. "As we know, John Paul II built many bridges to those outside the Church, but his record was far from illustrious internally."

…"That he dedicated to me so many hours – and this was extraordinary – I am happy that this was possible," Kueng said. "That he talked to me is a very significant event. I asked his predecessor for 25 years to see him," he added. [Source]

Well neither Küng or McBrien could keep themselves from taking potshots at our previous pope. Obviously our current and late Holy Fathers have different styles, but there love for their flock is very much the same.

There is another amazing thing about this article. It came from the AP and before the word theologian was dissident in Küng’s case and liberal in McBrien’s case.

The first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church is predicting a division in the Anglican Communion two years after U.S. church leaders triggered global outrage by approving his election.

“This is at least as much about power and control as it is about theology and Scripture,” New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson told The Associated Press in an interview. “It’s about who’s going to be calling the shots, and who’s going to be in and who’s going to be out….” [Source]

Predicting a split in the Anglican communion is kind of like predicting sunrise.

Half the world lives in poverty. Christian Aid is striving for wholesale change to rules that keep people poor. We work wherever the need is greatest, giving people strength to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of their religion. So if you’re passionate about helping others, and want to help us drive positive change across the world, join us.

GENDER FACILITATOR
Salary range £26,061 – £29,159 per annum
Fixed term contract – 2 years
London based

As Christian Aid’s lead person on gender, you will be responsible for working within the International Department to assist with the development and implementation of strategies relating to gender and will support colleagues across Christian Aid to implement the gender policies and procedures and to raise awareness of gender within the organisation as a whole.

This is an exciting and challenging role. You will work with a wide variety of staff across the organisation, influencing change. You will support colleagues in ensuring the gender perspective is considered in all our work with partners and our own internal policies and procedures.

You will have at least 5 years’ relevant professional experience including strategy development and staff facilitation including at least 2 years’ overseas work experience. You will have proven expertise in gender issues and will have developed and applied good practices around gender with partners in projects and /or other working environments. You will have established relationships within national and international gender networks and women’s movements. [Source]

I wonder what in the world a gender facilitator does? Is is tough going to work each day ensuring gender perspectives? I just wonder how Christian organizations were able to help the poor before without a gender facilitator.

Interesting article from a magazine called Church Executive.

TEANECK, NJ-Treating groups such as students, patients and religious followers as "customers" is having a serious negative impact on America’s schools, churches, hospitals, media and government, according to marketing professor James G. Hutton.

"Every parent, teacher, policymaker and leader should be concerned about the impact that customerization is having on American institutions and on Americans," Hutton said, "because the effects are much more profound than most people realize."

In his new book, The Feel-Good Society, Hutton explains that the idea of being a customer has tremendous intuitive appeal to most Americans because that implies greater accountability.

"Unfortunately," he said, "when institutions like schools, hospitals and churches treat their students, patients and members as customers, the result is almost the opposite – those institutions almost inevitably begin to pander to their audiences, becoming more responsive, but to the wrong things. They lose sight of their basic mission and ultimately become less accountable."

In education, for example, Hutton’s research found that axioms such as "keeping the customer happy," and "the customer is always right" have led to a variety of problems, including a lack of discipline, a dumbing down of standards, cheating and other forms of dishonesty, social promotion of underqualified students, out-of-control grade inflation, a focus on self-esteem rather than character-building, and a tendency to tell students what will make them happy rather than what will make them educated.

In the healthcare arena, Hutton found that the commercialization and customerization of the American healthcare industry has not brought the benefits that were promised. "If anything," he said, "concepts such as managed care, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and the privatization of hospitals have created more problems than they have solved, adding new layers of costs and bureaucracy, and often taking medical decisions out of the hands of people qualified to make those decisions."

At the heart of the overall problem, Hutton said, is that everywhere Americans used to use the word "citizen," they have substituted the word "customer" or "consumer." "The implications are profound, because citizens have rights and responsibilities, but consumers have only rights, with virtually no responsibilities," he said. "Thus, we have become a nation overrun by lawsuits and victimization, where fewer and fewer people take responsibility for their own behavior."

That is an interesting insight that viewing ourselves as customers puts the onus on others with no responsibility for ourselves. This is true especially in regards to religion as practiced by our society. The very term church shopping reflects this consumerist attitude. That the Church much change to satisfy us and never the other way around. Too many parishes treat the parishioner as always right and tries to keep them happy by neglecting what should be done. As he notes when this happens accountability is lost and it happens on both sides. There is a tendency for priests and other teacher of the faith to worry more about offending some body rather than preaching the truth. Hard truths just get left unsaid to ensure that no one might squirm in their pew or even to be offended. Contrast this to John 6 where Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist scandalized some disciples who walked away. Homilies on contraception are rarer than sensible statements from Howard Dean. Knowing that the majority of Catholics are contracepting and are objectively committing grave sin and receiving the Eucharist unworthily would perhaps spark a homily or two on the subject. Yet the opposite happens since you can’t upset your customer, I mean parishioner.

Now I admit that I also have a consumerist mentality towards my local churches. After all I don’t normally go to the parishes closest to where I live, but instead go to a church downtown. Because some parishes have catered to the consumer instead of being obedient to the norms of the liturgy this is a sad consequence.

I have mentioned before how much I admire Kathy Shaidle’s headlines, but this one still had me chuckling hours later.

No Blood For Gumbo!
I say we make up little buttons and stuff with that slogan, now that Cindy Sheehan’s telling Bush to "pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans…"

If only we stopped supporting Israel than hurricanes would stop coming out way. Just wait till Cindy finds out that (must be said in hushed tones) Haliburton has contracts to help rebuild.

I would really like to thank the bishops conference for something they have done. Last week Clayton reported on how the USCCB had told Brian Noe at Verbum Domini that he couldn’t use the NAB for his daily scripture reading podcast because it is copyrighted by the bishop’s conference. As a result this last week he has been using the Douey-Rheims instead. Now I have been listening to Brian’s podcast for the last couple of months and I really prefer hearing his rich voice using the Douey-Rheims version over the NAB. The D-R is not perfect, but it is preferable to the NAB. So to whoever the bureaucrat at the USCCB that made the decision – great job – I really appreciate it.

On another note Brian has now started his own blog Verbum Domini so welcome to St. Blogs.

I think the acronym for the Clinton Global Initiative says it all. It shares the same acronym, CGI, as in Computer Generated Image. What you see looks really cool but you know in reality there is nothing behind it.

Karen Dill wanted to return to her Catholic faith, but she was carrying around too much anger toward the church after her divorce.

That was nearly 20 years ago, long before the clergy sexual-abuse scandal or the church closings that have alienated even more Catholics in recent years.

Now, Dill, 60, of Manchester, N.H., is not only back, she’s helping other Catholics find their way through a program called “Welcome Home.” She runs it with the Rev. Gary J. Belliveau, pastor of St. Kathryn Church in Hudson, N.H.

The seven-week program offers counseling, speakers and perhaps most importantly, Belliveau and Dill say, a chance to be heard.

And other local churches, like St. Mary’s in Chelmsford, for one, see it as a ray of hope to drawing others back to their faith.

Divorced and away from the church for 15 years, Dill felt “let down” by the faith that was once an important part of her life.

“I was very angry at what I perceived was a lack of compassion” from a church that does not allow remarried Catholics to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion or to remarry in the church, she says.

Also, Dill says she was angry with the church’s stand against abortion and birth control.

In 1985, while Dill was exploring other faith communities, a friend suggested she revisit the Catholic Church, saying, “the church had changed.”

On a whim, Dill walked into a church in Manchester, where Belliveau was the newly ordained associate pastor. She sought guidance for an annulment.

“And I liked what I saw,” says Dill. [Source]

What this article totally lacks is any hint of conversion. A conversion story without a conversion. No hint about how she overcame her objections or whether she still had them. It just seems like such an obvious question in a story like this even in Massachusetts, especially for someone running a ministry for fallen away Catholics.

TAIZÉ, France, Aug. 23 – Brother Roger Schutz pursued many ecumenical dreams in his long life, but in death one of them came true: At a Eucharistic service celebrated Tuesday by a Roman Catholic cardinal for Brother Roger, a Swiss Protestant, communion wafers were given to the faithful indiscriminately, regardless of denomination.

Members of the monastic order founded by Brother Roger Schutz carried his coffin at his funeral Tuesday in Taizé in eastern France.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Vatican’s council for the unity of Christians, who celebrated the Mass, said in a homily, "Yes, the springtime of ecumenism has flowered on the hill of Taizé." Beyond religious divisions, Brother Roger also abhorred the division between rich and poor. "Every form of injustice or neglect made him very sad," Cardinal Kasper said.

Brother Roger’s community and friends, including President Horst Köhler of Germany and the retired archbishop of Paris, Jean-Marie Lustiger, attended the liturgy in the vast wooden monastery church at Taizé, while thousands more followed it on a huge screen in fields outside the church. [Source]

Being that this article is from they NYT I wonder how accurate the phrase "given to the faithful indiscriminately, regardless of denomination." is. Though I would not be too surprised with Cardinal Kasper being involved. Especially considering that then-Cardinal Ratzinger vetoed plans for Cardinal Walter Kasper to doing the same thing at a joint communion service in Germany in 2003. I doubt that Brother Roger would really consider this "a dream come true" since if it happened it would have been a false symbol of communion and unity, a communion that truly does not yet exist. To pretend otherwise for ecumenical sensibilities is to just pretend. It would be really interesting to know if Pope Benedict was involved in this decision or not.