Anybody remember the show "Law & Order"? Yeah, the original. I used to think "SVU" was an abomination, but it's fine. I think back to those Lennie Briscoe episodes (RIP, Jerry Orbach, and thanks). More than once, Lennie discovered that he had a colleague or a mentor who was into some bad business. They'd look at Lennie and go, "Hey Lennie, I thought you and me..." and they'd find out Lennie believed in the ideals of the organization.
Being Catholic right now is a lot like being Lennie. There will be those who seem like they're on your side, but they're not. They might even ask you or me to protect some beloved figure for the good of the Church. They might ask you to sell out for the sake of "mercy" or political power, or something else. And you and me will have to decide what we believe, and what we're about.
And the thing is, I don't have time to disbelieve anything the Church teaches. It may be profitable for someone to indulge semi-orthodox teaching or worse, in order to build a bridge to those people, but that's not me. I will not claim to understand everything in the Catechism, or the Catechism of Trent, or the Baltimore Catechism, but I affirm it, without hesitation.
I don't care who your least and most favorite Bishops are. I. Do. Not. Care. It is actually no one's job to gossip about what they say or do. If a Bishop asks my professional opinion, or as a practicing member of the faithful what we ought to do, I'll offer it. Outside of that, I offer you nothing but my best understanding of a catechism paragraph. (Or a passage of Sacred Scripture and the like.)
We can always pray. And not through gritted teeth, mind you. I have only done that once or twice, and I went to Confession both times. Who are these proud people, who seem to think they have been appointed saviors of the Church in the US or the West? I take orders, not give them. It remains true, especially now: "If you see something, say something," but short of that, I am happy to be a drone in this Borg Collective. I have no good gossip for you, and I don't want to read any "working documents" or Catholic news stories about such things. I pray, I write, and hopefully, I pray more.
Being Catholic right now is a lot like being Lennie. There will be those who seem like they're on your side, but they're not. They might even ask you or me to protect some beloved figure for the good of the Church. They might ask you to sell out for the sake of "mercy" or political power, or something else. And you and me will have to decide what we believe, and what we're about.
And the thing is, I don't have time to disbelieve anything the Church teaches. It may be profitable for someone to indulge semi-orthodox teaching or worse, in order to build a bridge to those people, but that's not me. I will not claim to understand everything in the Catechism, or the Catechism of Trent, or the Baltimore Catechism, but I affirm it, without hesitation.
I don't care who your least and most favorite Bishops are. I. Do. Not. Care. It is actually no one's job to gossip about what they say or do. If a Bishop asks my professional opinion, or as a practicing member of the faithful what we ought to do, I'll offer it. Outside of that, I offer you nothing but my best understanding of a catechism paragraph. (Or a passage of Sacred Scripture and the like.)
We can always pray. And not through gritted teeth, mind you. I have only done that once or twice, and I went to Confession both times. Who are these proud people, who seem to think they have been appointed saviors of the Church in the US or the West? I take orders, not give them. It remains true, especially now: "If you see something, say something," but short of that, I am happy to be a drone in this Borg Collective. I have no good gossip for you, and I don't want to read any "working documents" or Catholic news stories about such things. I pray, I write, and hopefully, I pray more.
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