Whispers in the Wasteland

The Mission

Rod Dreher writes about The Mission at NRO. Rod has a problem with the Catholic leadership (which is not unexpected). Rod questions whether we can show solidarity with the leadership:

What we do not need, and can no longer afford, are Catholics who wish to defer automatically to the bishops' judgment in the matter of the child sex-abuse scandal. In dioceses and parishes across America today, individual Catholics are being forced to choose how they will respond to this crisis of moral leadership in the Church. The American bishops have, through their worldly calculations, put the Catholic people in the painful position of resisting their shepherds, in whom an increasing number no longer have much faith.

He later spoke of renewing the Catholic Church.

I sent off an e-mail, but let's be honest here. Rod probably has a ton of stuff in his mailbox, and I cannot be considered top shelf material. Here are the highlights...

I think the idea for renewal is an idea whose time has come. I've found this Chesterton quote that I've an urge to tell everyone about, "a revolution is a restoration." A very orthodox statement from his work Orthodoxy.

I've put a political slant on this... the American Revolution is a restorative revolution, while the French Revolution is a progressive revolution (meaning tear up the old, replace with the new -- modern scientific over traditional). I bring it back to religion and ask myself is Vatican II progressive or restorative. I came to the conclusion that it is progressive. The current scandal is proof for me.

Orthodoxy demands restoration. Not a surrender to Modernity (giving up on celibacy, or ordaining women), but a return to Tradition. Here's the Chesterton quote in context:

When I had written this down, I felt once again the presence of something else in the discussion: as a man hears a church bell above the sound of the street. Something seemed to be saying, "My ideal at least is fixed; for it was fixed before the foundations of the world. My vision of perfection assuredly cannot be altered; for it is called Eden. You may alter the place to which you are going; but you cannot alter the place from which you have come. To the orthodox there must always be a case for revolution; for in the hearts of men God has been put under the feet of Satan. In the upper world hell once rebelled against heaven. But in this world heaven is rebelling against hell. For the orthodox there can always be a revolution; for a revolution is a restoration. At any instant you may strike a blow for the perfection which no man has seen since Adam.

Some additional thoughts...

• If the Pope were to harshly crack down on the American bishops, I don't think there is much they could do. The only reason for a light touch is because the historical response to heavy-handedness has been schism. But I think if the American hierarchy were to threaten a break, the laity would overwhelmingly remain loyal to Rome. This assumes that the blame continues to lie with the American hierarchy.
• At the press conference after the meeting with the Pope, it was announced that charges of abuse would immediately be passed on to secular authorities. I thought that this was an abdication of responsibility by the Church, and it would signal greater secular intrusion into Church affairs. I don't mind a crime called a crime. But shouldn't the Church think of sinfulness first?
• I've seen that they're using RICO against Mahony. I know Mr. Dreher is no fan of Cardinal Mahony, but I'm worried by the thought of using a racketeering charge against the Church. They've done the same against pro-life organizations. The Church is not a criminal enterprise. Then the question becomes: is it a crime to donate to a criminal organization? The question is rhetorical. Just something to think about.
• One of the things mentioned in the local news (Boston) is how traditionally the government has left the Church alone to govern its own affairs and handle these matters. The implication is that this treatment is over. It's not that I don't understand why it is politically possible now to do this; where before there was deference. It might be cheeky for me to suggest this now, but there is a traditional reason for this deference. It's called the First Amendment. It's called the wall of separation between church and state. I suspect that we won't find the regular roster of complainers about the slippery slope in a moment of silence to be outspoken now.

Posted by Bob at May 7, 2002 06:13 AM