Skip to main content

Is Dogma Important? Part II - Kinda

+
JMJ

As a follow up to part 1 and the theme of hybridization of Catholics, the following appeared on the Catholic Diocese Pittsburgh in January 2014.

Bishop David A. Zubik
Bishop of Pittsburgh
An ecumenical group of pastors and laity has been preparing for the Three Rivers Festival of Hope, sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Aug. 15-17, 2014, at the Consol Energy Center. The three-day event will include stirring music from Christian artists and personal testimonies of people from various walks of life who are dedicated to following Jesus Christ.
 I have appointed Father David Poecking, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Carnegie, and Helene Paharik, associate general secretary of the diocese, to serve as my representatives on the festival committee.
 The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association isn't a Catholic organization. But we do share a common hope of helping Christians return to the practice of their faith and of bringing the Gospel to every person in our city, nation and world. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a record of working cooperatively with Catholic dioceses. If there are folks at the Three Rivers Festival of Hope who want to return to the Catholic Church, we surely want to be there to welcome them back with open arms.
 For that reason I appreciate this opportunity for the Diocese of Pittsburgh to participate in this work of evangelization. As I stated in my pastoral letter, "The Church Alive!," I can remember as a youngster watching on television the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham. I marveled at the way he was able to touch people's hearts.
 May the Three Rivers Festival of Hope so touch people's hearts with the love of God that they are fired up to follow his Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. May our prayerful presence at the festival enable former Catholics to come home. May the experience of Christian unity at the festival inspire our region to continue to build bridges of reconciliation in service to the common good.

The confusing part is the "... share a common hope of helping Christians return to the practice of their faith ...".

The non-hybridized version would read: '... the practice of the Catholic faith ...' because there is only one Church of Christ and frankly Billy Graham's church isn't it!

P^3
Prayer
Penance
Patience

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making.  It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX.  The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience.  The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members.  It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

 + JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them.   I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest.  This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis?  When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due.   This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...

Church Militant TV and the SSPX - Again

+ JMJ The old narrative used to be that the SSPX was 'schismatic' and 'excommunicated'. Now the excommunication has been lifted for a number of years and the only ones who think it still has effect are the 'resistors'. That leaves the other opponents of the SSPX with the label 'schismatic'. Make it clear, the conservative Catholics have issues with the SSPX probably because they violate some of their assumptions about the Faith and this crisis of the Church. Church Militant TV is one of these the exists along the Catholic thought spectrum. They like the Traditional Mass but must ensure that they don't get tarred with the same 'schismatic' brush that the liberals use against the SSPX.  So what do they do, they use the same brush against the SSPX. The funny thing is that even when the Church does speak, they don't want to listen and persist in calling the SSPX 'schismatic'. Here's a transcript of the latest s...

The Position of the SSPX on Canonizations by the Saint Factory

+ JMJ I have sometimes been criticized for including 'St' as a title for Pope John Paul II et al. I've given my reasons here  in a discussion with Alex Long. The question is one of prudence in discussions with ntCatholics and in some cases with tCatholics. In discussions with:  ntCatholics, I will use the title in order to continue the discussion and help them arrive at a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. tCatholics, I will use the title in order to broaden their perspective on the doctrine of dogmatic facts. This broader perspective is, in my opinion, essential maintaining a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. So from a doctrinal position, I have written the article Dogmatic Fact of Fancy  and includes a reference on canonizations. Now, I know the position of the SSPX is that the canonizations are doubtful (see references below) and I also know of at least one non-SSPX theologian who agrees with the level of doubt du...