Catholic Culture - The Edgar Schein Model Analysis of the Pre and Post Conciliar Culture

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JMJ

 

 So ... I was thinking ... I've used Edgar Schein's (RIP) organizational cultural model (link) in my research  ... why not apply it in a comparison between the Catholic Organizational Culture - PRE and POST Second Vatican Culture?

Of course, this will be from my own perspective, I'm certain that others will think differently. 😁

Also, apologies for a rather long article.

Graphic: https://mutomorro.com/edgar-scheins-culture-model/

Below is a quick mapping of the cultural factors that I could think of.  Since the Church is vast and composed of millions of Souls, it is necessarily a limited cultural map.  Yet, I think it will still be useful to assess what has changed since the Second Vatican Council.

Additional Reading: 5 enduring management ideas from MIT Sloan’s Edgar Schein | MIT Sloan

Artifacts

Artifacts are tangible and observable aspects of the culture being examined.  All organizations have them. Walmart has their Walmart chant, Charismatics have their speaking in tongues. The Catholic Church has its structure and liturgy.

Looking at the Church today we would find that the artifacts have undergone a radical change or are under attack.
   
    Examples

• Architecture
• In the Catholic Church form follows function and the function of the Catholic Church is to be the House of God, the Holy of Holies. As such, the best materials possible were used for the construction and decoration of Catholic Churches both small and large. In fact, many great monuments are the result of direct sacrifices made by the local Catholics to build their Church.
• One of the functions of the building is to elevate the soul to the contemplation of worship of God. Hence the towering walls, stain glass windows. Plus in the middle-ages the Cathedral also served to as a Teacher with the truths and stories of the Church shining though the coloured glass.
  
• One final aspect is that the architecture orients the faithful to a single focal point of the Church - the Altar - as the Sacrifice of the Mass is the pinnacle of the Catholic Liturgy. So to should the Mass be the architectural focal point. On this altar is normally found the Tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved (ie kept). In larger Churches, such as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the Blessed Sacrament is kept in a side altar.
  

     

By Zygmunt Put - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101001193

http://www.ameriquefrancaise.org/media-5182/cathedrale_st_boniface_24.jpg

 

 

• Doctrine and Dogma
• With regards to Doctrine and Dogma, there is literally too much to speak.  For a list please refer to Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing . 
• I would point out that there is one Dogma that serve as a foundation for everything else that the Catholic Church believes, teaches and does: The Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.  If He wasn't ... then the Catholic Church is just the worlds biggest NGO (Non-Governmental Organization).
• For example, 
• Pre-council there was no doubt that Catholic Church IS the Church of Christ. There was even pontifical documents that had reaffirmed this before the council.
• Post-council this perennial doctrine was modified with the phrase "subsistit in" and the explanation "that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church" (link below), undermine the fundamental identity of both the Catholic Church and those within it. 
• This statement by the CDF seems to employ a new definition of the Church in that the protestants and schismatics have at least the sacrament of baptism and until the baptised individuals sever the bond to the Church - they remain Catholic.  I would counter that the presence of individuals who, in error, remain in the schismatic and heretical Churches do not make those organizations part of the Catholic Church.
  
• Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church
   
• Historical Documents
• The historical documents of the Catholic Church are more than just a historical record. They also contain the Lives of the Saints, of people just the present day Catholics who practised Heroic Virtue and serve as models.
• Further the documents show that the Catholic Church is governed by fallible humans. Yet it continues to stagger, saunter, march or run through the ages with its Dogma intact - even today!
• This history shows how Catholics lived and believed in the past and provides a point to assess the culture of today. On this basis the life of Catholics has both similarities and differences.

• Liturgy
• Roman Catholic Liturgy has traditionally embodied and reflected the beliefs (ie Doctrines) of the Catholic Church. The same is true of the other approved Rites of the Catholic Church. 
• This expression is contained in every element, the decorations / art (statues, pictures) vestments, arrangement of the sanctuary, sacred vessels, words, who is in the sanctuary, movements, body positions (ie. elevation) sequence and timing.
  
• Liturgy is a core expression of Catholic belief, if not THE core and if we look for the pinnacle of liturgical expression, then it is the Sacrifice of the Mass. Therefore it is in the Liturgy that we find the most obvious changes since the Second Vatican Council.  
• For example, 
• Pre-Vatican II, the priest was the Alter Christus offering the Sacrifice of the Cross in an unbloody manner.  Not just a re-enactment like they do for the civil war battles.  This is the same person (OLJC) offering the same Sacrifice, therefore it is essentially the same Sacrifice as that of Calvary.  The words in the consecration make this plain and clear.
• Post-Vatican II, the priest presides over the liturgy as, in some circles, the congregation participates in more than the pre-conciliar concepts.  That is why private masses are discouraged.
• Music
• Another facet of the liturgy is music within the Church (vocal and instrumental), who is allowed to sing what, when, where, why, how and with what instrumental accompaniment?
  
• All of these facets embody a cultural value or assumption.
• Who: This indicates a certain hierarchy within the Church. For example, in the Tridentine Rite there are sections reserved for the Priest, the Schola and the Congregation. This extends to what instruments are allowed during the liturgy.
  
• What: The content of what each participant is allowed to sing further reveals this hierarchy.
  
• When: At what point is singing allowed?
  
• Where: Are the singers in the sanctuary, congregation or separated in either the choir loft or choir stalls at the front? (Choir (architecture) - Wikipedia)
• Why:What is the purpose of the singing?  Is it in response to the celebrant, a part of the liturgy, or accompaniment?
  
• What types of music? Gregorian, Sacred Harmonic or Polyphonic? Moderns?
  
• What types of instrumental accompaniment: Organ, piano, classical wind and string instruments, drums, guitars, etc?
  
• For example, 
• Pre-council
• Gregorian Chant held priority of place with specific elements reserved to the priest, schola or congregation.Sacred harmonic and polyphonic music composed specifically for the liturgy were common .
• Instruments were limited to organ, or classical string and wind instruments.
• The use of profane instruments, like guitar or drums, were forbidden.
• The use of profane / secular melodies were likewise forbidden.
• Banish All Guitars and Pianos from the Church  
• CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Musical Instruments in Church Services
• Post-Council
• Drums, Guitars and secular melodies are now allowed.
  
• Contemporary Catholic liturgical music - Wikipedia 
  
• Behaviour
• How Catholics behave in religious settings, irregardless of where they fit in the hierarchy speaks volumes. Where is their attention, how do they talk, move, act in Church, processesion etc.
• For example, reverent behaviour and even silence in Catholic Churches was the norm before the council. Post-Council, I've seen Catholic Churches become as boisterous as a Wedding Social.  Continuous chatter, even during Mass is not uncommon.  
• Only the Dies Irae succeeded in instilling a proper silence among the masses at a funeral Mass at which I sang.  After the first few bars, they shutup and stayed reverent until the end.
  
• Rituals
• In the Catholic Context the are actual Rituals - one of which is the Mass. We have rituals for the other Sacraments such as Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Blessing, Exorcisms etc.
• These have also been altered since the Second Vatican Council. Among many, one change is just as glaring as the change in the Mass, the exclusion of exorcisms from Baptism ritual (link: Imaginary Modern Catholic Baptismal Exorcisms)
• Hierarchy
• How an organization structures its authority and decision making processes provides keen insights. 
• Secular culture is continually acting upon and within the Catholic Church making inroads that spur changes, such as the New Mass, but also the democratization of Church Governance (how decisions and made etc). In this case the inclusion of laity and women in the higher levels represents a significant alteration from a top down hierarchy that has existed for close to two thousand years.
  
• Governance - Wikipedia
• What Is Governance? - Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation
• Corporate governance - Wikipedia
• Classes and organizations
• In the Catholic Church there are or have been, distinct lines between various groups. 
• The first is the line between those ordained or consecrated and laity.  The first group includes the Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests,  Monks / Nuns, Brothers / Sisters. These latter I think are collectively referred to as religious, and the terms for the last four can be confusing (see link below).
• As the Catholic foundations of Western Culture continue to erode, there have been calls for more involvement in Church Governance by the Women both religious and laity.
  
• Catholic-Hierarchy: Its Bishops and Dioceses, Current and Past
• Order of precedence in the Catholic Church - Wikipedia  
• The Meaning of the Terms Nun, Sister, Monk, Priest, and Brother 

Values

Schein describes values are the strategies, goals, philosophies (Espoused Values and Justifications), that are as the reasons, drivers and rationalizations for why members behave the way they do. 

Historically, the Catholic Church would assert the Dogmas of the Catholic Church as being required of its members (Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Dogmas, De Fide, etc). To refuse belief in any Dogma of the Catholic Church is to commit the sin of heresy. Ultimately, this would eventually result in the loss of the Faith and a severing of the link to the Church of Christ (ie Catholic Church).

Some doctrines, philosophies that drove the behaviour of Catholics before the Council were:

• The existence of Objective Truth and our ability to discover and grasp it, 
• The Salvation of Souls is the highest law of the Catholic Church (as still is...)
• The Sacraments of the New Covenant contain the grace which they signify and bestow it on those who do not hinder it.
• The Catholic Church IS the Church of Christ.

 Since and even before the Second Vatican Council, there has been a trend of downplaying the differences between the world religions. The name for this is Ecumenism and has resulted in a lobotamization of the missionary spirit of the Catholic Church.

Instead of seeking to wins souls for Christ by converting those not members of the Church, there is the idea of accompanying. It reminds me of the 'Prime Directive' within the fictional utopian Star Trek series.  In other words, don't interfere in the religious evolution of others.  

From this comes the actions of post-V2 missionaries who refuse to baptise or convert the people that they were sent to minister to.

Assumptions

As mentioned, assumptions are unconscious, taken for granted beliefs, habits of perception, thought and feeling that act as the source of values and actions.  These, in turn, drive the perception, thoughts, feelings of the group (ie Church) members in a generalized sense

Assumptions are the 'real motivators' and if someone contradicts such an assumption, then the result is usually emotionally driven. The more strongly held the assumption the stronger the reaction.

For Traditional Catholics (TradCats?), you'll find that there are assumptions that they are in the True Religion of God, that there can't be two or more True Religions, that being 'in' the True Religion is important and that those not 'in' the True Religion are in grave danger of damnation.

For Modern Catholics (MoCats?), these assumptions, if present, don't hold the same weight. They may even be at the level of 'espoused values'. Something to which lip-service is given but devoid of both meaning and action.

What Does this Tell Us?

Repeated success (perceived or real) will establish something as a value and this value will permeate the artifacts of an organization.  If this success is repeated often enough over a long enough period of time, it will form the basis for assumptions.

It has been over fifty years since the Second Vatican Council and longer since the modernists first emerged. 

For the Catholic Church to emerge from this crisis will require a sustained series of Great Popes. I am NOT talking about popes like Pope Saint John Paul II.  I AM talking about popes like Leo XIII, Pius V, Pius IX, Pius X and even Pius XII. They were human, had their failings and made mistakes. However, on the whole the Catholic Church was better for having them as opposed to the latter series - even Pope Benedict XVI (RIP) who tried, failed and ran from the wolves.

So, be ready for the long haul and don't pin your hopes on any one Pope - we need the opposite of the Dirty Dozen - we need the Saintly Dozen!

P^3