Weathering a Schism

Back on August 26 (here) in a blog post, I expressed a certain resignation in the face of what seemed to be fronts firmly drawn on issues regarding the duties of office of priests, bishops and cardinals. I complained a bit about the failure of Church authorities at the highest levels to take seriously what today resembles the undifferentiated rage of the German speaking world back at the time of Martin Luther. Of all the factors which contributed to the devastation which brought divisions and worse to the body Catholic back at the time of the Protestant Reformation, I singled out Rome's unwillingness back then to take seriously what troubled people north of the Alps. 

Obviously, the problem with such a partial thesis as mine of 26 August is that it just kind of stands there. What do you do with an explanation which does little more than insinuate similarities between today and the sentiment or inaction which reigned in the apostolic palace at the time of Leo X and other popes of the period? In some ways, it is an unacceptable approach, incapable of achieving the end for which it was proposed. I could not help but fall short of my goal to offer saints and ordinary Catholics today something more and constructive on how to live the faith in harrowing times. It is obvious that the present situation is untenable; hick-hack sorts of back and forth controversy do not edify. The differences of opinion (viz. clericalism vs. homosexuality as the root of the abuse problem) certainly cannot become defining instances of the nature and mission of Christ's Church. What to do?

Time and again over the last years, I have recommended to family, to conscientious lay friends and acquaintances worthy of my confidence the counsel they should take their cue from some of the great saints who lived at the time of the Great Western Schism (1378 to 1417), like St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) or St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419). These men and women, according to their gifts and calling from God, blazed a trail by teaching and example. They certainly suffered because of the divisions at the highest levels in the Church, but got on with renewal by personal conversion, asceticism and teaching, aimed at winning souls for Christ.

What I would recommend as a tactic to preserve sanity and sanctity today is indeed more of the same. St. Vincent Ferrer selflessly spent himself, drawing others to real Catholic living, rooted in prayer, penance and the Sacraments. He by preaching in open squares and fields and his helpers, in these revival type meetings, touched people's hearts, taught them basic prayers and catechism, gave them a compass in the midst of a disoriented world. In selflessly pointing to Christ and warning of the wrath to come, like an apocalyptic angel, St. Vincent Ferrer parted the clouds for folks so that they could see the "city on the hilltop", the New Jerusalem.

As a canonist by formation, there is much I firmly believe should be promptly and dispassionately adjudicated... come hell or high water. As a priest and a bishop, I see how little would be gained if we don't recover a sacramental context to which people can have recourse. Presently, Adoration Chapels are about all we have in the midst of so much chatter elsewhere. We need a liturgical restoration flanked by a new apologetics and mendicancy à la Vincent Ferrer. The great Cardinal Siri of Genoa used to insist that Sunday Mass should have just a short little homily, that people should be back in church on Sunday afternoons for genuine catechesis, for more substance. No doubt we can more easily achieve the same today by proper use of resources like EWTN on TV or some of the better video programming on the Internet.

As I say, as a canonist I am partial to adjudication and greater than I have already set out blueprints for what needs to be faced (here). Any volunteers to stand forth like Catherine or Vincent?   

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI