Mr Ryan Duns S.J. has a blog that’s up for Blog of the Year in the Catholic Blog Awards. In a recent post he attacks a columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer for reporting parish closings and consolidations from the viewpoint of a consumer of religious services (weddings, baptisms, masses, etc.). She’s complaining that services are being reduced.
She has the audacity to assert that allowing female and married priests would solve the priest-shortage component of the problem. She also has the audacity to state what Christianity means to her. View the full post here.
What stood out, in Mr Duns' response was this statement, supposedly explaining why Catholicism is different from the Elks club.
The assumption of this blog is that the Jesuits represent the highest level of intellect among the RC clergy. This quote gives me pause. (He starts out referring to the article and its female author.)
She has the audacity to assert that allowing female and married priests would solve the priest-shortage component of the problem. She also has the audacity to state what Christianity means to her. View the full post here.
What stood out, in Mr Duns' response was this statement, supposedly explaining why Catholicism is different from the Elks club.
The assumption of this blog is that the Jesuits represent the highest level of intellect among the RC clergy. This quote gives me pause. (He starts out referring to the article and its female author.)
The tone of her conclusion about the simplicity of Jesus' message reduces Christianity to little more than collection of do-gooders: so why am I a Christian when I could be in the Elk's Club or a Shriner?
It's because that in Jesus I have met God most fully. In my confession of Jesus as the Christ of God, I am called to live out this confession in the world. This draws me into communion with others, women and men who pray with and for me, who also confess with me that Jesus is Lord. We don't gather together, do good things, and then break bread and *WHAMO* there's Jesus. We are part of a much larger and still-unfolding story of a pilgrim people nourished by Christ's own body and blood, who derive strength and sustenance from it, and continue in their labors to help bring about God's Kingdom. The Eucharist is the source and the end-point of our labors. Nourished on his own body and in response to the love I have known, I go out into the world where I struggle to "feed my sheep. Feed my lambs. Love one another as I have loved you." And I fail. And I return again to the table of the Lord. And I try again. And again.
If this isn’t nonsense, I don’t know what is.
You might be able to convince gullible students that the incoherence of this statement indicates a kind of mysticism. We’re supposed to believe that there is something really important that Mr Duns is struggling to tell us about.
(This goes along with the supposed inarticulateness of God. There's stuff that God wants us to know but He's not very good at expressing Himself, so He needs really smart people (Jesuits) to help.)
One thing about the statement is clear, that Mr Duns is definitely struggling.
By way of contrast, the following is a coherent statement of liberal Catholic moral theology. Whether or not you agree with it, it’s clearly written, and intellectually competent. This was posted on Pendagon.
LizWhy bring this up? The Church won’t let Liz, who is smart, be a priest, because she’s a woman.
Feb 14th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
As a feminist raised in a large (I was sixth of eight kids) Catholic family and educated in Catholic schools for more than 18 years (most of those jesuit), this post reminded me of some of the wonderful priests, brothers and nuns I’ve known over the years and made me nostalgic for a religious community I left behind. While I no longer consider myself Catholic, most of my family still actively practice, and they are generally very liberal people (so they would most likely be considered cafeteria catholics). Both my upbringing and my education helped to instill what I consider liberal values….the importance of social justice (with an emphasis on protecting the “least” among us), a respect for life (which for me personally never really included “potential life”), tolerance, a desire for knowledge and understanding and/or education (however you want to look at it), and compassion, among other things. Of course it wasn’t all rosy and beautiful, The Vatican made itself felt….which is why I no longer consider myself a Catholic. That said, I am often dismayed these days about how it seems that right wing Catholics have managed to hijack the spotlight and convince people that they speak for or represent all Catholics. I know many practicing Catholics who are appalled by the bigotry and small mindedness of Donahue. So, thank you for the post recalling Father Cobos and reminding me of the wonderful teachers I encountered over the years.
On the other hand, the Jesuits will pour tens of thousands of dollars into Mr Duns’ training, at some point declare him a priest, and turn him loose on unsuspecting young people.
So the Church’s policy is that a not so bright man makes a better priest than a really smart woman.
Then we hear crap about “Excellence.”
Scherzo: Another commenter, on the same page as Liz, had this to say:
Hank
Feb 14th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
I had known a nice priest, but it
turned out he was a pedophile.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Remeber, judge not, lest ye not be judged.
Remember, Jesus loved the
sinners.
Either Hank has an excellent deadpan, or… scary!
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