Light On Dark Water

Pope Francis and the Reform of the Laity

An interesting piece at the National Catholic Register. No, make that fascinating, not just interesting.

I guess it intrigues me because it's somewhat similar to some things I've been thinking. I said something the other day about the Church having been vandalized, and about the reversal of that damage that's been taking place over the past twenty-to-thirty years.

"When the Church does not come out of itself to evangelize,” [Pope Francis] said, “it becomes self-referential and then gets sick."

In recent years, I think it was at least equally a matter of the Church becoming self-referential in part because it was sick. Internal problems require an inward focus–if the house needs major repairs, or if you have a major health problem, those things get a lot more attention than they normally would or should. But if those are put in order, you're free to turn your attention outward again. Maybe that's what's about to happen in the Church. I certainly hope so.

The article uses the term "ecclesiastical narcissism," but in the comments a  Fr. Geoff Rose, OSFS asserts that a more accurate translation is "theological narcissism." That seems to me a better description.

Maclin Horton

10 responses to “Pope Francis and the Reform of the Laity”

  1. Mac

    I am going through all the old Sunday Night Journal posts to see whether I want them in the collection I’m going to publish, and I was struck by the similarity between this one from 2006 and today’s post.

    Reply
  2. Janet

    That (the similarity between the two) is pretty amazing, Maclin.
    The former have fought the attempt to put it in place of salvation as the object of religion
    And this is something that the Holy Father stresses, that if we engage in social justice without telling people about Christ, we become just another NGO.
    It increasingly seems to me that Pope Francis is the perfect person to be pope at this time. I think he’s going to make everyone at least a bit uncomfortable because comfort, at least a comfortable complacency is his target. I read a homily yesterday or the day before-it might be the same one Fr. Landry quotes-where Francis says that without evangelization the Church becomes, “not the mother (bearing children to do God’s work), but the babysitter,” putting the children to sleep.
    I really hope we can get past the Pope wars which are pitting Benedict and Francis against one another. To see praise of Francis as somehow an attack on Benedict is just silly. I mean, even if that’s the way a particular person might mean it, it’s silly of us to let it worry us. If there’s going to be a narrative, I want to engage in the true narrative, which is the ministry of Francis will be an extension of the ministry of Benedict.
    AMDG
    AMDG

    Reply
  3. Mac

    The similarity between these two pieces, and reading over these old SNJs in general, actually make me wonder if I’m mostly just repeating myself now.
    “It increasingly seems to me that Pope Francis is the perfect person to be pope at this time.”
    I hope you’re right.
    “To see praise of Francis as somehow an attack on Benedict is just silly. I mean, even if that’s the way a particular person might mean it, it’s silly of us to let it worry us.”
    It doesn’t so much worry as irritate me. It seems to come mostly from the usual media people who don’t know what they’re talking about, or from Catholics like Cardinal Mahoney who are just irritating anyway. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Janet

    I just don’t want to let those people ruin my day.
    AMDG

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  5. Janet

    I hope you’re right.
    Why do you doubt me, Maclin? Your life would be so much better if you didn’t.
    AMDG

    Reply
  6. Mac

    This is really funny, because on the way home from work I was thinking about this topic, and what I said, and thinking “I should probably explain that I wasn’t saying that in the tone of ‘I hope you’re right though I suspect you aren’t’, but just in a straightforward neutral way.”
    Although I guess that still constitutes doubt in that it indicates less than 100% like-mindedness. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Janet

    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. 😉
    Or maybe you do and I misunderstand.
    For some reason, I can no longer use gmail on my computer. This is quite irksome. Maybe it will help to reboot.
    AMDG

    Reply
  8. Mac

    Well, yeah, technically it’s doubt, but it’s not active doubt, just not sharing your certainty.

    Reply
  9. Grumpy

    really weird that the spam filter keeps getting Dan and Janet and didn’t get this crap

    Reply
  10. Mac

    I’ve removed it now. Most annoying. I think I mentioned that the spam filter is new. The old one was better.

    Reply

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