How to criticize the Church so it helps, and so you don’t go to Hell

[Michie]

“Many Catholics find themselves between two bad options: Silencing or Skewering”​

Most practicing Catholics can admit they have struggled with particular decisions or statements coming from Church authorities, or with the perceived priorities of the hierarchy that might seem out-of-step with the life of the faithful “on the ground.”

Loving the Church doesn’t mean being blind to the way she’s in need of reform. Nor does it mean ignoring them. But loving the Church doesn’t mean a kind of destructive criticism either, feeding bitterness, resentment, or rebellion.

So the question becomes clear: how can Catholics of good will, desiring holiness and wishing to see the Church become more holy, engage?

This week some continuing studies gave me occasion to revisit a classic, Cardinal Yves Congar’s “True and False Reform in the Church.”

The book remains unusually relevant.

Written in 1950 and influential for many Council Fathers, including Pope St. John XXIII, the text illuminates the spirit of reform leading into Vatican II, and the perennial question of how the Church discerns and grows. Above all, it offers principles for pursuing reform in a way that actually strengthens the Church’s fidelity to her mission.

Continued below.

How to criticize the Church so it helps, and so you don’t go to Hell

“Many Catholics find themselves between two bad options: Silencing or Skewering”

www.pillarcatholic.com

 

[Valletta]

“Many Catholics find themselves between two bad options: Silencing or Skewering”​

Most practicing Catholics can admit they have struggled with particular decisions or statements coming from Church authorities, or with the perceived priorities of the hierarchy that might seem out-of-step with the life of the faithful “on the ground.”

Loving the Church doesn’t mean being blind to the way she’s in need of reform. Nor does it mean ignoring them. But loving the Church doesn’t mean a kind of destructive criticism either, feeding bitterness, resentment, or rebellion.

So the question becomes clear: how can Catholics of good will, desiring holiness and wishing to see the Church become more holy, engage?

This week some continuing studies gave me occasion to revisit a classic, Cardinal Yves Congar’s “True and False Reform in the Church.”

The book remains unusually relevant.

Written in 1950 and influential for many Council Fathers, including Pope St. John XXIII, the text illuminates the spirit of reform leading into Vatican II, and the perennial question of how the Church discerns and grows. Above all, it offers principles for pursuing reform in a way that actually strengthens the Church’s fidelity to her mission.

Continued below.

How to criticize the Church so it helps, and so you don’t go to Hell

“Many Catholics find themselves between two bad options: Silencing or Skewering”

www.pillarcatholic.com

I listen carefully to the message and try my best to understand it. I have disagreed with many stated policies.