A helpful reminder from Deus Volent: On Belief and Obedience

He's only 19? Whoa!

The man has a brilliant career ahead of him--in anything. Observe:

So, what exactly is a Catholic to think of the changes? Regardless of one's personal views on the matter, whether they like Latin or no, whether they like versus populuum or no, we must be aware of the extent we may disagree with the pastoral descisions of the Church. First off, words from Dietrich von Hildebrand:

But when it is a question of . . . the introduction of a new missal, or the rearrangement of the Church calendar, or the new rubrics for the liturgy, then our obedience, but by no means our agreement is required.

The correct response is of course obedience to every lawful command (an unlawful command is possible, even from the pope and must be resisted. Pope Gregory the XI's decree against the Florentines, for example, was unlawful) but not necessarily agreement. The Church can err in her prudential descisions... of she could not, then from whence do bad bishops come? One must, it is to be remembered, refrain from saying that any discipline of the Church is positively harmful to Christian liberty or the faith, there is a connection of the pastoral office with the magisterial of course. But they are not the same.

Obedience of the lawful command, and consideration of the pastor, but not blind subservience to any order or surrender to a corrupt hierarch: He walks a fine line, but a fair one.

I once attended mass at my parish, Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River. This was in 2002, in the wake of the Priest sexual abuse scandal of '02. He voiced in his homily that we should try to "dialogue" with Voice of the Faithful and listen to what they had to say. He said this even though his own Bishop had refused VOTF permission to use any Diocesian facilities for their meetings. Such gentile disobedience seems to characterize American Catholics too often. Surely, the opposite may be true, as well. There are Catholics that far too easily obey every dictate that any priest or Bishop utters. I've heard far too many willing to put the scandal behind them as a "media invention" simply because certain Bishops identified it as such.

Joshua K.'s analysis deserves a full exploration. Check it out.

Update: Welcome Curt Jester readers! Make yourself at home! Thanks for the link, Jester. This Holy Fool appreciates it!