Those of us fully committed to our Church do sometimes fall into the habit of blaming anyone ( the people in the pews, Protestants, the ‘wrong’ type church leaders) and everyone (the secular culture, humanism) except ourselves for the problems we see. Three of the failures I see in our Church–and I could name others–are (1) a lack of hospitality and welcome in many parishes, so that newcomers find it difficult to feel they belong, (2) a lack of life-long catechesis and (3) parishioners who have no idea what their true abilities and gifts are and where and how to put them to good use to spread the Good News and build up the Church.

Several years ago, Archbishop Wilton Gregory had the foresight to begin an in-depth planning process in our Archdiocese that called on the wisdom and experience of all the clergy and a large cross-section of the laity. The research and self-study over three years resulted in some major changes about how to be the Church in Atlanta. We see this as the beginning of new directions, which it will take all of us to implement: clergy, laity, parish staffs, Archdiocesan ministries and staff and the people in the pews. We are not basking in any rosy glow either, as it will be a long march with lots of prayer and hard work along the way to re-form ourselves more closely to the to the will of Christ.

I am full of hope.

Over the years I have interpreted that much of the changes of Vatican II were designed to be appealing to Protestants. I’m sure that many Catholics came to the conclusion “why should I settle for ‘Protestant lite’ when I can get ‘the real thing’?”

This is the same problem that Coca Cola had when they tried to make Coke appealing to Pepsi drinkers and developed “New Coke”. It was a colossal failure. People who loved Coke stopped drinking it, and Pepsi drinkers stuck with Pepsi. It was a colossal failure.

Coke re-marketed “Old Coke” as Coke Classic and it took off better than before. I’m hoping with Summorum Pontificum that people are being marketed “Catholicism Classic” which many of them have never tried. There are many who might like the taste and stick with it.

My understanding of ecumenism is not to adopt the innovations of our Protestant brothers for the sake of doing so (or for the sake of filling the pews). We should adopt Protestant innovations because the Holy Spirit guides us to do so since all of us have a portion of the Truth (just some more than others). And I believe the Catholic Church has the most — or I wouldn’t be Catholic.

If this makes me unwelcome here, I’m sorry.

I see evidence with explosions of vocations in religious orders such as The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist (who recently were interviewed on Oprah), and in the explosion of seminarians in orthodox dioceses such as Lincoln Nebraska.

I love my Lord, and will worship him in the way my Church sees fit whether it suits my tastes or not, realizing that even if the priest is vested in a clown suit, that Jesus is real and present in the eucharistic species if ordained hands, valid matter, intent and the words of consecration are present.

Our Church’s job is to teach the truth. This truth is exemplified in the Word of God, the actions of the priest who stands Alter Christus, and how we go forth to bring the love of Christ to the world. The Church’s job is not to sink to the least common denominator to maximize butts in the pews or dollars in the collection plate. People are hungering for the sacred, and if you give it to them, in the worlds of “Field of Dreams”, they will come.

Also, I’m discerning a vocation to the Permanent Diaconate, and have completed the first of my first seven required courses, oddly enough, “The Theology of Vatican II”

I am full of hope.

Thankfully, as many missional theologians have pointed out, (cf. Lesslie Newbigin), the end of the prominence of Christianity in the West in the form of Christendom does not mean the end of Christianity per se. Instead, in light of these cultural shifts, Christians have a greater opportunity for lifting up a faithful witness to the Gospel.

To be disenfranchised from the cultural mainstream carries disadvantages, but many of those are trumped by the big advantage of no longer having to operate within the confines of Western power structures. Consider the first millennium of the Church’s history. The Church struggled yet survived during its first few centuries under much more hostile cultural conditions than the modern West. Few would define the peace of Constantine as an unqualified win for Christianity. The opportunities for the flourishing of the faith under Constantine brought with it many dilemmas, both dogmatic and pastoral. Cultural ascendency is not what it’s cracked up to be.

Additionally, as Christians, we have good reason to remain hopeful because of the continued growth of the faith among the poor and disenfranchised of the developing world. There, Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism give voice to people who yearn for justice, freedom and supernatural power that they find in Christ. I think that the sacramentalism (overt in the case of Roman Catholicism, and de facto, yet obscured, in Pentecostalism) and the “spiritual realism” (what we would call “naivete” or “superstition” in the West) of the people of the developing world is something that can be brought back into Western Christianity. I don’t think that the deconstruction of symbol and the hermeneutics of suspicion have done very much for the Church in the West except make some feel rather impressed with their own “cultivated” values.

To put these rambling thoughts together, and to relate them to matters liturgical, I am hopeful because all these tumults and crises will bring the Church (particularly in the West) back to the roots of its faith as expressed in worship. I am hopeful that this will inspire beautiful liturgies that humbly look for God to manifest His power in healing, justice and transformed lives (lest we hold to an outward form of godliness, yet deny its power). Yes, despite dwindling numbers and diminishing “cultural relevance,” I still believe that Christians have good reason to be hopeful and to express that hope in well-celebrated liturgies.

I wish I could share your optimism. Perhaps it is an imperfection of my faith that prohibits me from doing so. College students eventually move on; they get jobs, marry, settle down in communities and their idealism gives way to practical considerations. What I know is what I see: my wife and I seem to be the only ones on my block to attend church on a Sunday morning; none of my children, nieces and nephews (most have college degrees), attend church regularly. Yes, grace is said before a family Thanksgiving or Easter meal, but I suspect that is mostly in deference to the aging matriarch of the family. At least here in the urban East, “post-Christian” defines a societal reality.

I’m not intending to bash Protestants. Protestants are my brothers and sisters in Christ and on the whole are good people. Protestant churches are essentially good things. In some areas I think Protestants have strengths we Catholics need to learn from. The lack of unity among Christians is “bad.”

Protestantism, in all of its variations, teaches a few doctrines that are very different from the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, I believe that Protestantism is in error. If stating outright that I think all Protestant churches teach error is too uncumenical for a blog post about difficulties in the Catholic Church then I think you prove my point.

I do think that a significant fraction of American Catholics think about the Church and particular doctrines and disciplines in ways that implicitly adopt the Protestant errors (not all of which are identical in every Protestant church): rejection of the authority of the Church, individual interpretation of the Bible, the Bible as the final authority, and an individualistic understanding of Church and salvation.

My point is that to the extent we have adopted a form of worship that looks very Protestant, have discarded Catholic devotions, and have allowed the laity to become comfortable thinking about the Church in a Protestant manner, we shouldn’t be the least bit surprised if we follow the trajectory of the Protestant Churches. Which Steinfels describes: “Protestants who formed that culture are going the way of the dodo bird. …Protestants’ capacity for self-destruction, especially the Mainline, is enormous.”

The interaction between Catholicism and Protestantism during the past 4 centuries in North America has had positive and negative aspects. Yes, as Steinfels states there has been an aspect that in the most recent 100 years the overall religiosity of the American populace has insulated the Catholic population from some of the ravages of secularism as opposed to the fate of the Church in Europe. On the other hand there have certainly been negative aspects for Catholics living in a culture dominated by Protestant ideology.

It’s curious that when society/Church/empire was perceived to be going somewhere in a handbasket, some early Christians centered on purifying themselves, went off to the desert, and there found the inspiration that gave us monasticism. What the self-styled orthodox offer in comparison is like an out-of-tune guitar compared to an orchestra.

I’m very fortunate to work with college students. Along with our parishioners from the university community I see faith growing, faith in action, faith struggled with, and the Holy Spirit at work. I can’[t imagine a richer, more pregnant time to be Catholic.

I can’t figure out despair, except that perhaps some of my colleagues or brothers and sisters in belief have gotten a little too self-absorbed. And as for the hermeneutic of obstruction, it helps to have a sense of humor.

*Small Church getting smaller

I do realize that inertia is powerful, and that may be the biggest reason many people remain Catholic, and maybe it will be enough for them to ride out the “reform of the reform.” And maybe it will carry on through the next generation of poorly catechized, secular Catholics as well. My guess is that it won’t, that younger people today are less likely than previous generations to stick with a religion out of the inertia of family tradition. Which BTW is another Protestant trend that Catholics seem likely to follow – church shopping.