gadly

Why is it that there are no groups who advocate for changes in discipline and at the same time do not advocate for changes in moral theology or Church dogma?  For example, where are the advocacy groups who simply want a married priesthood?  Instead, you get groups who advocate for the married priesthood, women priestesses, gay marriage, artficial birth control, abortion etc. etc.  I would have more sympathy for a group of women who argued for women priests on theological grounds while at the same time not attacking the moral underpinnings of the Church.  Until I see responsible discussions on these types of disciplinary issues, I am always suspicious of those who advocate for change in the Church.  Why stay “Catholic” if you disagree so vehemently with the Church?  Is it because you truly feel that the Catholic Church is ‘the’ Church? If so, you are living a contradiction – where God protected His Church only to have you ‘reform’ it.  Or is it because you see the Church as a giant opportunity for change.  And isn’t it so much more fun being a gadfly than a person of principle?

Peter

I’ve been thinking of what it means to be in union with St. Peter.  In the New Testament, especially in the Gospels, Peter is presented as the most prominent Apostle.  That is until some guy named Saul is struck blind.  From that moment, Peter seems to fade.  Paul’s influence seems much greater.  He did write the majority of the books of the New Testament after all. 

 

Even as a kid I remember thinking that Peter got the short shift.  And as a Protestant, I often felt almost guilty for ceding to Paul such influence . . . .  I know, strange, huh?  Yet as a Catholic, I’ve come into communion with St. Peter, the rock.  I can see more plainly now that whereas Paul has his place as a prolific and influential apostle, Peter’s promise was never about a book. It was the Church.  It is only in the Church, the Catholic Church, where Peter finds his proper expression. 

RCIA

I’m coming to the end of my time in RCIA. I would like to say that it has been a great experience. Other than the people I’ve come to know, however, I very humbly need to say that it has been somewhat of a letdown. So what are the problems I saw? Well, first of all, from what I understand, the RCIA process can be very formal. Our program was definitely not formal. There were no dismissals at Mass, for example. Also, the teaching of the material was simply not up to an acceptable level. Often we just read the little hand-outs given to us by the teachers. Read through them, and that’s it. Often discussions went way off topic and the class simply devolved into “I think this. . .” and “No, I think that. . .” Not once did I hear contraception mentioned. I once heard, “I think there should be women priests.” Yet it wasn’t addressed immediately by the teachers (I did speak up, however). Often I was made to feel like I was a problem student. My belief in the inerrancy of scripture was made light of, for example(I’m not a strict inerrantist, however – I believe it teaches inerrantly in those areas it’s meant to teach inerrantly in). I once was in a heated discussion with the teacher. It was a very uncomfortable situation, but I couldn’t take the insanity any longer.

 

So what have I done about this? Well, firstly I have volunteered to join the Education Committee. I hope that I can be an influence for the good. I would appreciate any other suggestions also. For example, could someone tell me what a proper RCIA program should look like?