When Reform is Constrained by Clericalism

and Latin ecclesiology, one gets articles like these...

In the Catholic Church, no enduring reform can happen without a purified commitment to the gospel on the part of the clergy.https://t.co/stxN75Eyej

— First Things (@firstthingsmag) August 5, 2021

As the Benedictine scholar Jean Leclercq once said, “there [can] be no reform of the Church without reform of the Christian.”https://t.co/stxN75Eyej

— First Things (@firstthingsmag) August 4, 2021

The challenge of Traditionis custodes is the enduring challenge of ordinary Catholics to stand for the pope’s authority even when they behold the man as corrupt, politicized, or simply misguided.https://t.co/IfL5OuzKcJ

— Crisis Magazine (@CrisisMag) August 5, 2021

More Talks Will Reform the Latin Churches?

Clerics still not grasping the problems besetting them.

FEATURE: #Cardinal #Ouellet to Exaudi: For Priests, a Spirituality of Fatherhood Is Fundamental

Reflects on What Is Necessary Amid Current Challengeshttps://t.co/h6fVCG4JYW

— Deborah Castellano Lubov (@DeborahLubov) April 12, 2021

Vatican Summit on ‘Theology of the Priesthood’ Will Look at Questions Raised in Recent Synods https://t.co/FjwFJeN9CF

— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) April 12, 2021

What Sort of Communitarianism?

CWR: Finding the path to renewal in the Church: An interview with Brandon McGinley by Paul Senz

“We have everything we need to renew the Church and the world,” says the author of The Prodigal Church, “but we just don’t recognize it because we’ve been so well-catechized by secularism.”

McGinley: "But at the same time, we can say that tight-knit networks of families have been essential to the Church’s flourishing through time, and then try to figure out what that looks like in the circumstances of our society and each family. We can say that a confident sacramentality in parish life sustains communities, and then discern how that works in a new, shrinking spiritual geography. And so on."

Who decides upon sanctions and enforces them?

Not Convincing

A remember on ecclesial service and appointments—we’re not a corporation, and we don’t do national searches for leadership roles. We have a pool of men available for positions and we try to choose the best one. Is he fully prepared? Who knows? Yet, God seems to bless nonetheless.

— Fr. Thomas Petri, OP (@PetriOP) February 14, 2021

Are the institutional practices ensuring that the pool is a good one to begin with? And if not, what can be done to solve that?

Weak Response, Weak Pastoral Advice?

What Should We Do About The Great Reset? | Fr. Michael Gillis speaks on the Great Reset and the loss of religious freedom and what Christians should do about it. https://t.co/oUT3CXH5v2 pic.twitter.com/iccrM5txPc

— Pravmir.com (@Pravmir_English) February 3, 2021

St. Sophrony then goes on to quote the Sermon on the Mount to illustrate what “a life where first place is given to Christ” looks like. Particularly what caught my attention are Jesus’s words, “do not resist evil” or “an evil person.” What a radical response. You are slapped on the left cheek and what does Jesus tell you to do? Turn the other cheek. Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Jesus tells us to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us.

Again, passivism as pacifism?

But if this world is not our home. If we are but salt and light, sojourners in a strange land, then we will adjust. We will find a way. We will carry on, looking for a City whose foundations and builder is God.

Eastern clericalism and gerondism leads to an other-worldly attitude masquerading as Christianity?

The Consequences of Can. 747 §2

What is the difference between a command written in the indicative and one written as an imperative? None, in effect.

Our world and country are suffering. I encourage everyone, when your time comes and you are invited to get vaccinated, to do so. As @pontifex has said, we need to do it for the common good; we have a moral obligation to our neighbors, co-workers, friends and family.

— Cardinal Cupich (@CardinalBCupich) January 26, 2021

Getting this vaccine is by definition a personal prudential judgment. Virtually everyone has a different risk assessment. No bishop has access to all that private information. https://t.co/W3788hgBo0

— Jay W. Richards (@DrJayRichards) January 26, 2021

Let the Calls for Silencing Speech in the Name of Orthodoxy and Charity Begin

Meanwhile, the real reasons for vocal opposition remain unaddressed. This is the failure of the institutional Church and of the Roman Catholic version of Churchianity.

A Syllabus of Internet Theology Errors
by Luke Arredondo and Jordan Haddadhttps://t.co/Fv36P8kuMU

— Church Life Journal (@ChurchLifeND) January 22, 2021

Ecclesial Reform Requires the Participation of Laymen in Ecclesial Life

Meador's review highlights one of the main problems with McGinley's book about reform. If Roman Catholic men are expected to "sacrifice" while being part of an institutional life that is completely foreign to anything they are as men because it is so feminized, why would they bother?
What they need is not only a masculine asceticism that is relevant to them (and not monastics), an asceticism that is subordinated to their living out their duties to (and love of) family and of the tribe, but they need to be appreciated as men within the Church, which is not happening thanks to feminism, cultural misandry, and clericalism. Nor are they being appreciated when the institutional Church embraces a feminized worship with female ministers in addition to the male clerics. Women can survive with a worship that is more reason-centered (but doesn't neglect the emotions; rather the emotions serve reason) -- in fact, I bet they do better with a more "male" form of worship. But men cannot thrive at all with a form of worship that caters to emotions and sentimentalism.

In which, while replying to @brandonmcg's book, I wonder if America is in some ways like Endo's Japan in its relationship to Christianity: https://t.co/J1Y7PYj8dL

— Jake Meador (@jake_meador) January 15, 2021

A Thought on Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia will not be restored until the patriarch of Constatinople repents. while it may be necessaru for a council to recognize his renunciation of the status given to Constantinople, nothing prevents him from renouncing it and acting accordingly.

Autocephaly for national churches is an inadequate universal solution which respect to nation-states, as it will tend to reinforce and serve secular nationalism. A locus of churches in a city can be represented in council, but the Church should be moored primarily in a local political reality.

Should These Be Clerical Initiatives?

Do they need clerical approval or endorsement?

Watch “The Face of God: The Orthodox Church on Climate Change” on #Vimeo https://t.co/61yT1heR3u

— Father Philip (@FrPhilip) January 14, 2021

The Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations will host the next two webinars of the Greening the Parish series#orthodox_times https://t.co/Gs82ZbkclL

— Orthodox Times (@orthodox_times) January 13, 2021

Pastoral Conversion Advent Conference

More talk without the necessary understanding of the problem?

Dec 6-10 Join missionary disciples facing the question of how we can transform our parishes. Register here: https://t.co/RhqieERDW0 pic.twitter.com/gd4PiZ49EE

— Fr. Nicholas Vaskov (@frvaskov) December 3, 2020

website

Weigel on Clericalism

Who will protect the rights of presbyters when they get punished as whistle-blowers? Weigel takes a small step towards mutual accountability but can reason his way to a complete system which would protect individuals.

The clerical caste system must be confronted and uprooted as the Church purifies itself.https://t.co/VoCLfKidgx

— First Things (@firstthingsmag) November 20, 2020

First Things

The Election of Bishops

CWR Dispatch: The McCarrick Report and the choosing of bishops by Russell Shaw
If the Vatican has no problem allowing Chinese communists to have a central role in choosing bishops, what rational objection could it possibly have to letting faithful Catholics merely observe the process?

I am not proposing direct popular election of bishops, which would be a mistake in several ways.

It would be a mistake now as Roman Catholic churches are not ordered in such a way to allow that this be done well.

I only suggest that the clergy and people of a diocese have a role in proposing and vetting candidates as a routine part of the selection process. Besides helping to head off mistakes, doing so would encourage the emergence of supporting testimony on behalf of worthy individuals.

I would add: 1. No transferring of bishops. 2. No transferring of pastors without sufficient cause. Let communities know those who are put in leadership positions over them and be in a position to judge.
How Catholic parishes can be stable (and small) enough that members know those being recommended for ordination is a problem Roman Catholics need to be considering.

Papal Centralization Continues...

#PopeFrancis Requires Bishops to Have Vatican Permission for New Diocesan Religious Institutes | National Catholic Register https://t.co/OOjX4eputD @NCRegister

— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) November 4, 2020

#PopeFrancis has amended canon law to stipulate that diocesan bishops can erect new religious orders only with "the prior written permission of the Apostolic See."
Even local orders are part of the universal church, he says. pic.twitter.com/uJPuzquH0G

— Catholic News Service (@CatholicNewsSvc) November 4, 2020

This Is Not True Ecclesial Reform

Together with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we will establish a joint committee to study the current needs and dynamics of our Archdiocese and prepare the plan for our new Charter. Clergy and laity together will ensure that our next 100 years in America will be even more fruitful.

— Elpidophoros (@Elpidophoros) October 9, 2020

"We have just received a wonderful opportunity to rebuild the Church in America from the ground up," said Archbishop @Elpidophoros of America​#orthodox_times @goarch @EcuPatriarch

https://t.co/EchzbwxDbB

— Orthodox Times (@orthodox_times) October 9, 2020

Previous developments:

Constantinople suspends Metropolitan of Boston, transfers Metropolitan of New Jersey, suspends Archdiocesan charterhttps://t.co/dopJuzAp2d

On the third day of its current session yesterday, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople made several major decisions reg... pic.twitter.com/jmNJDL94zz

— Orthodox Christianity (@Orthodoxy2019) October 9, 2020

Statement from the Society for the Protection of Westminster Cathedral Choir

Looks like bad leadership is a prevalent problem in the patriarchate of Rome.

Damian Thompson thread

SPWCC website

From March 2020: The battle for the finest cathedral choir in the Catholic church by Damian Thompson

Today from Telegraph: Cardinal Nichols accepts recommendation that choristors will sing seven services a week

The Laity Rising Up?

New @holysmoke @spectator episode asks: Is it time for authentic Christianity to go underground, to protect itself from bishops in league with secularists? https://t.co/dFwoXLLioy via @spectator

— Damian Thompson (@holysmoke) September 24, 2020

@gavinashenden is totally correct when he says "the bureaucracy of the Church seemed to delight in the health and safety culture" well worth a listen to @holysmoke on https://t.co/VfTuajKVOx

— Edmund Patrick Adamus (@EdmundPAdamus) September 24, 2020

Another Program for A Prodigal Church

Let my hair down a little on this one (and since I haven’t gotten it cut during the pandemic, that’s not an idle image). Had a great time with the boys @ZacMabry and @heyitsmattbaker. https://t.co/IDnPG3wRBl

— Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) July 30, 2020

Urban Hannon Reviews The Prodigal Church

The publication of the book was announced in this post.

NLM



Related:

It was a pleasure to do the @CatholicPods show on The Prodigal Church. Listen here to our conversation about Fr. Ratzinger, the past & future of American Catholicism, the irascible appetite, the grace (and the geography) of community, and much more: https://t.co/1Ew8Ee4Xd1

— Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) July 28, 2020

In his book A Prodigal Son, Brandon McGinley calls for Catholics to return to the essence of the faith, rather than to a previous era of Catholic "success" — and so find ways to restore a robust and evangelical Catholic culture in the unknown years to comehttps://t.co/vrvTHEYHzB pic.twitter.com/yKAlfgnF9o

— Catholic Culture Podcasts (@CatholicPods) July 29, 2020

LISTEN LIVE NOW!! HERE https://t.co/5suxdoNos1 #AveMariaRadio author, and host of Catholic Connection @TeresaTomeo special guest
Brandon McGinley @brandonmcg “The Prodigal Church: Restoring Catholic Tradition in an Age of Deception” https://t.co/vdiTXMNNyF #Catholic #EWTN pic.twitter.com/bpXqF7n45m

— Teresa Tomeo (@TeresaTomeo) July 28, 2020

Archived

The Prodigal Church

Sophia Institute Press: The Prodigal Church: Restoring Catholic Tradition in an Age of Deception by Brandon McGinley

Here it is. https://t.co/968sKiBkDb pic.twitter.com/wmjpVVGFWK

— Brandon McGinley (@brandonmcg) June 2, 2020

The book may be of interest to Latins; I am curious as to whether the author will talk about liturgical praxis, in addition to dealing with liberalism and feminism both in the home and in an ecclesial setting. Does he address the man crisis in Latin churches?