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Posted: April 13th, 2007 at 2:12am By: Kevin Considine
The Catholic Church, and Christianity in general, has a problem.
Maybe that's stating the obvious. For we all know that in reality the church has many problems. But there is one in particular that has become pressing in recent years: the polarization of the church.
In the past few decades two main camps have emerged with competing interpretations of the Second Vatican Council. Each camp has authentic theological claims, but each embraces tradition, scripture, culture and experience as its sources for doing theology in very different ways.
For example, each side has a distinct outlook on how much of a role to give human experience and culture, how to interpret the Bible and tradition, what should be the relationship between the church and the world, and what the nature of truth looks like. And these differing theological understandings have led to great tension on pastoral issues, such as what the liturgy should look like, who should conduct the church's official ministry, and how ministry should be done.
These sides have been variously described as conservatives and liberals, traditionalists and progressives, or neo-orthodox and radicals. That is, among other pet names that can't be mentioned in public. There are many moderates and others who don't fit into either category, yet the divide between these two groups has so dominated church life that it has set the terms for how we understand the church. And the tension between them has grown to the point where it's difficult to get both sides together in the same room.
So it was out of concern for this growing split in the church that Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the former archbishop of Chicago, instituted the Catholic Common Ground Project in 1994. Cardinal Bernardin was known as a consensus-builder among the American bishops, and in the twilight of his life he made it one of his primary concerns to try to bring together both sides of the divide.
In doing so, Cardinal Bernardin was not primarily interested in intellectual differences. Instead, he was more concerned about the effects of these differences upon the everyday life of the church.
And, like today, the church's concerns were numerous. Among others, he pointed to: a decrease in financial resources, a dwindling number of priests, a growing gap between church teaching and the convictions of the faithful, a disputed role for the church in politics and social justice, the survival of Catholic schools, healthcare and social services, the question of women in leadership, the necessity of religious education, and the continued ability of the church to remain relevant to diverse cultures.
As church leaders, theologians, ministers and laypeople became mired in ideological struggles, the cardinal saw that the work and well-being of the church were suffering. He remarked in the speech that announced the project: "I have been troubled that an increasing polarization within the church, and, at times, a mean-spiritedness, have hindered the kind of dialogue that helps us address our mission and concerns. ... As a result, the unity of the Church is threatened, the great gift of the Second Vatican Council is in danger of being seriously undermined, the faithful members of the Church are weary, and our witness to government, society and culture is compromised."
That was his diagnosis of the problem and the problem wasn't pretty. But his solution was simple, if not easy: to bring together representatives from all parts of the church to build Catholic unity and to find concrete ideas for answering the contemporary problems of the church.
It wasn't a foolproof idea, but for the Catholic Common Ground Project to work, everyone didn't have to agree. The cardinal merely asked that everyone come to a common table for discussion. In this way he hoped that commonalities would be strengthened while remaining accountable to the Catholic tradition, the work of the Holy Spirit and the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
The response, however, was not what he expected. No sooner had he announced Common Ground then the prelates in Boston, Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia publicly released strong objections. They objected that Cardinal Bernardin's initiative would in effect disregard truth for the sake of dialogue and dissent. They interpreted Common Ground as questioning the church's teaching authority and not adequately accounting for revelation.
In short, they said thanks but no thanks. And Cardinal Bernardin was deeply hurt by this unexpected criticism and the lack of support from his fellow cardinals. After the smoke cleared, the result was that Common Ground was born but had its growth immediately stunted. And Cardinal Bernardin, who initiated the project, succumbed to cancer three months later and entrusted Common Ground to the hands of others to carry on.
It is in his past leadership and in the past and present actions of those who carry on the work of Common Ground that we can find hope. For Bernardin gave a hopeful yet challenging vision for this project in the initial document, "Called to be Catholic; Church in a Time of Peril." He wrote: "It is imperative that the Catholic Church in the United States confront the issues and forces that are shaping the future. For this, we must draw on all the gifts of wisdom and understanding in the church, all the charisms of leadership and communion. Each of us will be tested by encounters with cultures and viewpoints not our own; all of us will be refined in the fires of genuine engagement; and the whole church will be strengthened for its mission in the new millennium."
As the cardinal's leadership shows us, finding common ground isn't easy. It demands hard work, the likelihood of miscommunication and a calm acceptance of an uncertain outcome.
But working for unity is demanded by the earliest marks of the church: To be one, holy, catholic and apostolic. And we should take look at Joseph Cardinal Bernardin as our example to say that once again it's time to work for common ground.
(For more information on the current workings of Catholic Common Ground, see http://www.nplc.org/commonground.htm.)
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently, he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine
Permalink
The Catholic Church, and Christianity in general, has a problem.
Maybe that's stating the obvious. For we all know that in reality the church has many problems. But there is one in particular that has become pressing in recent years: the polarization of the church.
In the past few decades two main camps have emerged with competing interpretations of the Second Vatican Council. Each camp has authentic theological claims, but each embraces tradition, scripture, culture and experience as its sources for doing theology in very different ways.
For example, each side has a distinct outlook on how much of a role to give human experience and culture, how to interpret the Bible and tradition, what should be the relationship between the church and the world, and what the nature of truth looks like. And these differing theological understandings have led to great tension on pastoral issues, such as what the liturgy should look like, who should conduct the church's official ministry, and how ministry should be done.
These sides have been variously described as conservatives and liberals, traditionalists and progressives, or neo-orthodox and radicals. That is, among other pet names that can't be mentioned in public. There are many moderates and others who don't fit into either category, yet the divide between these two groups has so dominated church life that it has set the terms for how we understand the church. And the tension between them has grown to the point where it's difficult to get both sides together in the same room.
So it was out of concern for this growing split in the church that Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the former archbishop of Chicago, instituted the Catholic Common Ground Project in 1994. Cardinal Bernardin was known as a consensus-builder among the American bishops, and in the twilight of his life he made it one of his primary concerns to try to bring together both sides of the divide.
In doing so, Cardinal Bernardin was not primarily interested in intellectual differences. Instead, he was more concerned about the effects of these differences upon the everyday life of the church.
And, like today, the church's concerns were numerous. Among others, he pointed to: a decrease in financial resources, a dwindling number of priests, a growing gap between church teaching and the convictions of the faithful, a disputed role for the church in politics and social justice, the survival of Catholic schools, healthcare and social services, the question of women in leadership, the necessity of religious education, and the continued ability of the church to remain relevant to diverse cultures.
As church leaders, theologians, ministers and laypeople became mired in ideological struggles, the cardinal saw that the work and well-being of the church were suffering. He remarked in the speech that announced the project: "I have been troubled that an increasing polarization within the church, and, at times, a mean-spiritedness, have hindered the kind of dialogue that helps us address our mission and concerns. ... As a result, the unity of the Church is threatened, the great gift of the Second Vatican Council is in danger of being seriously undermined, the faithful members of the Church are weary, and our witness to government, society and culture is compromised."
That was his diagnosis of the problem and the problem wasn't pretty. But his solution was simple, if not easy: to bring together representatives from all parts of the church to build Catholic unity and to find concrete ideas for answering the contemporary problems of the church.
It wasn't a foolproof idea, but for the Catholic Common Ground Project to work, everyone didn't have to agree. The cardinal merely asked that everyone come to a common table for discussion. In this way he hoped that commonalities would be strengthened while remaining accountable to the Catholic tradition, the work of the Holy Spirit and the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
The response, however, was not what he expected. No sooner had he announced Common Ground then the prelates in Boston, Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia publicly released strong objections. They objected that Cardinal Bernardin's initiative would in effect disregard truth for the sake of dialogue and dissent. They interpreted Common Ground as questioning the church's teaching authority and not adequately accounting for revelation.
In short, they said thanks but no thanks. And Cardinal Bernardin was deeply hurt by this unexpected criticism and the lack of support from his fellow cardinals. After the smoke cleared, the result was that Common Ground was born but had its growth immediately stunted. And Cardinal Bernardin, who initiated the project, succumbed to cancer three months later and entrusted Common Ground to the hands of others to carry on.
It is in his past leadership and in the past and present actions of those who carry on the work of Common Ground that we can find hope. For Bernardin gave a hopeful yet challenging vision for this project in the initial document, "Called to be Catholic; Church in a Time of Peril." He wrote: "It is imperative that the Catholic Church in the United States confront the issues and forces that are shaping the future. For this, we must draw on all the gifts of wisdom and understanding in the church, all the charisms of leadership and communion. Each of us will be tested by encounters with cultures and viewpoints not our own; all of us will be refined in the fires of genuine engagement; and the whole church will be strengthened for its mission in the new millennium."
As the cardinal's leadership shows us, finding common ground isn't easy. It demands hard work, the likelihood of miscommunication and a calm acceptance of an uncertain outcome.
But working for unity is demanded by the earliest marks of the church: To be one, holy, catholic and apostolic. And we should take look at Joseph Cardinal Bernardin as our example to say that once again it's time to work for common ground.
(For more information on the current workings of Catholic Common Ground, see http://www.nplc.org/commonground.htm.)
— — —
Kevin Considine is a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Recently, he was married to a most wonderful woman who keeps him in line and reads his columns to see if they make sense. He and his wife live on the South Side of Chicago. He welcomes comments, feedback or fits of anger and can be reached at {email considkp@yahoo.com}considkp@yahoo.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Kevin Considine
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