Read the Whole Letter!

My former pastor and someone I consider to be my mentor, Bishop Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa, has published a wonderful pastoral letter for his diocese, Ecclesia Semper Reformanda (The Church must always be renewed). It is long as far as pastoral letters go but by no means difficult to read, either in content or length. Yet, with some exceptions, it seems the “bloggers” and their readers have a hard time reading anything in its entirety. Instead, they simply read other people’s articles with their catchy headlines and excerpts and feel free to write with magisterial authority on the content of the letter. Meanwhile, the articles that they comment on simply pull one paragraph out of the context of the whole letter and thereby misunderstand both the “part” and the “whole.” My fear is that the larger media will do one of two things: take the bloggers’ word for it on its content or ignore it altogether. Either option would be foolish.

My problem with this is that the bloggers, both “right” and “left,” have simply picked out something sensational in the letter, something that makes them feel good about their own positions or angry about the positions of others, without understanding what is argued throughout the letter. This makes the letter seem “conservative” and even extreme when it is neither.

For the true purpose of the letter, fully evident when read in its entirety, is similar to what Cardinal George has argued in his new book and an interview with National Catholic Reporter’s best columnist, John Allen. Namely, that we need to move beyond the liberal/conservative divide and labels as inadequate for the troubles facing the Church. Cardinal George argues for “simply Catholicism” which strives to keep together the two poles of identity and mission. The “conservatives”, like the St. Pius X Society, focus exclusively on Catholic identity and culture to the exclusion of evangelization and engagement with the world around them. They take a snap-shot of Catholic Culture, namely, the first half of the twentieth century, elevate the entire thing, small “t” traditions and all, to the level of dogma and bunker down into their ghetto. Meanwhile, the “liberals” engage with the world, adjusting the gospel to such an extent that there is no permanent deposit of faith received from Jesus and the apostles, and thus have nothing to offer the world. Neither approach will do.

Bishop Nickless has written a document that shows us the way forward beyond the current impasses. In it he argues that the Second Vatican Council is still the key to renewal, that we’re not done yet, that the on-going interpretation and implementation of the Council is the New Evangelization so often called for by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict. Thus, he argues that the Council is the “greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in centuries” and that misunderstandings based on a subjective “Spirit of Vatican II” must be purged if we are to do the work of the Lord in our day and age. He argues that the two poles listed above, identity and mission, belong together, both are necessary. He argues that we have to know who we are, what we believe and what we are about (Identity) so that we can engage the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mission) in dynamic and creative ways. In other words, as Catholics we are inherently “conservative” in our doctrine, because it comes from Jesus Christ, but pastorally “liberal” or “progressive” in our approach to the world. This is why neither label fits or is helpful in understanding where we are at in the history of the Church.

But don’t take my word for it! Read the whole letter! I highly encourage this for everyone, but especially students and parishioners of the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center. It can be found on the Diocese of Sioux City website: http://www.scdiocese.org/files/Pastoral_Letter_updated100809.pdf