Comments for The Part and the Whole at http://www.thecatholicthing.org , comment 1 to 15 out of 15 comments http://www.thecatholicthing.org Sat, 25 May 2013 21:38:06 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2594 With the returning health of the Catholic bishops, we can still expect good things from the Church in America. There are still too many compliant bishops who sincerely want to get along with everyone. But the newer bishops seem to have a spine, and Faith. With more of them, they'll find the way forward. But the question I ask of a friend from time to time is, "will there be anything left upon which to build when this generation of bad bishops has gone?" I trust so. - Dennis Larkin Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:50:30 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2565 Well done. One problem that prevents our bishops from forming a meta-society is the existence of huge diocesan bureaucracies which they must adminisiter. In this sense they mirror the late empire or the Obama admin. In these bureaucracies, there is much federal money and much left-liberal advocacy. Do the research. The USCCB is, of course, in the same modality. Much of the Catholic bureaucracy is essentially a proxy for the state - the bishops are tied to it. W Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:53:03 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2553 Did Bp. Bruskewitz have good reasons not to sign the charter? Do you know what those reasons are? All but a very small handful of American bishops have signed onto the USCCB's project to suppress holydays of obligation in this country. Is that small handful not to be "entrusted with our family' instruction in the faith"? - Richard Sat, 15 Aug 2009 08:02:28 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2551 We need this type of leadership from the bishops INTENSELY. This is being provided here and there by stalwart Archbishops, but there seems to be no effort to set a "national" position in place, nor to instruct the faithful on the elements of the Faith that are under attack. Right on! - James Stagg Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:26:30 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2550 Even a bad Catholic is likely to recognize Obama's invaluable worth as a person, but to tolerate the insanity and corruption of the principles he propigates is suicide. Thanks for the wonderful article! - Achilles Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:26:02 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2549 As the mother of two young children, I would not entrust our family's instruction in the faith to Bishop Bruskewitz, who was the only US bishop who refused to sign the USCCB's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. - Miriam Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:25:20 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2548 Good idea! I wish I were a venture capitalist, in which case I'd fund your program in a heartbeat. -Brad - Brad Miner Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:09:15 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2547 I have a plan. Enlist solid Catholic theologians and catechists. Together with bishops like Chaput, Dolan, and Bruskewitiz, create a two-year teaching program which incorporates evangelization and catechetics. Break it into 72 20-min. homilies, employing the most dynamic homilists in the nation. Film each homily and distribute them to every diocese in N. America. At homily time, parishes will show segments for three weeks each month. This is an unusual, but very necessary, stopgap measure. - Donna Procher Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:03:17 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2546 This is the very heart of the solution. When we learn what marriage means, the beauty of human sexuality, the love of God who shares everything with us, our final destination; when we are properly catechised, and our hearts burn with love and gratitude for the gift of life, we are a people truly alive and our joy is infectious. It is then that we speak up for all that is lovely and true. Thank you so much for this piece. Blessings - Rene - Mrs. Rene O'Riordan Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:46:43 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2545 The US church has irrevocably changed. Catholics remain a minority, but the immigrant, pre-Vatican II Church of 50 years ago is now successfully integrated into politics/society (look at the Supreme Court!). In this context, US bishops would do well to contemplate the example of our Holy Father: he met with Obama publicly, accorded him a measure of respect (both as President and as a human being), and at the same time advocated forcefully for the Truth. Suaviter et fortiter. - Bradley Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:12:54 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2540 Thank you, Father Bramwell. You have reminded us of the literal meaning of "Catholic," which is "according to the whole" from the Greek "kata holos." The bishops should ask all those in leadership positions of all Catholic institutions how they are communicating that the fullness of the means of salvation objectively subsists in the Catholic Church alone. Each bishop should regularly incorporate the same message in his own homilies and communications, especially at Confirmations. - Martin Dybicz Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:27:08 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2541 Thank you for a wonderful article to the point. The Church must look inward as to the way it is teaching the TRUTH and then steadfastly teach ordinary people like me sitting in the pew. The homilies we hear are so weak. No wonder young people leave the Church. We must start with Ten Commandments. Does anybody ever think of them in their every day life? Our Church must be strong in the face of socialism prevading all phases of our life from a Godless administration. - Virginia Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:35:27 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2539 This essay makes two points that deserve further elucidation. First is the fact that many of us today, both inside and outside Catholicism, perceive the Church as just one more political organization which happens to be in many respects regressive. Second is the insight that President Obama and his leadership team are attempting nothing less than a cultural transformation of the country. This, of course, is a dangerous thing to do, the costs of which are unpredictable. - John McCarthy Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:49:40 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2538 A great article presented with compelling clarity. I agree we need a Church that can be a meta-society as it was in the past, whereby discussion of Christian truths was part of daily discussion. Perhaps the episcopacy is partly responsible for the present quandary by its long standing reticence on matters of faith, but those days of a meta -society have been swallowed up in relativism and denial of Absolutes, thus allowing for others to give us a "change you can believe in." We are also to blame. - Willie Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:49:10 +0100 http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2009/the-part-and-the-whole.html#comment-2537 How will this occur when modernism and liberalism are supported by the media? Catholic Churches no longer instruct their people about what the Church teaches. We have become sheeple in the hands of an authoritarian elite based on pure secularism. Where are the Augustine's or the other brave Bishops who face crumbling empires and rising dictators? - Fr Tim Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:48:32 +0100