En engelsk katolsk sognepreest, Fr. Ray Blake, skriver om hva som skjer i Kirken for tiden. At det stadig blir tydeligere hvem som motsetter seg pave Benedikts reformplaner, som riktignok gjennomføres langsomt og forsiktig, gjennom pavens eksempel og undervisning, men som likevel har en tdelig retning:
So the SSPX are likely to be in soon. Already the Ordinariate is beginning to thrive in the States, and once they are given a church or two here that might happen in England and Wales – though they are doing pretty well using Spanish Place as their «Cathedral». Those with a Catholic «sense» are given courage to live out their faith. The liberation Summorum Pontificum gave the Traditional usage is slowly making an in road into the Church and parish life. Seminaries are gradually becoming more Catholic, even if they are not, they are turning out young priests who want authentic Catholicism.
and yet; Those American nuns who have «moved beyond Jesus» are likely to be out, at least as an organisation but there very presence shows how deep the rot goes. Dissident Irish priests have been silenced but in Ireland dissidence seems to be the new orthodoxy. In Austria there is open disobedience and rather dubious decisions made by some of the hierarchy. In the US the Bishops are fighting off the government and perhaps wondering whether they have much backing from the ordinary Catholic in the pew.…. Seven years ago many were expecting a «rottweiler» Pope, who would clear up doctrinal error, boot out heretical bishops, cleanse the Curia, clamp-down on liturgical abuses and theological errors and those peddling them. Instead we have had a Pope who teaches. His teaching however is constantly radical, a continual call out of the confused disunity of darkness into the light of Christ. Yet he is criticised for not using his authority to clean up the Church. How often does one hear amongst Roman dicastery officials the criticism, «he reigns but does not rule»?
What we have in the Church is increased division, and it is the Pope himself who is the source of division. There is an increased seperation between those who gather with Peter and those who don’t. …
Cardinal Koch recently said: «A widespread criticism holds that the pope is not concerned» about the church as a whole but is focused on a small portion of his flock and «is content with that». «The only thing that is true in this criticism is that, in reality, the pope is convinced that the true renewal of the church cannot begin with the masses, but only with small movements» inspired by the Holy Spirit and acting as leaven for the rest of the church, the cardinal said.
Paven har vist seg som en god leder, og kritikken som går på at han ikke har styring i Kirken, er sterkt overdrevet.
Fornyelsen som paven er så opptatt av, er virktig i våre dager, men hadde han gått raskere frem, ville dette kunne ha hatt en motsatt, og skadelig effekt. Det er den lange perioden, med store utglidninger, etter VC II, som Kirken i dag må ta tak i, og som blir den store utfordring også for de kommende paver.
En leser sendte meg nettopp en e-post med følgende innhold: «Som ikke–katolikk er det med stor undring at jeg leser at du gjengir et innlegg fra en katolsk prest på din blogg i dag. Han taler bl.a. om ”rot” når de amerikanske nonner kommenteres. Jeg legger ved en meget interessant artikkel fra The New Yorker som forklarer hva som kan være disse nonnenes forseelser http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/closeread/2012/04/nuns-and-bishops.html
Jeg må innrømme at jeg naturligvis ikke har særlig kunnskap om hva de amerikanske nonnene har gjort, men du ser vel at du har et ansvar når du siterer andre på bloggen.»
Jeg ville ikke valgt å bruk dette ordet selv, men det er en godt voksen, seriøs og ærverdig engelsk, katolsk sogneprest jeg har sitert, så jeg vurderte ikke å skjære bort noen ord – slik jeg av og til gjør.