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Catholics can indulge once again

15 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In Moses' time, we learn in this Sunday's reading from the Book of Leviticus, lepers were instructed to cry out, "Unclean, unclean!" Catholics who may feel "unclean of spirit" are being offered a different option these days: plenary indulgences, which are reportedly making a comeback in an increasing number of dioceses worldwide after having fallen out of favor decades ago. Like the Latin Mass and meatless Fridays, the indulgence was one of the traditions that faded from mainstream Catholic practice in the 1960s and 1970s in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Its revival is seen in some quarters as part of a conservative resurgence that has brought some quiet changes and some highly controversial ones, such as Pope Benedict XVI's recent decision to lift the excommunications of four schismatic bishops who challenged the council's reforms. The return of indulgences began with Pope John Paul II, who authorized bishops to offer them in 2000 as part of the celebration of the church's third millennium. But the offers have increased markedly under his successor Benedict XVI, who has made plenary indulgences part of church celebrations nine times in the past three years. According to the websites of a number of U.S. dioceses, Catholics can receive an indulgence by fulfilling the basic requirements of going to confession, receiving Holy Communion, saying a prayer for the pope, and achieving "complete detachment from any inclination to sin." Praying for others and performing acts of charity are also part of gaining an indulgence. But the return of this practice has raised questions, especially for Lutherans, whose churches were born in part from controversy over indulgences. "It has been something of a mystery to us as to why now," said Reverend Michael Root, dean of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. The renewal of indulgences, he said, has "not advanced" the dialogue. "Our main problem has always been the question of quantifying God's blessing," Root said. "Confessions have been down for years and the church is very worried about it," said Father Tom Reese, S.J., former editor of the Jesuit weekly America. In a secularized culture of pop psychology and self-help, Reese said, "the church wants the idea of 'personal sin' back in the equation. Indulgences are a way of reminding people of the importance of penance. "The good news is we're not selling them anymore," he added. Source: An article by Paul Vitello for the New York Times

Penance confession benedict xvi john paul ii plenary indulgences indulgences second vatican council michael root thomas reese

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Rereading the signs of the times

22 Jul 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

After Christ sent them out to preach and teach in his name, the apostles “gathered together with Jesus” to discuss “all they had done and taught,” this Sunday’s gospel relates.In 1962 successors to the apostles gathered in Rome from around the world and, after much discussion over several years, produced a fresh set of church teachings. Last Sunday Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholics to reread—or, for many, read for the first time—the documents of the Second Vatican Council, saying they "contain an enormous wealth for the formation of a new generation of Christians and for the formation of our consciences."Speaking at a Mass in Frascati, Italy near the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, Benedict said going back to the work produced by the council 50 years after it began was essential to the New Evangelization, which is how the pontiff has characterized the church’s mission in today’s world."Therefore, read it and read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and in this way rediscover the beauty of being Christians, of being church and living the great ‘we' that Jesus formed around himself in order to evangelize the world," said the pope. Source: A news bulletin by The Tablet (UK)

Vatican II benedict xvi second vatican council new evangelization

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Pope to St. Pius X Society: Piety must include fidelity

07 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In Sunday’s second reading, Alice Camille points out in "Exploring the Word," “Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, which makes us kin to him in the Spirit.” But the family-feeling is lost on some traditionalist Catholics who broke away from Rome over Vatican II reforms. They are not ready to reunite with their fellow Catholics, despite Pope Benedict XVI’s best efforts, observers have concluded.Two leaders of the breakaway Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) have recently rejected Benedict’s conditions for their rehabilitation after a series of contacts. SSPX head Bishop Bernard Fellay, whom church officials expect will send a formal reply to Rome soon, has not yet indicated the group's final position, but it is not expected to be positive.A formal or de facto SSPX rejection would be a setback for the pope, whose decision to lift excommunications on its four bishops in 2009 backfired when it emerged that one was a notorious Holocaust-denier, a fact of which the Vatican was unaware. “The SSPX has set conditions that are simply unacceptable to the pope,” Nicolas Seneze, a French expert on the Society, told Reuters. “Their discussions are now back at square one.”The Swiss-based SSPX separated from Roman Catholic Church in 1988 in protest against the 1960s reforms that replaced Latin with local languages at Mass, forged reconciliation with Jews, and acknowledged that other religions may also offer a path to salvation.In 2010 the Vatican launched closed-door theological discussions with the rebels aimed at an agreement that would make the SSPX a "personal prelature" or autonomous institution in the church similar to the conservative group Opus Dei. Benedict insisted they must declare the Vatican Council and church doctrine promulgated since then to be valid Catholic teaching. Denying that has been a core principle of SSPX beliefs from the start.Homily hint: This Sunday provides an opportunity to discuss how being “big-C Catholic” also includes a commitment to a “small-c catholiic” relationship to the rest of the world. Source: An article by Tom Heneghan for Reuters

Vatican II benedict xvi society of st pius x second vatican council sspx bernard fellay nicolas seneze

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Checking the church’s compass 50 years after the council

21 Oct 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council opened 50 years ago this past week, and Prepare the Word editor Joel Schorn suggests the anniversary offers “a good opportunity to go back and read the actual council documents.” Commentators point out that the meaning and implications of the council continue to be a source of debate among Catholics to this day.When Pope John XXIII called the council half a century ago, he said he wanted to “open the windows” of the church to respond to the rapid changes in the modern world. Within a few years, a number of dramatic changes indeed took effect affecting every area of church life, from liturgy to leadership to interfaith relations.Now, as the church marks the 50th anniversary of the council’s opening, some progressives are concerned to see the direction taken by current church leaders, with the Latin Mass being encouraged in some quarters, women altar servers discouraged, and obedience encouraged more often than collegial decision making. Some see a resurgence of pre-Vatican II customs as a betrayal of the council’s spirit. Others argue it corrects what they seem as excesses taken in applying the council’s teachings.The key to understanding this fault line may lie in understanding the thinking of Pope Benedict XVI, seen these days as an advocate of conservative renewal but as a reformer during the council. Today “he says the council was a good thing, but not a big turn in the road,” said Father John O’Malley, S.J., a historian at Georgetown University and author of What Happened At Vatican II.That’s not the way it felt at the time, historians point out. The council expressed the surging optimism of the early 1960s and attracted worldwide media attention. John XXIII’s call for aggiornamento, or “bringing up to date,” at the council was taken to heart by progressive bishops.Benedict XVI, who attended the Council as a young German theology professor, was a leading light in the reform camp and agreed with most of its conclusions. But in the coming decades he didn’t like what he perceived to be “all the tampering with the liturgy” and turned more conservative over time, said O’Malley.Benedict’s conservative line has won support in some quarters of the church, including from some young people discovering traditions for the first time. Most Catholics, however, continue to choose to attend Mass in the newer liturgy.Cardinal Walter Kasper, a fellow German with more moderate views who served Benedict as his top official for relations with other Christian churches, drew a mixed picture of where the council stands in present Vatican policy. “Many impulses from the council . . . have only been realized halfway,” he wrote in late September. “The post-conciliar popes have called the council a sure compass for the church’s path in the 21st century,” Kasper said. “But the compass needle is still swinging nervously.”In comments October 10 on the eve of opening the Year of Faith, the pope said, “Today marks the eve of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. I remember well the enthusiasm, the hope and the joy, not only of the bishops but of the whole church during that period.“As we begin tomorrow the Year of Faith, it is more necessary than ever to return to the documents of this great council, which was convoked, in the words of Blessed John XXIII, to proclaim the truths of the faith in a ‘renewed’ way, all the while keeping intact their perennial content.”Homily hint: Jesus’ call for a servant model of leadership provides a perfect entrée for preaching on the spirit of collegiality, a central tenant of the council. And the council documents are filled with great material for homily reflections and religious education programs. The Vatican’s collection of the council documents in English, Spanish, and other languages are available online. Source: An article by Tom Henegen for Reuters

Vatican II benedict xvi walter kasper second vatican council john w omalley john xxiii

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Homily themes

07 Aug 2011 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. Much of the Letter to the Romans deals with the relationship of the people of Israel to the followers of Christ. For Paul, this discussion was very personal. Always open about "my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people," Paul had been a great enemy of Christians before his conversion made the persecutor into the persecuted. Despite his Christian assurance, Paul affirms the place of Israel in the history of salvation. He even goes so far as to say he would endure separation from Christ for the sake of his "own people." Israel will always be the first people of God. They are, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, the olive tree onto which the wild olive branches of the Gentiles have been grafted. For Christians, Jews will always have a special place as ancestors in faith and God's first people. Homily points What does it mean to be saved? How does God rescue us? Ancient stories spoke of divine rescue in terms of the ultimate danger: drowning. Matthew teaches disciples how to navigate the deep waters by focusing on Jesus.

Authors Joel Schorn

paul israel second vatican council drowning

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Parishes: Develop a hybrid model

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

The years since the close of the Second Vatican Council have been conflicted and somewhat messy, in contrast to the era of Tridentine Catholicism. However, the Second Vatican Council did not so much destroy Tridentine Catholicism as recognize its passing—and that it had been essentially on life support for many years. Tridentine Catholicism, resting on cultural underpinnings that had long since dissolved, collapsed unceremoniously, and no amount of exertion can recreate it nor its social foundations. Catholicism has moved from a one-size-fits-all model to a plurality of models fit for distinct groups, particular communities, and individual commitments. Think now of thriving parishes. Parish life in various countries will continue to be successful to the extent to which gospel values and the sacramental vision of Catholicism are successfully woven into the needs, aspirations, and social and cultural realities of the communities they serve, whether in terms of the smallest units of Catholic life to the largest. The next several decades will see many more closings and consolidations of parishes in Europe, North America, and Australia, given fewer priests and the changing nature of Catholic parish life in these cultural areas. At the same time, an already pastorally diverse third world Catholicism will become even more diverse. There is simply no “one” right way, no “one” model that a “truly Catholic” or “successful” Catholic parish follows. Instead, the leadership and members of a faith community have to understand themselves and develop their own hybrid model.

Authors Bryan Froehle

second vatican council tridentine catholicism

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