1Archives  | NCROnline.org 

*Send This Page to a Friend

by Arthur Jones, NCR editor at large

One of the marvelous things about wearing an editor's cap for so long is the erratic stream of irascible and ironic -- rarely irenic -- letters that people sit down and crank out to me.

In light of yesterday's look (Today's Take for Nov. 3, "6.30 a.m. Mass") at the steady drone of clerical early morning exegesis, you might enjoy the tangential views of Peter Foley, a prof in the University of Arizona's humanities and religious studies program, and young priests in Los Angeles.

2003 Friends of NCR Annual Appeal (October 2003-December 2003) Dear Reader of Today's Take, We need your help. We are pleased to make available -- at no charge -- Today's Take. But we cannot do all we need to do without your financial assistance. Please take a moment to consider contributing to our annual appeal and join the ranks of readers who give to the Friends of NCR campaign. National Catholic Reporter is a nonprofit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible in the United States. Let's build a better world together. Contributions may be sent to: National  Catholic Reporter 115 E. Armour Blvd. Kansas City, MO   64111 USA Make checks out to:  NCR If you wish, you may print a form for submitting your donation. You may also use this form for credit card donations. Print a Contribution Form P.S. Everyone who donates will receive the fourth in a series of specially designed NCR Christmas ornaments connecting us in a special way to the gospel of peace on earth. Thank you.

I'm delighted to excerpt a paragraph from the Foley letter because I have anecdotal evidence on something else -- from folks I know in their 60s. That is, formerly steadfast Catholics of the generation now age roughly 58 and over are bowing out of their former Prometheus-bound relationship to the institution.

Mature Catholics whose daily and weekly adherences have been the stepping stones of their lives, are now down to Sunday Mass once or twice a month, and dropping perhaps a $5 bill in the basket instead of the once significant weekly check. Their money is still going to good works, but the parish and diocese -- the institution -- is no longer the vehicle.

As I say, this is anecdotal. It's just that I hear it sufficiently often to suggest it is a growing feature.

Enter Foley who, in a purported letter to the Holy Father, which he may or may not have sent, treats us to this insight:

"My parish priest … loves the Latin Mass and all the different altar cloths. The church looks great now and isn't cluttered up with all the riff-raff any more either. You really can see the lovely altar all the way from the back, even on Sunday now because there is nobody in your way."

And add on to Foley the fact that in a recent meeting of Los Angeles archdiocesan priests -- about half of the 1,200 showed -- younger priests booed older priests who suggested opening the discussion wider on introducing married priests.

This is the pope-as-God set of younger priests: the don't ask me to think, tell me what to do crowd. Who will appeal to the don't ask me to think, tell me what to do element within the U.S. Catholic laity.

As a concept of church, this pope prefers the Sheep of God to the People of God.

So there's this cadre of prissy school ma'am clerics who believe they are in the real estate business as sole proprietors of the square-footage of church and altar. And many of the bishops are as bad.

The result is the People of God are not being shepherded by this pontificate, they're being corralled. Instead of being called by name, they're being branded. And the outcome is a generation of Vatican II Catholic as late-turning mavericks who've decided maybe the world's 2,000 bishops meeting together in the 1960s mainly got it right.

And that this pontificate in its internal dealings mainly has it wrong.

These mature American Catholics, many of them grandparents with other calls on their time, are at peace with Jesus and their maker.

Their church ain't wot it used to be. But their faith still is.

The Vatican doesn't care. Fr. Andrew Greeley correctly forecast that more than 20 years ago. It's happy to not have to deal with papal-made mavericks. The only thing the institution misses is their money

Arthur's Daily Ditty

L'Eglisé C'Est Moi

As forth to steal they softly stole
In stoles the altar setting
In empty pews they do refuse
To see a sign of vetting
L'eglisé, c'est moi, et il Papa,
Their mantra is their vision
The altar rails they rail they want
The bars to their new prison -
It's safer in, away from world,
From temptation and vexations
And all that nasty laity with
All their nasty questions.

Arthur Jones' e-mail address is arthurjones@comcast.net.