Clericalism

Clericalism PDF

Author: George B. Wilson

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2017-06-15

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 0814639828

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Searching for answers in the midst of the sexual abuse crisis in the church, many blamed the clerical culture. But what exactly is this clerical culture? We may know it when we see it, but how can we 'whether clergy or laypeople 'go about dismantling it and putting in place a new, healthy culture? George Wilson has spent decades working with organizations to help them discover, and often recover, their foundational calling. He is also a Jesuit priest engaged in the lives of congregations. In Clericalism: The Death of Priesthood he brings together both capacities and gives his sense of the challenges facing the church. As members of the church, Wilson maintains, we are all responsible for creating a clerical culture. And we are also responsible for that culture's transformation. Clericalism aids this transformation by helping us examine some underlying attitudes that create and preserve destructive relationships between ordained and laity. After looking at the crisis and establishing where we are now, this book challenges us with concrete suggestions for changing behaviors. We are lay and ordained, but all baptized into the royal priesthood of 1 Peter 2:9, all called to spread the Gospel and do the work of God's love in the world. Ultimately, this is a hopeful book, looking for the restoration of a genuine priesthood, free of clericalism, in which we become truly united in Christ..

To Hunt, To Shoot, To Entertain

To Hunt, To Shoot, To Entertain PDF

Author: Russell Shaw

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-07-12

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1725229684

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Why hasn't the Catholic Church been more successful up to now in realizing the Second Vatican Council's call for the evangelization of secular culture? Why hasn't the Gospel been preached more forthrightly to the modern world? The most important reason, as well as the least recognized, may be clericalism: the attitude, widely shared by Catholic laypeople as well as many priests, that clerics make up the active, elite corps in the Church, and laypeople are the passive mass; that clerics alone have intrinsic responsibility for the Church's mission while the apostalate of laypeople comes to them (if they come at all) only by delegation on the part of the clergy. To Hunt, To Shoot, To Entertain probes the theological and historical roots of this clericalist mentality as it has affected the Catholic laity, along with contemporary expressions of clericalism--the over-involvement of some clerics in secular politics, the sometimes exaggerated emphasis given to "lay ministers," and certain aspects for the feminist movement in today's Catholicism. This is not another revisionist attack on the priesthood, not one more alienated voice from the pews. Instead the book offers a prescription for authentic ecclesial renewal based on new, healthier lay-clergy relations in light of the teaching of Vatican II, Pope John Paul II, and other voices of the Magisterium. It presents a positive vision of a Church in which laypeople and clergy regard one another with mutual respect as partners in her mission to the world, with indispensable, contemporary tasks arising from their own special vocations.

Blasphemy, Insult and Hatred

Blasphemy, Insult and Hatred PDF

Author: European Commission for Democracy through Law

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 9789287166784

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Mutual understanding and acceptance is perhaps the main challenge of modern society. Diversity is undoubtedly an asset, but cohabiting with people of different backgrounds and ideals calls for a new ethic of responsible intercultural relations, in Europe and in the World. This book tries to answer a series of pertinent and poignant questions arising from these issues, such as whether it is still possible to criticise ideas when this may be considered hurtful to certain religious feelings; whether society is hostage to the excessive sensitivity of certain individuals; or what legal responses there may be to these phenomena, and whether criminal law is the only answer.

Revitalizing Catholicism in America

Revitalizing Catholicism in America PDF

Author: Russell Shaw

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor

Published: 2023-04-24

Total Pages: 105

ISBN-13: 1639660070

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The Catholic Church in the United States has reached a tipping point. The crisis is painfully visible in the sharp declines that have already taken place in many essential areas of Church life, from Catholic marriages and infant baptisms to Sunday Mass attendance and the number of priests. Meanwhile, the number of semi-active and inactive Catholics is rising, and the number of ex-Catholic "nones" is skyrocketing. What happens in the immediate future will determine how the Church in America will emerge from this crisis: a smaller but more committed body of faithful Christians or a stagnant, inward-looking remnant. The American Catholic laity must decide whether they will be passive onlookers or will choose to act. Revitalizing Catholicism in America provides nine practical action items every faithful Catholic can undertake - nine steps which, all together, will form the building blocks of a renewed Catholic subculture. No matter what your specific gift or walk of life, you have a role to play in revitalizing Catholicism in America. This book will show you how.

The Catholic Sexual Abuse Scandal

The Catholic Sexual Abuse Scandal PDF

Author: Jerry J. Paresa

Publisher: Fides et Spes Press.

Published: 2021-09-23

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1647043972

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An enduring solution starts with the correct diagnosis… The Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal has haunted the lives of its victims and the Catholic community at large for decades. Even today, it continues to undermine the credibility of the Church and dishearten its faithful. Catholics remain rightfully frustrated and disappointed as Church leaders try to move beyond this ugly chapter without creating a cohesive plan to address the underlying issues that contributed to the scandal in the first place. Media coverage has often oversimplified these contributing factors, leaving many with the impression that simplistic solutions can fix the Church's problems. This is not the case. Written from an insider's perspective, this book strives to dispel unhelpful caricatures and more fully examine the broad contextual and aggravating factors that make the Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal. It is heavily researched work designed to help parishioners, priests, and Church leaders more clearly consider the complexities of the crisis so that they may continue to make informed, concrete, and effective steps to heal the Church and its people.

The Truth at the Heart of the Lie

The Truth at the Heart of the Lie PDF

Author: James Carroll

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2021-03-23

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0593134729

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“Courageous and inspiring.”—Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God “James Carroll takes us to the heart of one of the great crises of our times.”—Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve An eloquent memoir by a former priest and National Book Award–winning writer who traces the roots of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal back to the power structure of the Church itself, as he explores his own crisis of faith and journey to renewal NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY James Carroll weaves together the story of his quest to understand his personal beliefs and his relationship to the Catholic Church with the history of the Church itself. From his first awakening of faith as a boy to his gradual disillusionment as a Catholic, Carroll offers a razor-sharp examination both of himself and of how the Church became an institution that places power and dominance over people through an all-male clergy. Carroll argues that a male-supremacist clericalism is both the root cause and the ongoing enabler of the sexual abuse crisis. The power structure of clericalism poses an existential threat to the Church and compromises the ability of even a progressive pope like Pope Francis to advance change in an institution accountable only to itself. Carroll traces this dilemma back to the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, when Scripture, Jesus Christ, and His teachings were reinterpreted as the Church became an empire. In a deeply personal re-examination of self, Carroll grapples with his own feelings of being chosen, his experiences as a priest, and the moments of doubt that made him leave the priesthood and embark on a long personal journey toward renewal—including his tenure as an op-ed columnist at The Boston Globe writing about sexual abuse in the Church. Ultimately, Carroll calls on the Church and all reform-minded Catholics to revive the culture from within by embracing anti-clerical, anti-misogynist resistance and staying grounded in the spirit of love that is the essential truth at the heart of Christian belief and Christian life.