It does not follow that because some areas of religious life (e.g. morality) should be insulated from the will of the masses that every aspect of the Church--down to the nitty gritty of ecclesiastical administration--should be "completely and utterly undemocratic".
Confusion reigns among Catholics and non-Catholics alike over the distinctions between dogma, doctrine, law, and tradition. These are by now means on an equal footing. The unchanging moral law that you are defending is enshrined in dogma and doctrine. But the details of parish administration? These have changed countless times over the last two millennia. Do you think the government of the early church looked anything at all like what we have now? Archbishop Kenrick gave the parish its autonomy; Cardinal May approved the changes to the bylaws granting the board financial control. What does Archbishop Burke know about the deeper moral principles of Catholicisms that these men (not to mention all members of the aforementioned Sacred Congregation of the Council) didn't?
I'm amazed to hear that you have no issue with the preservation of a governance structure that allowed hundreds of priests to molest thousands of children over a period of decades resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars being taken from the collection plate to pay damages to the victims and continues to allow such abuse to take place. I'm even more amazed to hear that you think that those who do have a problem with such a structure should be given no other choice but to leave. If I've misunderstood you, please clarify. I just don't see why it's not possible to be conservative, change-resistant, and even authoritarian without spectacularly failing in one's overriding moral responsibility to protect the most vulnerable people in one's charge.
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2006-03-27 10:34 pm (UTC)Confusion reigns among Catholics and non-Catholics alike over the distinctions between dogma, doctrine, law, and tradition. These are by now means on an equal footing. The unchanging moral law that you are defending is enshrined in dogma and doctrine. But the details of parish administration? These have changed countless times over the last two millennia. Do you think the government of the early church looked anything at all like what we have now? Archbishop Kenrick gave the parish its autonomy; Cardinal May approved the changes to the bylaws granting the board financial control. What does Archbishop Burke know about the deeper moral principles of Catholicisms that these men (not to mention all members of the aforementioned Sacred Congregation of the Council) didn't?
I'm amazed to hear that you have no issue with the preservation of a governance structure that allowed hundreds of priests to molest thousands of children over a period of decades resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars being taken from the collection plate to pay damages to the victims and continues to allow such abuse to take place. I'm even more amazed to hear that you think that those who do have a problem with such a structure should be given no other choice but to leave. If I've misunderstood you, please clarify. I just don't see why it's not possible to be conservative, change-resistant, and even authoritarian without spectacularly failing in one's overriding moral responsibility to protect the most vulnerable people in one's charge.