http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2012/02/our_views_disagreeing_with_bis.html
Read: part one | part two
Letter: “The current position of the bishops appears to be an attempt to claim the power to impose their moral judgments not only on the many non-Catholics who serve or are served by institutions affiliated with the Catholic Church, but on us faithful Catholics as well. We reject the implication that our disagreement with the bishops disqualifies us as faithful Catholics. We are the church, even more so than are the bishops, and we will not abandon, nor be driven from, the beloved community that is the home of our spiritual lives.”
Response: So far we have shown that the arguments of the letter writers with regard to the teachings of Vatican II, the moral standing of individuals vis-à-vis the Bishops in regard to who speaks for the Church, and the understanding of the formation and workings of conscience are fundamentally flawed and without merit. This week we will show, once again by using the documents of Vatican II, that their understanding of the Church’s hierarchy, and of the Church itself, is equally so.
According to Vatican II, “Episcopal consecration confers, together with the office of sanctifying, also the office of teaching and ruling…In fact…by the imposition of hands and through the words of the consecration, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given…in such wise that bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take the place of Christ Himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as His representative,” (Lumen Gentium, #21).
So the statement, “We are the church, even moreso than the bishops,” is one that does not, in fact cannot, come from the pen of anyone who has actually read the documents of Vatican II. The Bishops, not the laity, are the successors of the Apostles. So says Vatican II. The Bishops, not the laity, have been given the authority of Jesus Christ, by virtue of their ordination, to uphold and defend the truth taught by the Church. So says Vatican II.
Since my return to the Church some 22 years ago, I have encountered a phenomenon on too many occasions to count, that absolutely boggles my mind each and every time I run across it. Not too long after returning to the Church, I started encountering - in Bible studies, small group studies, in “Catholic” periodicals, and in one-on-one conversations - this idea that Vatican II had somehow changed the teachings of the Church. I was told at various times that Vatican II had changed the Church’s teaching on the priesthood, on marriage, on contraception, on Confession, on the Eucharist, on sin, on the liturgy, on this, and on that.
But, a funny thing happened. After hearing all about the things that this Vatican II Council had changed, I decided to actually read the documents of Vatican II. Imagine my surprise when I found out that this Vatican II thing, while it had indeed changed some Church disciplines and practices, never changed a single doctrine or dogma of the Church. Not one!
So, for the last 22 years, I’ve heard or read literally hundreds of people who claim Vatican II teaches things that it actually never taught. This particular letter being yet one more example of this phenomenon - what I find to be a profoundly sad phenomenon. So, if you ever hear someone say something about Vatican II changing this or that teaching of the Church, I can guarantee you that you will not get a specific citation to back up the claim. You won’t get it, because it doesn’t exist. There is nothing in any document from Vatican II that changes Church doctrine or dogma...nothing.
I find it a bit ironic, that the Bishops’ response to the government’s attempt to impose its will on the Church, is being characterized as an attempt by the Bishops to “impose their moral judgments” on others. That is completely backwards - the government is doing the imposing here, not the Bishops. The Bishops are doing what they have been called by Christ to do, and people are reacting accordingly.
As St. Augustine said, “People hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is they love more than the truth. They love truth when it shines warmly on them, and hate it when it rebukes them.” And what the Bishops of the Catholic Church do, is teach the truth. They do not attempt to “impose their moral judgments” on anyone. They teach the truth, and people quite often do not want to hear that truth. They teach the truth that they have been entrusted by our Lord Jesus Christ to teach, as shepherds of the flock that our Lord Jesus Christ entrusted them to lead.
 | About John Martignoni John Martignoni is the Director of the Office of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice. If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org. And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com. |
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