17 December 2008

A Catholic Bishop Speaks


Fortunately for Australia, and unfortunately for us, here is evidence of yet another Catholic Bishop in the English-speaking world who would feel out of place in any small group of islands off the NW corner of Europe. According to Schütz, who lives and blogs there, Archbishop Coleridge of Canberra addressed the problem of a parish where the priests have preached heterodoxy for too long and have been called to order. (This was the parish whose baptisms have been declared invalid.)

If any Church in this country has been the Church of the mob, open to all, it has been the Catholic Church. But the inclusiveness of the Church does not mean that there are no boundaries. It does not mean that there is no such thing as sin which sets a person or a group outside the communion of the Church.

In the end, communities like St Mary’s and those who support them, fail to recognise the difference between a band-wagon and a hearse. With the best of good intentions – and no-one is attributing any of this to malice – they jump gleefully on the band-wagon of a certain relevance and inclusiveness without realising that what looks like a band-wagon into the brave, new world of the future is in fact a hearse leading to a dead end that they do not see coming. Such confusions do not help, and it is the task of the Pope and the bishops to speak with one voice in pointing the way beyond them.

2 comments:

Ches said...

"Communities like St Mary’s and those who support them, fail to recognise the difference between a band-wagon and a hearse."

Absolutely priceless!

Anonymous said...

Archbishop Coleridge recently ordained, in the EF, two FSSP priests in Saint Christopher's cathedral in Canberra. It was a truly joyous occasion.

The archbishop is a biblical scholar and has spent a considerable time in Rome.

In Christo,
Anthony B