Thursday, May 26, 2011

It's Often Good Until It Becomes an "...ism".

There is nothing wrong with being social until it becomes Socialism.
Being liberal can be a virtue until it becomes Liberalism.
We are all human but Humanism tries to put man in God's place.
The Commune opposed God even before the advent of Communism.
Luther's protests against certain Catholic practices had merit until they became Protestantism.

Virtue lies in the middle of a continuum which has vice at both ends.
Take charity as an example.
An abundance of generosity might involve giving away all one's material possessions and being unable to provide for one's family.
Being unable to share could result in scrooge-like behavior.
Genuine charity lies in the middle.
I don't believe in Catholicism because it seems to be an extreme at one end or the other.

I am joyful being a Catholic.
I am happy to be a member of a Church that is universal in outreach and centered in Rome, but I do not subscribe to many things that today are dubed Catholicism.
Lack of belief in things supernatural such as the messages of Fatima or Lourdes.
Lack of recognition of the role of  Mary, the Mother of God, in the Economy of Salvation.
Lack of practice of the Communion of Saints.
Lack of emphasis on the four last things, death, judgement, heaven and hell.
Lack of belief in the need for sacramental confession.
Lack of respect for the consecrated host and Eucharistic Adoration.
Lack of respect for the sanctity of the church building as God's residence.
Equating the killing of an abortionist with abortion or suicide bombing.
Putting priests, bishops and even popes on a pedestal and not holding them accountable.

Blessed John Paul II was a great Pope but he made some serious mistakes, as all humans do.
Pope Benedict XVI is a good Pope but he too is human.
The Roman Church has made a large number of mistakes since Vatican II but given she is holy, she will repent of them and try to make restitution.
It seems to me that the suppression of the Latin Mass was a great mistake but it does seem that Pope Benedict is recognising the error and making restitution.
Will the extremists allow it? or will they go into schism?

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