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KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER
TOPIC:
READERS' ROUNDTABLE
Dear Friend of Catholic Answers:
In last week's E-Letter
I jokingly said I was hoping to be invited to be the
keynote speaker at this year's annual meeting of the Association of
Fundamentalists Evangelizing Catholics.
What a coincidence! Yesterday's mail brought the latest issue of the
newsletter of ex-priest Bart Brewer's Mission to Catholics. The newsletter
says that the AFEC meeting will be hosted in 2004 by MTC. "This will be
their first meeting ever on the west coast. If this meeting is anything like
those of past years, it will be a wonderful time of fellowship and preaching
for those involved in Roman Catholic evangelism."
Well, I engage in "Roman Catholic evangelism" all week long. I think that
qualifies me to attend. And I'm local. The Catholic Answers office can't be
five miles from the MTC office. Maybe I'll get that invitation after all.
READERS COMMENT ON THE DECEMBER 9 E-LETTER
In that issue
I mentioned how the pastor at the parish I recently joined
managed to turn the place around by doing things by the book.
Theresa Davidson wrote, "After reading your letter I feel extremely blessed
to have been a part of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Rio Rancho, New
Mexico, for 2.5 years. The pastor, Msgr. Raun, and all of the other priests
"told it like it is," they didn't preach what everybody always wanted to
hear, but we always needed to hear it. Like you said--they were firm, true,
and challenging, filled with love and wisdom. Our priests' love for Jesus
and the Church were very evident. I have never seen confession lines like I
did at St. Thomas. Confession was offered every day, once or twice a day
before Masses, and there was usually a long line. I think that says
something."
It sure does. If you were to survey parishioners, you wouldn't find a
majority of them saying, "Give us meatier homilies and tell us that we need
to go to confession," but that is what they need, and, if that is what they
are given, the parish will thrive. People often need what they don't know
they need, but once they get it, they're glad.
(Anorexics may think they don't need food, but food is exactly what they
need, and, if they have it, they'll be better off. What is true of material
food also is true of intellectual and spiritual food. Most Catholics are
intellectual and spiritual anorexics.)
Nancy Icard tells an odd story: "Would you actually believe that during a
'Christ Renews His Parish' meeting, as I was just about to read the teaching
from the Catechism on the proper reception of the Eucharist, one member
exclaimed 'Stop, I don't want to be responsible. If you tell me, I'll be
responsible for it.' Of course I told her, 'You already are!'"
What a textbook example of culpable ignorance! "I don't want to be
responsible." Too late! When you have good reason to think you might be
responsible, you already are.
Daniel Fiore, a twentysomething from Montreal, said, "Being born a Catholic,
I never had explained to me in detail what was wrong and what was right. I
do feel that the [parish] chose to ignore controversial subjects for fear of
losing congregants. I also do not want to use this as a justification for
the life I have led. In the end it was my responsibility to inform myself."
So here we have a young man who realizes that he had a "responsibility to
inform [him]self," and, in Nancy Icard's parish, a presumably older woman
who deep down knows the truth but doesn't want to be encumbered by it.
Yvonne Johnston's niece's husband didn't like my December 9 E-Letter at all:
"Karl Keating can only be characterized as an extremist. The 'black and
white' language is a clear indication of his attitudes. [I had written that
priests "need to talk in black and white to get people's attention"
regarding Catholic teachings, especially on morals.] I took some time to
read through his E-Letters from this year and find that his approach to
Catholicism is consistently misguided.
"Critically speaking, Keating represents a disturbing trend in Catholicism
which wants to bring everything down to 'right and wrong' and not to our
faith's true heart [which is] 'forgiveness, charity, and love.' If you look
through all his E-Letters you will find no outrage at the number of poor,
imprisoned, suffering, refugee, and elderly that are not being served by us.
"This reveals the moral peril of listening to folks like Keating; one ends
up spending more time on the 'right and wrong' of doctrine and less time on
forgiveness, charity, love, and service. If I read Christ correctly in the
Gospel, it is this latter that we will be judged by and the former was
something that Christ constantly chastised the Pharisees about."
I admit it: In none of my E-Letters have I mentioned the "poor, imprisoned,
suffering, refugee, and elderly that are not being served by us." Mea culpa,
mea minima culpa.
I say "minima" because those folks are mentioned often in other
publications, and those publications (some of which I have quoted from over
the last year) rarely give the true Catholic teaching on matters of faith
and morals. I don't think much good can be done for the "poor, imprisoned,
suffering, refugee, and elderly" unless you first are right on faith and
morals. If you are right on those, "forgiveness, charity, and love" follow.
If you are not right on those, you end up with sham virtues.
Some people disagree with Mrs. Johnston's niece's husband. Tom Otten says,
"I forwarded your e-mail to a large number of people on my address book. I
asked them if they agree with or disagree with your comments about the poll
results. [This refers to the poll cited in the December 9 E-Letter.] So far
I have been pleasantly surprised with the feedback I got. So many people
agreeing with you about the state that the Church is in, along with a desire
to 'fix' it."
Ray Tarnai has a different perspective: "Great E-Letter. This is exactly why
I am compelled to teach grade 7 catechism. I am frank and consistent with
the kids on issues of morality and participation in the Mass. I sometimes
feel like it is the first time that some of these kids are hearing these
teachings. It is amazing what an impact these challenges have, not only on
the students, but also on their parents. You are right that this is often a
slow, and sometimes stressful, process; but in the long run, worth it."
Michael Bryscan has a disagreement with me. "I usually agree with your
opinions in your E-Letters. However, I have to disagree with your
suggestions that priests should use the homily to instruct the congregation
regarding the Church's teaching on issues such as priestly celibacy." The
homily should confine itself to the themes of the readings, says Mr.
Bryscan.
No problem. The priesthood is mentioned repeatedly in Scripture, as is the
virtue of celibacy. (Remember Paul writing in favor of it?) When such
passages are included in a Sunday's readings, the homilist would be at
liberty to talk about priestly celibacy. Other topics can be worked in the
same way. The New Testament nowhere mentions abortion, but it frequently
mentions life--a perfect lead-in.
Then there is this story, from someone whose name I am withholding: "Our
pastor recently spent four weeks explaining the 'minor' changes in the
liturgy. When my Calvary Church colleague asked if I was 'being fed' with
the homilies at my church, I would have loved to tell him I was inspired by
the insights of a theologian, but I found the homilies to be devoid of
substance. A new or returning Catholic would have seen no food for thought
in those four weeks."
Another correspondent who shall remain anonymous wrote, "I'm so tempted to
forward a copy [of the E-Letter] to my parish priest; but, unfortunately I
don't have the fortitude." Ah, go ahead! Print out a copy and slip it under
the rectory door, or mail it to him in an envelope without a return address.
That would make you a samizdat publisher, like the good guys under the old
Soviet Union.
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