Sean McElgunn

The doctrine that I believe is the revelation of God through his church. But the church is not the source; she is the conduit of God’s word. As such the church is in need of continuous reform. As the old adage says, ecclesia semper reformanda est; I think St. August said that. Hence honest suggedtions cannot and should not be silenced. Comment welcome.

May I suggest, that all involved in the present controversy on both sides in the Church, read again the first two chapters of St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. I have read it many times, including in the original Greek. This problem has been with us from the beginning, two opposing views at loggerheads. There must be dialogue; there must be balance. We have the sources of Revelation, Scripture and Tradition. We have a hierarchy; we also have private, personal faith and conscience. But responsible dialogue at all levels cannot be silenced without offending God Himself. Note in chapter 2 that Paul was not silenced for opposing Peter on the delicate matter of the necessity of circumcision for Gentile converts. Peter took in like a man and agreed that he was wrong and Paul was right. Please think carefully and be kind. sme

That is plain silly suggesting that anyone can or should walk away and start his own church. There is only one church, consisting of all who believe in Christ. The Pope and Bishops are the channel to all of us. But is Christ who speaks. Extreme conservatives should not tell anyone what to do. Christ invites; He does force anyone; He does not talk down to anyone. The fact is that God’s word is not set in stone but in the hearts of all believers. Dogmatic texts and definitions have been modified repeatedly down the centuries, in light of continuing better understanding of their deeper meaning and application in an ever-changing world. It is simplistic to suggest that Christ was a Conservative. Physician, heal thyself. sme www.iktus.blog.com

This ongoing struggle between individual faith/conscience/revelation, and power/control in the Catholic Church, did not start today or yesterday. It has been with us almost from the start going on 2000 years ago. In earlier centuries control of so-called heresy/schism was exercised on a more piecemeal, localised basis by councils of bishops with the Pope. It was only in the 12th. century that the idea of an Inquisition became the norm. The Church passed judgment; the civil power carried out the sentence, often torture and burning at the stake. tbc. smce

Those who do remember Pope John may have thought of him as a kindly old soul. He was that indeed, but much more. He had gone through a lifetime of trauma. No one knew better than he the ongoing tension between the autocratic papacy and curia, and true mission of the Church. He spoke softly but he had a will of steel, tempered in the maelstrom left by the First Vatican Council. Without personally mentioning Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius X, et al, he aimed at freeing the Church from civil politics. In my humble opinion, that is why Angelo Roncalli has been effectively black-listed by the powers-that-be in the Vatican. They want things back the way they were before John upset the apple-cart. They want total control; they want their careers. They want to run the show; they know no other way.
sme

I cannot understand how a man of the stature of Angelo Roncali could be so totally forgotten so soon. He was a true man of God and of people. At a point in my lifetime, Pope John was known and loved by virtually the whole human family.It was the time that the transistor radio exploded on the world market. I can state, from personal experience, that he was being talked about on the most remote mountains of Asia. Most baffling of all, why is John’s name taboo now in the Vatican, while Pope John Paul II is already ‘hoisted to Heaven’(an old English prayer-book), according to them? Your guess is as good as mine. sme

We, as Christians, must stand up for what we believe. We may not agree with the Vatican, but at the same time, we must pray for them, that their minds may be open to the Holy Spirit. In particular, we must all pray for the Pope who is now old and sickly. sme www.iktus.blog.com

During the Second Vatican Council I was privileged to be teaching dogmatic theology in the Philippines. Fr. Michael Bailey, now deceased, was teaching the moral aspects. Philosophy dealt with the study of reality through human reason, the limited proofs for the existence of God, etc. My subject involved really expanding on the basic essentials of the old catechism, what God has revealed about Himself and us, that is, ongoing Revelation, especially through the life and teaching of His Son, in his lifetime and through the Christian Church.

It was clear to me then, and is now, that dogmatic theology is open-ended, that is, there are depths to the revelation from God that the limited human mind cannot completely plumb, and that was the basic reason, among numerous others, for calling the council of the whole church. If nothing else, the council made it clear, by example and teaching, that the whole church was involved in God’s designs for humanity.

It is fifty years since the Council. The state of things in the world today, and particularly in the Catholic Church, the mother church of all Christians, and all humanity, speaks for itself. What do you think?
sean mcelgunn www.iktus.blog.com

Who has read the canon law? How much of the mind and life and spirit of Christ did you find there? None. In other words, canon law has nothing to do with the Church. It is an outmoded relic. Was it ever christian? Get rid of it; the sooner the better. What do you think? sme iktus.blog.com

Have we forgotten so quickly that Pope Benedict used to known as the rotweilder of Pope John Paul? He metamorphosed into a mild lamb. As far as I know no creature of God changes his spots. I heard him called a tyrant by an old priest recently. sme