A WAR PLAN

There is a battle going on in the Church that may have reached the point of War over this past year. It is the battle between those who think the Church must change its 2000 year old teachings and those who just want to be Catholic. The eruption of the Church’s problems in the secular media has forced me to radically join the war on the side of those who want to maintain the teachings and traditions of the Church. One good battle plan we could use comes from an unlikely source: Bill Clinton. Yes- he is a liar, an adulterer, professional charmer, possibly even a rapist, but no one ever accused him of being a bad politician or a dummy. I can remember articles being written about how Clinton co-opted the republicans' agenda and pulled the democrats to the middle. This is what should be done in the Church.

When people call for more of a voice for laity in the Church, they are right. Laity, such as George Weigel, William Donahue, Helen Hull Hitchcock (I call her Triple H), Alice Von Hildebrand, Deal Hudson, Janet Smith, Ralph McInerney, Thomas Monoghan, etc. should be heard loud and clear.

When people call for supporting “priests of integrity” they are right. We should make sure that Benedict Groeschel, Andrew Apostoli, Mitch Pacwa, Jerry Pokorsky, Joseph Fessio, Richard Neuhaus, C. John McCloskey, etc… are supported as strongly as possible.

When people call for “diversity” we should make sure to highlight the diversity of the Eastern Rite and Anglican Catholics whose priests celebrate Mass facing the altar and who distribute communion on the tongue or the various traditionalist groups.

When people call for more teaching on Vatican II, we should respond by doing just that-teaching what Vatican II actually said. People who talk the most of Vatican II never mention the actual documents and how they called for Gregorian Chant to be sung at Mass by laypeople, wider use of the Liturgy of the Hours, Latin retaining a prominent place in the Mass, etc..

The public exposure of the corruption in the Church over these past 2 years should be the catalyst for the true implementation of Vatican II. Just Bring It.