One of my most orthodox friends, a 55-ish well-educated man, is deeply involved in RENEW, Marriage Encounter, and other programs that sometimes seem to be too focused on the dialogical and not enough on the doctrinal. It's hard for me to say it's done him any harm! On the contrary, it has given him and his wife a community to rely upon.
Theology-on-Tap is a program of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Young Adult Ministry. Other dioceses can obtain permission to use the logo and the name. I see by Googling that at one time Renew had joined with Chicago to promote TOT; such efforts had/have Renew in the title. Aside from these, TOT is whatever the diocese wants it to be.
Thanks Ephrem, and Bill Cork. This would suggest some considerable autonomy, at least for the TOT program, which isn't too surprising. I'm more curious about the "Why Catholic?" program, because of its materials and small group regimen.
Given Bishop Jugis's record, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"to continue the AmChurch decentralization of Catholic Church in America"
Not sure what you mean on this one, Philip, but it sounds better than the MaChurch ultramontanism.
I had a professor who was always looking out for ultramontanism--much like my little nephew used to always look out for spiders. I've always thought my nephew was just resourceful, putting all his little and large fears onto this one kind of creature. But the ultramontanist fear is just silly.
PP, small groups are generally very good for people. It's not like they're having barbarous Masses or anything--they're having coffee at somebody's house and talking about the Bible.
At least spiders bite.
Let me add that in some places TOT is run by Legionaries of Christ; in other places Opus Dei is involved. The Renew version is, from their webpage, only being done now in New Jersey.
Mr. Cork,
Glad to hear that about TOT, which promises a spirited future.
Now if I could only be so confident about small groups of Catholics involved in making a run at "Bible studies." While I know Catholics who are well-versed in the Bible, I know far more (including RCIA leaders and Bible study leaders I've seen) who strike me as clueless. The Bible -- particularly as understood in Catholic theology -- needs to be taught. It's a Protestant conceit to think it capable of teaching itself.
Oh please. It needs to be taught, but it also needs to be read.
RCIA is a different story. There's an anti-teaching bias in the RCIA "elite." It's an enormous problem, but there's a new kid on the block: http://www.acmrcia.org/resource.html
Oh please. It needs to be taught, but it also needs to be read.
I agree. But untutored reading of Scripture -- or, worse, reading the Bible in the context of the kinds of influences in our popular culture exemplified in RFC (Crossan, etc.) or in Dan Brown -- guarantees no understanding. The Ethiopian eunuch read Isaiah uncomprehendingly until the Holy Spirit sent the St. Philip to interpret it for him. Of course the people need read. But it's still a Protestant conceit that they will come to any proper understanding without an apostolic teacher.
Even some Protestants have begun to understand this: Stanley Hauerwas, Unleashing the Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America.
Glad we agree on RCIA, but I found the website of your linked "new kid on the block" very difficult to read. On some pages the print overlapped with the images, for some reason. I hope it's as promising as you suggest.
Yeah, they've got some graphics issues. But look closer anyway.
Dear Professsor Pertinacious:
I'm probably going to be a faciliator, God willin', in our Why Catholic program here at Good Shepherd Church in King, NC, just north of Winston-Salem.
The program seems solid to me. I too am squeamish about Renew--and I assure you that I have no intention of singing those sappy songs recommended for the Why Catholic sessions. But the program itself is solidly based in the Catechism; indeed that is its point--"A Journey Through the Catechism."
I think it will be OK. But I guess I'll find out when we do it (starting in Lent 2007).
I do think small-group faith sharing can be a very positive thing. We need to get to know our fellow parishioners--to "bear each other's burdens." Just my NSHO.
I'm with Chris, up above. Bishop Jugis, besides being very holy, is no fool. If he has approved Why Catholic, it must be OK.
Besides, Father Roux would have something to say if it wasn't!
God bless,
Diane
"Second, there is a persistent tendency to divorce the Christological significance from the historical Jesus, so that the ‘Christ of faith’ has nothing to do with the ‘Jesus of history.’"
I know nothing about Renew, but I thought the comment above was interesting. The (often contradictory) 'Quests' and studies concerning the so-called 'Historical Jesus' (often explicitly opposed to and attacking the so-called 'Christ of Faith' i.e. orthodox Christianity) - while they have made some valuable contributions in certain respects - have undoubtedly also had at times a quite negative and serious effect on the minds and faith of some or many Catholic scholars and laity. Sadly, it would not surprise me if the unhappy results of this sort of reductionist scholarship did unfortunately show up in programs like Renew.
I see Pope Benedict XVI has written a book on Jesus. The Preface has been translated. Very interesting. Check it out:
http://www.zenit.org/english/vis...phtml?
sid=98747
==
Groan. Check out this trumped-up 'controversy'.
http://www.canada.com/topics/new...6016bf8&
k=74226
This article is in part an ignorant veiled attack on Church teachings and the Papacy, Benedict in particular, - or seems to be. What deliberate (?) misunderstanding! For example, Giuseppe Alberigo, professor of the history of the Catholic Church at Bologna University, who is quoted in the article, is very misinformed, and perhaps insane in the way he understands and twists things.
The remarks by Daniel Donovan, a Catholic theology professor at St. Michael's College in Toronto, are better, and save the article from being total trash.
==
The author of the article, Chris Lackner, is perhaps uninformed.
==
UPDATE!!! I just got word from the Archdiocese of Chicago that after January 1, they are turning all Theology-on-Tap operations over to Renew. All those dioceses and parishes with existing permission will have to start from scratch with Renew.
I taught from one of the Why Catholic booklets last year for adults. I didn't like the text. It skipped over sections of the CCC and sometimes got too theological eg. it quoted from a Council of Quiercy which isn't hardly mentioned in most Theology course textbooks.
Dear Pertinacious Papist,
I am so happy to find your blog in this matter for I have been fighting a lonely fight against the misgided Why Catholic program in our Parish. I have written to Bishop Jugis as well as to Archbishop Meyers to no avail.
The fact of the matter is that Renew International is an obstinate feminist organization who succeeded in fooling many US bishops while ignoring the objections to their original Renew Program by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
It is enogh to look at the first booklet of the Why Catholic program to see how brazenly they repeat the same errors that were objected to by the Bishops' 1986 Report.
I have many more details about their distortions of the Cathecism's statements, but what I am really looking for is a coordinated effort by likeminded people who would join me to publicize these abuses of the teaching authority of the Church.
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