Islam At The Vatican?

[Basilisa Marie]

My link totally does work, ya newb. 

 

So Evangelical Catholics. Back in the era pre-Vatican II, in America, the "Catholic ghetto" was starting to fall apart. Catholics used to live in a very strong, tight-knit community (usually made up of immigrants) just dripping with Catholicism. It was weird to "mix" with other people just for fun. The Baltimore Catechism grew out of this time, and part of the reason why it was so successful was that it could (rightly) assume that the child was growing up in a totally Catholic culture. Flash forward to post-Vatican II, and you have the total breakdown of that Catholic subculture. Catholics didn't stay on the same side of town anymore, there wasn't as much overt anti-Catholicism, people started marrying non-Catholics in greater numbers, etc. Suddenly you don't have that tight knit community anymore, so you don't have that particular kind of Catholic cultural identity anymore. 

Flash forward again to the nineties, and Portier (a Catholic professor who was then at Mount St. Mary's) starts seeing a lot of peculiar theology students. These kids know their stuff, or are hungry to learn it, and want to know more. They're pro-life, spend their vacations doing service trips, and attend adoration. They're returning to a kind of orthodoxy of theology and are excited about it, drinking coffee from their JPII I LOVE YOU mugs and discerning religious vocations. These people have adopted some of the attitudes of their Evangelical Protestant friends, and are excited about Catholicism and evangelizing the world. 

So with the breakdown of the Catholic subculture, a small subset of young Catholics are combining a great love of the Church, meaty theology, and service with a special zeal to go out into the world and radiate the light of Christ. And I (and Portier too, probably) would argue that it's because of this evangelical Catholicism that things like Phatmass, Steubenville, and Saint Paul Street Evangelization exist. Charismatics who love the Church might also fit the bill (see: Steubenville), but Charismatics are their own separate group. 

[PhuturePriest]

My link totally does work, ya newb. 

 

So Evangelical Catholics. Back in the era pre-Vatican II, in America, the "Catholic ghetto" was starting to fall apart. Catholics used to live in a very strong, tight-knit community (usually made up of immigrants) just dripping with Catholicism. It was weird to "mix" with other people just for fun. The Baltimore Catechism grew out of this time, and part of the reason why it was so successful was that it could (rightly) assume that the child was growing up in a totally Catholic culture. Flash forward to post-Vatican II, and you have the total breakdown of that Catholic subculture. Catholics didn't stay on the same side of town anymore, there wasn't as much overt anti-Catholicism, people started marrying non-Catholics in greater numbers, etc. Suddenly you don't have that tight knit community anymore, so you don't have that particular kind of Catholic cultural identity anymore. 

Flash forward again to the nineties, and Portier (a Catholic professor who was then at Mount St. Mary's) starts seeing a lot of peculiar theology students. These kids know their stuff, or are hungry to learn it, and want to know more. They're pro-life, spend their vacations doing service trips, and attend adoration. They're returning to a kind of orthodoxy of theology and are excited about it, drinking coffee from their JPII I LOVE YOU mugs and discerning religious vocations. These people have adopted some of the attitudes of their Evangelical Protestant friends, and are excited about Catholicism and evangelizing the world. 

So with the breakdown of the Catholic subculture, a small subset of young Catholics are combining a great love of the Church, meaty theology, and service with a special zeal to go out into the world and radiate the light of Christ. And I (and Portier too, probably) would argue that it's because of this evangelical Catholicism that things like Phatmass, Steubenville, and Saint Paul Street Evangelization exist. Charismatics who love the Church might also fit the bill (see: Steubenville), but Charismatics are their own separate group. 

 

There's no need to call names. :P

 

Okay, I'd say most of people on Phatmass fit the bill. I still argue that "Evangelical" has such a negative connotation we should find another word to call ourselves, though.
 

[Perigrina]

There's no need to call names. :P

 

Okay, I'd say most of people on Phatmass fit the bill. I still argue that "Evangelical" has such a negative connotation we should find another word to call ourselves, though.
 

 

I don't think of Evangelical Catholic as having a bad connotation.  it just makes me think of the "new evangelism".