morostheos Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 So I had to read a Commonweal article we will be discussing at work, and it made me so mad! It's entitled: "Catholic Spirituality What Does It Mean Today?" The article of course presents both sides, but the way it does so are not exactly objective. Here are a few snippets....grrr [quote]Opus Dei’s emphasis is on Tridentine devotionalism, inspired largely, but not exclusively, by the writings of its founder, Josemaría Escrivá. Its basic handbook, El Camino (The Way), turns out to be a collection of Escrivá’s somewhat banal aphorisms.[/quote] [quote]Such devotionalism got a fair impetus from John Paul II’s rather baroque enthusiasm for devotion to Mary[/quote] [quote]It may also account in part for the widespread popularity of Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, whose script was influenced by the extravagant “revelations” of Anne Catherine of Emmerich[/quote] [quote]The rallying point for the recrudescence of these types of devotionalism is the cable channel EWTN, with its endless procession of priests swanning about in elaborate religious garb and preaching about this or that form of devotion.[/quote] [quote]Furthermore, the intrusion of new-age practices and other experimental approaches has raised enough concern that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued warnings, not always prudently formulated, against false mysticism and/or syncretism.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortnun Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Two quick points... 1) Which issue of Commonweal did this happen to be in? I have the most recent ones here at school, and I'd love to read the whole article. 2) Most of these snippets seem to be what you deem as attacks (biases) on your point of view... yet you said the article was balanced (but not)... could you perhaps offer/note parts of the article that support/attack the opposite end of the spectrum? Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morostheos Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 Here's the article citation: February 24, 2006 / Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 ARTICLE Catholic Spirituality What Does It Mean Today? Lawrence S. Cunningham I don't deem these snippets as attacks, but just uncharitable language. These are the aspects of the article that are describing the resurgence more traditional spiritual devotions withint the Church. They pretend to just be describing a type of spirituality, but it seems to me there is a judgement implicit in their language. Here are a few quotes for the opposite side of the spectrum. They are not completely glowing either, but I see much less of the snide remarks. [quote]There are, for example, Bible study groups and prayer groups who meet to do “centering,” Taizé, or other forms of contemplative prayer. There are Renew groups, and small meetings of the divorced or singles, as well as twelve-step outreach programs fostered in a spirit of prayer.[/quote] [quote]The enormous popularity of spiritual writing in the past few decades is a broader sign of interest in spirituality. Thomas Moore’s The Care of the Soul was on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for years. Kathleen Norris’s Dakota and her Cloister Walk made the same list. Both authors drew on Catholic sources, although only Moore had a Catholic background (he had been a Servite friar). His work had a largely Jungian patina. Norris, a Presbyterian, used monastic sources to introduce her contemporary audience to the teachings of traditional Christian spirituality.[/quote] [quote]The mildly faddish interest in the Enneagram or the Jungian-inspired Myers/Briggs assessment model, for example, has attained a certain hold in some quarters of the current Catholic scene. Add to this the advertisements one reads for retreat houses offering labyrinth walks, massage therapy, specialized retreats for those who wish to combine Christian contemplative practices and Zen sitting (zazen), courses in male spirituality, hermitage experiences, and so on, and you begin to get the sense that Catholic spirituality may become too capacious an umbrella.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I am at a loss to remember the name of Cardinal Ratzinger's magazine started as an antidote to Commonweal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I've never read Commonweal. Is it rather liberal and should I be glad that I've never read it? What do you do that you have to discuss this at work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morostheos Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 Yeah, it is definitely rather liberal. I'm a Catholic campus minister and work for the Diocese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 maybe you should be more prudent in sharing that information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morostheos Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 [quote name='Lil Red' date='Mar 7 2006, 05:37 PM']maybe you should be more prudent in sharing that information? [right][snapback]905641[/snapback][/right] [/quote] In sharing who I work for? It doesn't reveal anything geographically really... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 [i]Commonweal[/i] (the Jesuit rag) has long been infamous for being ultra-liberal, so this article is really quite unsurprising. This is about as shocking coming from [i]Commonweal[/i] as would be an article bashing ecunemism in a Rad-Trad publication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateo el Feo Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 [quote name='Socrates' date='Mar 7 2006, 08:00 PM'][i]Commonweal[/i] (the Jesuit rag) has long been infamous for being ultra-liberal, so this article is really quite unsurprising. This is about as shocking coming from [i]Commonweal[/i] as would be an article bashing ecunemism in a Rad-Trad publication. [right][snapback]905911[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Actually, [b]Commonweal [/b]isn't the "Jesuit rag." It's an independent lay rag...I mean mag. I believe you're thinking of [b]America [/b]([url="http://www.americamagazine.org/"]link[/url]). Coincidently, I had some issues with something I read in the article. I posted my question on the following thread: [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=48226&hl="]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=48226&hl=[/url] I also e-mailed the author of the article, who is a theology professor at Notre Dame. I asked him about the quote, and he was kind enough to provide me with an answer to my question. Personally, I disagree with his interpretation of Vatican II, but I thought it was quite kind of him to answer my e-mail so promptly. Side note: This was another occasion in which I realized that we can't win arguments without sincere charity toward those with whom we disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 [quote name='Mateo el Feo' date='Mar 7 2006, 07:15 PM']Actually, [b]Commonweal [/b]isn't the "Jesuit rag." It's an independent lay rag...I mean mag. I believe you're thinking of [b]America [/b]([url="http://www.americamagazine.org/"]link[/url]). Coincidently, I had some issues with something I read in the article. I posted my question on the following thread: [url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=48226&hl="]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=48226&hl=[/url] I also e-mailed the author of the article, who is a theology professor at Notre Dame. I asked him about the quote, and he was kind enough to provide me with an answer to my question. Personally, I disagree with his interpretation of Vatican II, but I thought it was quite kind of him to answer my e-mail so promptly. Side note: This was another occasion in which I realized that we can't win arguments without sincere charity toward those with whom we disagree. [right][snapback]905947[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Ok, my bad - I was thinking [i]Commonweal[/i] was also Jesuit for some reason (I don't read it myself). But I do know it has a long-standing rep for being very liberal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateo el Feo Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 [quote name='shortnun' date='Mar 7 2006, 02:33 PM']Two quick points... 1) Which issue of Commonweal did this happen to be in? I have the most recent ones here at school, and I'd love to read the whole article. [right][snapback]905482[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Here's the link to the online article: [url="http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php?id_article=1528"]http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article....id_article=1528[/url] [b]Catholic Spirituality: What Does It Mean Today?[/b] [i]by Lawrence S. Cunningham [/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateo el Feo Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 [quote name='Socrates' date='Mar 7 2006, 08:17 PM']Ok, my bad - I was thinking [i]Commonweal[/i] was also Jesuit for some reason (I don't read it myself). But I do know it has a long-standing rep for being very liberal. [right][snapback]905951[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Well, just to be fair, I did have to doublecheck the Commonweal website to make sure that I knew what I was talking about. The only reason I knew about [b]America[/b] magazine was because the Jesuit vocation guys introduced it to me way back when. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morostheos Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 hmmm...would you recommend I write the author about the issues I had with the article? I suppose that would be more productive than merely whining about it in an online forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thy Geekdom Come Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 [quote name='thedude' date='Mar 7 2006, 04:58 PM']I am at a loss to remember the name of Cardinal Ratzinger's magazine started as an antidote to Commonweal. [right][snapback]905589[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Is it Communio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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