Dale at Dyspeptic Mutterings had a post titled “Past the point of no return”: It is about the rift between the liberal and orthodox Catholics. Here is an excerpt:
“Allen is right that there’s a canyon between the tribes, and the problem is at its root one of trust. But, sadly, he’s wrong to think that any amount of discussion and building of ’safe spaces’ is going to heal the fissure. Only time can do that now.”
I like Dale’s blog and am a regular reader. I think that this article is worth a read and a thought. I think that Dale is right and wrong. He is right that adopting a kumbaya, hold hands, create a safe place won’t do squat. But waiting and doing nothing doesn’t strike me as the correct or Christian response either. How are we to follow the Pope’s dictate to evangelize when we cannot reconcile within our Church.
Btw, in my mind, there are three groups liberals, orthodox, and then radical traditionalists forming a third group. There is heresy on the left and schism on the right - there are rifts on both sides of the path.
What can we do? At the least, there is prayer. And there is standing up and speaking out. There is being leaven in the dough. Perhaps it is not enough, but it seems to me we need to continue regardless.
Would listening work? I don’t know. I do know that those on the left could use some hard headed thinking and the guidance of the Church to provide structure and grounding. And admittedly, some of us in the more orthodox camp could use a touch more compassion. The left needs to learn to not compromise values with a culture of death, the right needs to learn to reach out to those living in a complex world.
What do you think?
