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Bp. Schneider: Toward a correct reading of Vatican II

A few days ago, columnist Sandro Magister reported on a conference talk given in Rome in December, in which the patristic theologian Bishop Athanasius Schneider proposed a way to promote the Holy Father’s “hermeneutic of continuity”: a papal document to correct erroneous interpretations of the documents of Vatican II, and clarify the intentions of the Council Fathers and Popes Paul VI and John XXIII.

Here’s a thumbnail summary of the talk:

Expounding a key passage from Sacrosanctum Concilium, Bp. Schneider develops seven essential points for building a true theology of pastoral care, in seven duties:

1. to proclaim the Gospel to all non-believers
2. to proclaim the faith to the faithful
3. to preach repentance to the faithful
4. to prepare the faithful for the sacraments
5. to teach the faithful all the commandments of God
6. to promote the apostolate of the lay faithful
7. to promote the vocation of all to holiness

This, the Bishop declares, is the real spirit (mens) of the Council and the real purpose of the Council, and rooted in the Church’s perennial tradition. He supports this theme with extensive quotations from the speeches of Pope Paul VI and Pope John XXIII at the Council.

He goes on to discuss modern errors (liberation theology, liturgical distortions), and suggest two needs in the Church to bring about reform:

  • a document from the Pope to present authoritative interpretations of the Council, in continuity with tradition, and against theories of rupture between the Council and the Tradition
  • courageous pastors who will carry out the pastoral mission defined by the Council.

I’ve translated the full text, which follows.

Continue reading Bp. Schneider: Toward a correct reading of Vatican II

More work for Donal Foley

In 2006, religion writer Donal Foley published his book, Understanding Medjugorje; Heavenly Visions or Religious Illusion?. Since then, it’s been the leading critical book on this subject in the English language, praised by experts in the field of Mariology, and in the past five years, nobody on the pro-apparition side has been able to find any substantial faults with it. And with reason: it’s well-researched, prudent in its conclusions, and focuses on critical source materials generally neglected by the naive books of writers who don’t know better.
A few weeks ago, some graduate student at CUA posted a blog article against Foley’s book, thinking he’d offered a very scholarly critique, but it just amounted to an opinionated, unsubstantiated rant. God help the poor kid if he submits such horrible prose to his professors. Anyway, Foley has published a response — and you can find a link to the critique from there.
I suppose it must be a bother for Foley: as a sometime apologetics writer, I know that defending a position from cheap attacks is more work for the defender than it is for the attacker. But at least the experience will give Foley, who is preparing the second edition of his book, some new insight as to what is needed in order to correct the lingering confusion of Medjugorje diehards.

Episcopal spine alert!

Bp. Thomas OlmstedTo borrow a term from Mark Shea, an “episcopal spine alert” is the event that happens when a local bishop stands up for authentic faith and morals, or otherwise shows evidence that he has a functioning backbone.
This time, Bp. Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix has warned a supposedly Catholic hospital company that their St. Joseph Hospital will lose its status as a recognized Catholic hospital if they do not acknowledge that they were wrong to let an abortion be performed there a few months ago. His letter, well-reasoned and showing his patience in what is apparently a long-running series of disputes, insists that the hospital accept ethics training for staff, or face canonical action next week.

Verbum Domini

The Holy Father’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini is an important document, perhaps the most comprehensive official synthesis ever from the Church on the subjects of Scripture and Divine Revelation. It addresses the inspiration of Scripture, the various “senses” in its interpretation, the need for biblical preaching, the place of “private revelation”, the relation of biblical studies and the interpretation of Scripture, the need for thorough training in Scripture for seminarians, and numerous other topics.
You can download the text from the Vatican website as a 208-page PDF, formatted as a pocket-sized book. For convenience in printing, I’ve reformatted it in a more compact 90-page document. (PDF)