Ecclesia Semper Reformanda
(The Church is Always in Need of Renewal)
PICKING UP PIECES: IOWA PRELATE PROPOSES PLAN
Trying to engage the world but forgetting what is distinctively Catholic has "wreaked havoc on the Church," according to the bishop of Sioux City, Iowa.
This is the claim made by Bishop R. Walker Nickless in his first pastoral letter, "Ecclesia Semper Reformanda" (The Church is Always in Need of Renewal). The document was published last Thursday.
This is the claim made by Bishop R. Walker Nickless in his first pastoral letter, "Ecclesia Semper Reformanda" (The Church is Always in Need of Renewal). The document was published last Thursday.
"It is crucial that we all grasp that the hermeneutic or interpretation of discontinuity or rupture, which many think is the settled and even official position, is not the true meaning of the council. This interpretation sees the pre- conciliar and post-conciliar Church almost as two different churches.
"It sees the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past. There can be no split, however, between the Church and her faith before and after the Council. We must stop speaking of the 'Pre-Vatican II' and 'Post-Vatican II' Church, and stop seeing various characteristics of the Church as 'pre' and 'post' Vatican II.
"Instead, we must evaluate them according to their intrinsic value and pastoral effectiveness in this day and age."
"It sees the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past. There can be no split, however, between the Church and her faith before and after the Council. We must stop speaking of the 'Pre-Vatican II' and 'Post-Vatican II' Church, and stop seeing various characteristics of the Church as 'pre' and 'post' Vatican II.
"Instead, we must evaluate them according to their intrinsic value and pastoral effectiveness in this day and age."
Full text of Bishop Nickless' letter: www.scdiocese.org/files/Pastoral_Letter_updated100809.pdf
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