So we have two issues in Argentina, a shrine in Spain, and US progessives scapegoating Opus Dei for being Catholic. I don’t understand why there is talk as if Opus Dei has some systemic problem.
So we have two issues in Argentina, a shrine in Spain, and US progessives scapegoating Opus Dei for being Catholic. I don’t understand why there is talk as if Opus Dei has some systemic problem.
Opus Dei should not feel singled out. We’re all in this together for our best and worst days as a Catholic family. If you belong to any organization in the Church, whether it’s a diocese, an order, or a new ecclesial community (which range from conservative to progressive) then you almost assuredly are within a very very short reach of some serious form of manipulation or abuse. This is an honest fact of being Catholic and is a challenge for all of us to move toward a more integrated holiness. In a homily I heard yesterday, the priest pushed back on the trend in recent centuries to tie sainthood to morality as if someone achieved heroic virtue in all areas of their life. He said instead it was historically like an authenticity in which the individual committed to working toward the good as part of the Church. They become blessed because they allowed their cries and tears to be seen, and persevered for hope of that eternal bliss with God. We are all a work in progress together as one Catholic family, if we want to be saints.
Heroic virtue, still a criterion on the way to sainthood, is not about morality so much as charity (_the_ virtue that endures, per St. Paul). Authenticity is rather a modern and slippery concept. I agree that all saints suffer, in union with their Head and captain, quite often from their companions in the faith.
I think it makes sense to systematically look at the whole organization to make certain that the conditions that led to abuse in one region don’t exist in other areas. Every Catholic organization has to be proactive in preventing abuse and promptly (and properly) responding to allegations of abuse. Progressives will do what progressives do.
So we have two issues in Argentina, a shrine in Spain, and US progessives scapegoating Opus Dei for being Catholic. I don’t understand why there is talk as if Opus Dei has some systemic problem.
Opus Dei should not feel singled out. We’re all in this together for our best and worst days as a Catholic family. If you belong to any organization in the Church, whether it’s a diocese, an order, or a new ecclesial community (which range from conservative to progressive) then you almost assuredly are within a very very short reach of some serious form of manipulation or abuse. This is an honest fact of being Catholic and is a challenge for all of us to move toward a more integrated holiness. In a homily I heard yesterday, the priest pushed back on the trend in recent centuries to tie sainthood to morality as if someone achieved heroic virtue in all areas of their life. He said instead it was historically like an authenticity in which the individual committed to working toward the good as part of the Church. They become blessed because they allowed their cries and tears to be seen, and persevered for hope of that eternal bliss with God. We are all a work in progress together as one Catholic family, if we want to be saints.
Heroic virtue, still a criterion on the way to sainthood, is not about morality so much as charity (_the_ virtue that endures, per St. Paul). Authenticity is rather a modern and slippery concept. I agree that all saints suffer, in union with their Head and captain, quite often from their companions in the faith.
I think it makes sense to systematically look at the whole organization to make certain that the conditions that led to abuse in one region don’t exist in other areas. Every Catholic organization has to be proactive in preventing abuse and promptly (and properly) responding to allegations of abuse. Progressives will do what progressives do.