YouCat Recall Petition Looks Dodgy to Me

So some press release shows up in my box announcing that “a formal petition for the recall of YOUCAT has been launched by a group of more than 25 theologians, clergy, and Catholics involved in lay apostolates.” I click the link (no, I’m not providing it), but have trouble locating who these people are. That smells. Strike one.

The next thing I notice is that the only person I can find who is identifiable is somebody called John Wynne of Restoring Truth Ministries. This “ministry”, as I discover from clicking on the link, is one of these peculiar hybrids which obsesses over evolution and wants to read out of the faith theistic evolutionists and people who don’t have a big issue with the compatibility of evolution and Catholic teaching. It rather dishonestly quotes Cardinal Ratzinger, while failing to notice that, as Pope, Ratzinger has welcomed serious theological discussion about the reconciliation of evolutionary science and the Faith, and that this same conference rather pointedly did not take seriously either advocates of Intelligent Design nor so-called “creation scientists”. Second strike.

Finally, Robert Sungenis and his readers are enthusiastically joining in the condemnation with remarks like, “Let’s face it, the majority of the hierarchy (including Pope Benedict XVI) are doing all they can get away with to destroy the faith.” Strike three.

More and more, there seem to be “lay apostolates” whose mission seems to be to “save” the Church from the Magisterium and replace their guidance with the dogmatisms of sectarians. On the whole, if it’s choice between the teachers ordained by Christ and Some Guy with a Website, I think I will stick with the bishops and the Pope.