Fr. Dwight LongeneckerArchbishop Cupich also pointed out that part of the role of Peter was (and is) to rightly discern the way forward as the Holy Spirit directs the church into new challenges. The only part of the homily which might be perceived as radical was two sentences:
With the upcoming synod, it is clear that the Holy Father is calling the Church to examine our categories of expression about what we believe and be open to new avenues and creativity when it comes to accompanying families. All of this has much to say to us in Chicago, that we not settle for solutions that no longer work, expressions that no longer inspire and ways of working that stifle creativity and collaboration.
This is the only section about the upcoming synod of the family. It was misleading of O’Loughlin to craft his article in such a way as to make the Archbishop’s homily sound like a left wing liberal manifesto.
“Mercy for nontraditional Families”? There was nothing about mercy and nothing about nontraditional families. That was Archbishop O’Loughlin’s homily….
I’m not uncritical of Archbishop Cupich. He communicates in what I call Fozzy Bear language. It’s happy, warm and cuddly, but also vague and it comes across as, well kind of dumb. Like Fozzy Bear.
I’ll be listening carefully to Archbishop Cupich and will always try to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I wish he would be more specific in his language. What does he mean by “be open to new avenues and creativity when it comes to accompanying families”? What exactly are the “solutions that no longer work, expressions that no longer inspire and ways of working that stifle creativity and collaboration”?
A fifteen minute homily at Mass when he was receiving the pallium was not the place, perhaps, to elucidate any further, but one wishes for expressions that no longer obscure and ways of speaking that encourage clarity and action.”
This kind of fuzzy theological talk is typical of progressives because their viewpoint is poisoned by relativism. The Archbishop stresses open ness to change, “accompanying people”, dialogue and collaboration in a way that seems always to be in tension with tradition rather than congruent with tradition.
I am not a fan of Archbishop Cupich’s often vague, sentimental and mushy language, and I suspect that his ideas of “being open to new avenues and creativity” might be code for him signing up for Cardinal Kasper’s team, but it was quite unfair of Michael O’Loughlin to portray the Archbishop as he did, and it is unfair of conservatives to put Archbishop Cupich into a box before they take time to listen to him fully.
I suppose it is a warning therefore to all of us.
Don’t just read the headline. Don’t just read the article.
Go to the original text before you start making judgments.
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