Fr. Dwight LongeneckerAlready too many priests take the line that God wouldn’t send anyone to hell, everyone is just fine as they are and the idea of repentance is something that is still hanging around from the bad old days.
If you’re a Catholic how many of you have ever heard a priest introduce the confiteor with an invitation to an examination of conscience and a call to repentance?
Or do you usually hear something like this: “Now I suppose from time to time some of us have done things that, on second thought, perhaps we shouldn’t have done. Maybe an unkind word here or a little thought there that we were ashamed of. So let’s all take a moment to think about the mistakes we’ve made this week and spare a thought perhaps for poor old Aunt Sally whose not with us today because perhaps she forgot or slept in…”
Right? Hands up if you regularly hear hellfire, brimstone, threats of condemnation and rejection of sinners. Not really.
The Catholic Church I know–both in England and the USA–isn’t like that.
Instead I see a church that is already welcoming to all who wish to follow Christ. I see a church that is already bending over backwards to minister to people’s needs. I see clergy who have already done so much to make it easy for people that–rather than being full of judgement about sin–never mention sin at all.
The progressive grumbles about the Catholic Church being a big nasty condemnatory self righteous and Pharisaical religion was only smoke and mirrors in order to alter the timeless teaching of Christ the Lord.
One thing I do agree with in Bishop Loony’s statement. The church should speak with clarity.
To do so leading clerics and theologians on the left should stop playing manipulative games.
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