WHY REESE WAS PURGED: The more I think about Pope Benedict's purge of the moderate, fair and careful editor Tom Reese, the more outraged I get. I'm not the only one. Commonweal magazine has just produced a stirring editorial in defense of America's now former editor. Money quote:
It is hard to judge what is more appalling, the flimsy case made by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) - apparently at the instigation of some American bishops - against Reese’s orthodoxy and stewardship of America, or the senselessness of silencing perhaps the most visible, and certainly one of the most knowledgeable, fair-minded, and intelligent public voices the church has in this country ... No intellectually honest person could possibly claim that Reese's America has been in the business of undermining church teaching. If the moderate views expressed in America, views widely shared by the vast majority of lay Catholics, are judged suspect by the CDF, how is the average Catholic to assess his or her own relationship to the church?One thing Reese did tirelessly was expose and talk about the sex abuse crisis. It's clear Benedict believes all of this should have been kept under tight secrecy. Hence his personal and direct burying for several years of the accusations against Father Maciel, of the Legion of Christ. But Benedict also wants to assert clerical control of the church and is deeply worried - yes, worried - about lay involvement in church management and liturgy. Here's an excerpt of an interview with Reese by Tim Russert:
MR. RUSSERT: Father Reese, in terms of the Catholic laity, how do you see their role changing, if at all, with a new pope?The voice of a rebellious radical? Or a constructive faithful man talking about important issues that the Church needs to face? We now discover that more inquisitions are afoot, specifically directed against Jesuit publications, such as Stimmen der Zeit, the German Jesuit theological journal, "Theological Studies," the American Jesuit theological and scholarly journal published out of Marquette University, and even - yes - the Catholic News Service - the United States Bishop's Conference press service. Those of us who were appalled by the elevation of Ratzinger to the papacy were again accused of exaggeration. It appears we were under-estimating the scale of the new Pope's attack on the very possibility of being a thinking, inquiring Catholic.
REV. REESE: Well, I think that over the years, especially since the Second Vatican Council, we've seen a growing respect for the gifts that the laity bring to the church. We've seen a growing involvement of laypeople in church ministries, as Archbishop Foley mentioned. They're doing religious education. They're doing pastoral counseling. They're taking Communion to the sick. They're reading the Scripture readings at the liturgies. You know? And I think the question is: Are we going to take it a step further and really listen to the laity when it comes to issues that are quite central to the church, even in terms of governance and in terms of church teaching and practice, to really consult with the laity and really listen to them?
I think that's so important, as Peggy Steinfels said. You know, the--even if the new pope continues and takes a position that people might disagree with, if people feel that he has listened to them and that the bishops and the hierarchy are listening to them and taking their concerns seriously, I think that makes all the difference in the world.
Benedicto XVI tiene una agenda y en ella la Compañía de Jesús solo tiene un rol: callarse, así sea en el nombre de Dios. Lástima que los jesuitas han olvidado a quien deben obediencia en primer lugar... y no es exactamente el Papa.
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