I HAVE been thinking lately about various signs of a gap or a division between the traditional Church way of thinking and the new ways that many people seem to take in their individual way of searching.
The first is the mode of spiritual seeking which is widespread in Western societies but which the official church often seems to ignore. Seekers ask questions whereas the church often appears to want to push certain ready worked-out answers. People are asking for more listening from a church that, it must be admitted, has a treasure of wisdom.
This touches on the second divide, the model of authority, which the church holds onto. Despite the considerable work of Vatican II Council, the tendency of the church to move to the centre, where there is a concentration of power and authority (the two are not the same) continues, even with Pope Francis. The communication ‘from the base’, where the faith is lived, is sometimes stifled and even not discussed at all.
The question of sexual morality is a third area to be noticed. The Magisterium (Church’s teaching authority) has traditionally arbitrated and defined matters of morality from the almost exclusive perspective of what is ‘natural’.
This has a long and distinguished history but it is questioned by modern people who are well aware of the failings of the institutional church to preserve human dignity, such as in the case of the paedophilia scandals. It seems to me an irony that, at a time when Blessed John Cardinal Newman is much discussed, there is a slip back to authoritarianism and the neglect of conscience.
Finally, we need to look at the issues of church in a world of plural forms of spirituality. There is not only one religion but many religious traditions and there are the spiritual lives of many people who profess no religion.
These are often very sincerely held and invite our rich Catholic tradition into dialogue and a respectful exchange. People today expect to be respected by the Church for religious views and perspectives sometimes on the periphery of traditional practice.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. They are just four ways in which I feel that contemporary people may be drifting away from traditional Catholicism. I would value you reflections and comments.