Catholic Without a Church

[rug]

Thomas Moore has been a monk, a musician, a professor, a psychotherapist, an author and a lecturer

Posted: 04/18/2013 1:12 pm

At a time when the world wasn't divided into liberals and conservatives, I was born into a devout Catholic family, went to a Catholic church and elementary school and then to a seminary, run by a community of friars -- monks in the world -- to study for the priesthood. I was devout, committed and satisfied. I enjoyed my life in a religious community and even now feel blessed to have had the experience for 13 years in my impressionable youth.

But one day I woke up. I had been reading the radical Teilhard de Chardin and examining the New Testament with fresh eyes under the expert guidance of John Dominic Crossan, now a renowned scholar, who happened to be a member of my community and my professor. It was the heady days of Vatican II, when all of culture seemed to be coming out of a mist and, unknown to me then, I was becoming a religious liberal.

I left the order, stopped going to church and left the God of my fathers and mothers. I tried to be a musician, but theology beckoned me. I got a Ph.D. in religion after studying Freud, Jung, Hillman, Zen, Taoism, the Hermetic tradition and Greek polytheism. Yet, amid all the changes I still felt that in my very cell of cells I was a Catholic. If predestination means anything, it assures that I will be a Catholic for life.

I still love the Catholic way, though I have no use for the pomp and authority. If they elected me pope, I'd model my style on the Dalai Lama. I'd ask the churches to separate from Rome and make their own local communities, ordain their own men and women priests, invite Jews, Buddhists and interesting atheists into their communities, restore and re-imagine monasticism and teach mysticism to the average person. I'd discourage moralism and guilt and emphasize the radical way of the Gospel, living the rule of love in an uncompromising manner. I'd emphasize honor to the saints and ritual and Gregorian chant and blessings in Latin. I'd try to achieve a contemporary Catholicism without the global church with its patriarchy and authoritarianism. I'd encourage people to follow the Jesus way joyfully and gracefully and not only tolerate but eagerly seek wisdom and insight from all other spiritual traditions. After all, the word "catholic" means universal.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-moore/catholic-without-a-church_b_3109066.html

[IrishAyes]

1. Profound

A lot of us would be happiest in such a church.

[rug]

2. He's a thoughtful guy. I think he belonged to the Dominican Order.

[IrishAyes]

3. That sounds like them.

I've always liked the Dominicans, Claretians, and Jesuits especially. Archbishop Romero was a Jesuit, and constantly in hot water with Rome after he awoke in defense of the people.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

4. I would certainly feel more comfortable in Moore's version of Catholicism than in the current one.

One of the main problems I have had with the past two Popes, especially John Paul II, was that I felt they didn't trust us. I get the feeling that if they weren't there to guide us in every detail, we would be certain to get it wrong.

JPII was noted for his tendency to talk to people, not with people. The late auxiliary bishop of my diocese told me of an audience he had with JPII, in which the Pope did essentially all of the talking. Remember when JPII came to the US, and an American nun tried to engage him in conversation? He plainly was not interested in what she had to say, which is simply bad leadership. He clearly felt that he was the man with all the answers, and no one else need bother, because we either agreed with him or else we were wrong.

[georges641]

5. Not understanding this...

"Universal" doesn't mean mixing all the religions together. How could that be, anyway, since some doctrines of other faiths are clearly contradictory?

I suppose I just don't understand this fellow. If he doesn't like Catholicism and since he seems to have left it, then he's no longer a Catholic and he's free to believe as he chooses. But Catholicism is what it is, and if he had his way with it, it would no longer be Catholicism.

Does following Jesus mean to follow the Catholic Church? That's what Catholics believe. Other Christians would dispute that, but they don't claim to be or want to be Catholics. I don't understand why some want to have it both ways.

[rug]

6. This distills his point.

For me, the essentials of the Catholic life include the vision and values of the Gospels, the wisdom of the tradition, certain spiritual practices, the arts developed within the tradition, and a particular kind of monastic life. If pressed, I'd summarize it as Catholic wisdom and beauty. The heavy hand of authority has hurt rather than enhanced Catholic experience, and it's time to revision it.

From what I gather, his complaint is that church discipline is overriding the Gospel message.

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