Mr.
Patrick Boyden has penned a reflection worth noting. In 2013 I wrote:
Lest we forget, there were indeed reform-minded
Council Fathers who responded to Pope John’s vision of the Church growing in
spiritual riches as a fruit of the Council under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit in the hope that the faithful might through grace be aided in turning
hearts and minds toward heavenly things.
Given what has been said thus far, it should not surprise the reader
that many “liberal Catholics” view the pontificate of John Paul II as too
“conservative,” and out of touch with the modern world, while the
traditionalists view the writings and teachings of the Holy Father as
modernist!
Thus
the schema of “liberal” (progressive, left) vs. conservative (traditional, right) which followed upon the
close of Vatican II is wholly inadequate for explaining the present-day crisis
of faith within the Church of Jesus Christ, though it is most unfortunate that
usage of these terms persist among many Catholics and in the media today.
Division within Christ’s Church is a clear attack by the evil one. Satan’s
strategy here is the time-honored one of divide et impera – divide
and conquer. Remember, too, Jesus’ words to the Pharisees: “Every
kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will
stand.” Quite simply, no ideology, no matter how sincerely embraced, may
substitute for personal conversion.
Mr. Boyden
also notes, sans the demonic element (couched as "civil war:")
Ultimately,
what Ross Douthat and others miss is the deep and abiding reality that there is, in the end, no such thing as
“liberal Catholicism” or “conservative Catholicism.” There is only Catholicism.
[italics mine] In our human imperfection, we often try to erect walls of
division where walls need not exist or, in fact, cannot exist. So, Mr. Douthat,
I don’t think that your civil war will ever come to pass: how could a perfectly
one body—the Body of Christ—ever truly divide itself, despite how loudly its
members clamor for revolt? Have faith—the Spirit hasn’t led us astray yet!
Need I say more? Well, I have.
