Three new offerings for web-surfing Traditional Catholics ...
The first is a position piece on the Second Vatican Council and what should be our attitude towards it. This will certainly be controversial, because opinions are so divided on this subject, and people feel quite strongly about their particular opinions (myself included). A summary quote:
This essay takes a decidedly gray position somewhere between the second and third options listed above. Read more of Heretical or Ambiguous? A Necessary Response to the Second Vatican Council. Let the arguing commence!
The second piece is a short, conversational essay on how to become better acquainted with Scripture:
The essay includes quite a few resources for those who wish to pursue Scripture Study more deeply. Read more of How to Become a Scripture Amateur: On Studying the Bible.
Finally, the third piece is pure resource, but one that is necessary. It is the full English text of Pope Paul VI's General Audience of January 12, 1966 - the speech in which he admitted that the Council made no infallible dogmatic pronouncements. I have not been able to find this text in its fullness in the English language anywhere on the Internet - hopefully this resource will prove useful to many.
Enjoy the weekend.
The first is a position piece on the Second Vatican Council and what should be our attitude towards it. This will certainly be controversial, because opinions are so divided on this subject, and people feel quite strongly about their particular opinions (myself included). A summary quote:
To sketch a rather broad outline that is admittedly too oversimplified, there are four basic approaches that have been taken to the council: first, those on the far left listen much more to the "spirit" of the Council, and use this "spirit" as their interpretive key which they bring to the texts themselves; second, those in the conservative middle accept the council as it stands, but reject the abuses of the council documents as belonging to the aforementioned "spirit" of Vatican II; third, those slightly to the right of the middle underscore the fact that this council was "pastoral" and not "dogmatic," and while accusing the council of having professed "errors," they cling to the fact of the council's non-infallible nature as justification for "ignoring" the council and continuing about their lives as though it had not happened; fourth, those on the far right accuse the council of out-right heresy, affirm its attempt at speaking infallibly, and thus conclude that it was a false council, convened and promulgated by men who were not true popes.
This essay takes a decidedly gray position somewhere between the second and third options listed above. Read more of Heretical or Ambiguous? A Necessary Response to the Second Vatican Council. Let the arguing commence!
The second piece is a short, conversational essay on how to become better acquainted with Scripture:
The title of this essay was chosen carefully: the word "amateur" comes to us from the French, which itself derives from the Latin amator - a lover. The goal here is not so much to become a "scholar" of Scripture, but a lover - a true amateur. So how does one become a lover of Scripture, such that one's love of the bible eventually becomes a kind of familiarity, an ability to see the logic behind the texts?
First and foremost, frequent contact with the texts is necessary. You don't become a lover by spending one day every two weeks with a person; you become a lover by spending lots of time with that person, every day, learning about them, getting beyond superficial details until you almost know that person's mind. The texts of Scripture need to be in front of you on a daily basis, even if only for half an hour every day. I achieved familiarity with Scripture because my mother (to whom I will be forever indebted) sat down with her children every day and read two chapters of Scripture with them. After reading two chapters of Scripture a day for some twelve years, a person cannot help but become familiar with the stories, persons, and passages of Scripture. I would suggest a similar plan for someone wanting to become better acquainted with God's word: try reading two chapters a day. Even after six months, you'll be in a much better position to understand Scripture.
The essay includes quite a few resources for those who wish to pursue Scripture Study more deeply. Read more of How to Become a Scripture Amateur: On Studying the Bible.
Finally, the third piece is pure resource, but one that is necessary. It is the full English text of Pope Paul VI's General Audience of January 12, 1966 - the speech in which he admitted that the Council made no infallible dogmatic pronouncements. I have not been able to find this text in its fullness in the English language anywhere on the Internet - hopefully this resource will prove useful to many.
Enjoy the weekend.
