A very confusing paragraph of the unofficial final document of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate, in Aparecida, Brazil, is a good summary of all that is wrong with the Church in Latin America. In it, we see not only a clear expression of the hermeneutic of rupture, but an honest regret that the rupture of the "Conciliar" Church with the past has not been even greater and more decisive. Naturally, in the end, they sneak in a sentence of Pope Benedict's opening address which is not in any way related to what they have just affirmed - shameless "progressive" modus operandi:
109. We regret a certain clericalism, certain intents to return to an ecclesiology and a spirituality prior to the Second Vatican Council, certain reductionist readings and applications of the Conciliar renewal, the absence of a sense of self-criticism, of an authentic obedience and of the evangelical exercise of authority, the moralisms which weaken the centrality of Jesus Christ, the infidelities to the doctrine, to morals and to communion, our feeble experiences of the preferential option for the poor, not a few secularizing falls in consecrated life, the discrimination of women and their frequent absence from pastoral organizations. As the Holy Father spoke in the Inaugural Speech of our Conference, "one can detect a certain weakening of Christian life in society overall and of participation in the life of the Catholic Church".
And we regret having had to spend a few seconds reading such fatuous self-righteous nonsense.
In this paragraph, one finds a collective answer of the delegates to the Aparecida Conference regarding the liberalization of the Traditional rites of the Latin Church: they "regret ... certain intents to return to ... a spirituality prior to the Second Vatican Council". Thankfully -- and this may have confused some of the delegates who believe they have real power within the universal Church --, Cardinal Castrillón's address on the liberalization of the Traditional Mass was a mere communiqué to the Bishops of Latin America; he was telling the other delegates what was going to happen, not asking them for their permission...
The unofficial document, a huge mass of confusing pseudo-theological condescending gibberish (available here, in Spanish), is since yesterday in the hands of the poor Pontiff. One feels sorry for the Holy Father for the sacrifice of having to read even parts of this...
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Here are the exact words of the Holy Father, maliciously quoted (since the words were taken out of their exact context) by the Bishops at Aparecida:
In the ecclesial communities of Latin America there is a notable degree of maturity in faith among the many active lay men and women devoted to the Lord, and there are also many generous catechists, many young people, new ecclesial movements and recently established Institutes of consecrated life. Many Catholic educational, charitable or housing initiatives have proved essential. Yet it is true that one can detect a certain weakening of Christian life in society overall and of participation in the life of the Catholic Church, due to secularism, hedonism, indifferentism and proselytism by numerous sects, animist religions and new pseudo-religious phenomena.
In the picture, a fine example of the success of Conciliar Renewal in Latin America.
