Theologian: Synod activism contradicts message of Vatican II
August 09, 2023
» Continue to this story on First Things
CWN Editor's Note: A Swiss theologian, writing in First Things, argues that the activist vision urged by German-speaking bishops for the Synod on Synodality is at odds with a central message of Vatican II.
Msgr. Martin Grichting, the former vicar-general of the Chur diocese, explains that Lumen Gentium in particular emphasized the role of the Catholic laity, stressing that the laity are not merely helpers for the clergy. The vision of “progressive” Catholics, he says, is quite different: “They are exacerbating the Tridentine clerical fixation—itself a distortion of Trent—by seeking to make the laity de facto clerics.”
“In practice,” the continues, the progressive vision—in which lay people assume ecclesiastical tasks—“proves to be a self-employment program for those already working for the Church.”
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Aug. 09, 2023 5:35 PM ET USA
Good brief article about the mission of the laity. The author's quote from Lumen Gentium 35 distinguishes Vatican II from Pope Francis, who seems to continue to discount the value of verbal witness (e.g., "proclaim the Gospel; use words if necessary"): "The laity go forth as...proclaimers of...faith...when they courageously join to their profession of faith a life springing from faith. This evangelization, that is, this announcing of Christ by a living testimony as well as by the spoken word..."
