I have mentioned before that I belong to a book club which meets once a month. The members suggest books and vote on the selections for the next six month period. Of course that means one will be reading some of other people's selections as well as one's own.
It happens that this month's selection is "The Push", by Ashley Audrain. The plot revolves around a child who is without any sense of empathy or feelings for anyone but herself. It hints at possible reasons, but the reader is left wondering as to the cause of the child's problems. The mom had pretty severe postpartum depression, so attachment disorder possibly is part of it. Other extended family members had issues too, so maybe there are genetic factors. The reader is left with a lot of "maybes". The bottom line is that Very Bad Things happen. The child is very good at manipulating people and projecting sweetness and light. All in all, a pretty dark story.
Which brings us to the topic of conscience. Is it possible to develop a conscience without any empathy or fellow feeling? I can say that the book is just a story. But it isn't far from some things that have happened in real life. I'm sure you have heard in the news about the six year old child who shot his teacher:
The National Eucharistic Revival is starting to take shape around here. What will it look like, and what does it hope to accomplish?
An interesting opinion by Tom Roberts at NCRonline
The hierarchical culture, for better or worse — and regardless of how much input is permitted from laypeople — will in the end decide how synodality is integrated into the life of the church.
If that culture is not reformed at its core — and that means transformation of individuals — then little else matters. What can synodality mean when there's been such a deep, sacramental betrayal? How can it possibly work?
Churches? Non-profit, non-government organizations which help people? Institutions of higher education? No, it's...wait for it...
Cardinal Pell, the most prominent Australian bishop of his generation, has died. He was a polarizing figure, and (like most prominent churchmen of his generation) entangled in sex abuse scandal accusations, but like the man to whom he was allied, Pope Benedict, not altogether easy to fit into a simple, neat ideological box. Pope Francis apparently thought he would be a key ally as well in cleaning up Vatican finances.
This is the Reuters obituary. I don't have time now to do a media roundup, but I am sure NCR, America and other Catholic publications will provide more detailed obits.
The generation of conservative senior clergy who seemed most prominent to me during the younger part of my adulthood - Cardinal Pell, Pope Benedict, Cardinal George - are dying. These three weren't simply culture warriors, they also strove to be thought leaders for a conservative brand of Catholicism. The ideological battles to which they tried to contribute a conservative theological foundation continue in the media and, perhaps, the parishes. But the church itself - both the institution and the wider Body of Christ - moves to newer generations, with new and different hopes and concerns. The Catholic church continues to renew itself.
