Emergent Catholic Church?
According to this article, some Catholics are getting involved with the “Emerging Church Movement“. This is a “post-modern” movement within evangelical circles which attempts to get beyond the traditional debates and constraints of Christianity. If that sounds vague, it is because the movement is notoriously hard to define, and means different things to different people. The wikipedia article says that participants can be described as “evangelical, post-evangelical, liberal, post-liberal, charismatic, neocharismatic and post-charismatic.” Sounds like quite a mixing pot.
But one thing I have found with my limited interaction with Emergent Church people is that they do not like to be “constrained” by doctrine. Most do believe in doctrines such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, but most also seem to be unwilling to accept traditional dogmas as proper limitations on belief. They think such limitations are a relic of the past Church and are not important in the “post-modern” world.
With that in mind, I do not see how one cannot question the following statement:
With that, there is “no natural resistance” to the Emerging Church [by the Catholic Church], according to Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico province.
Many in the Emerging Church would be comfortable with Catholics believing Catholic doctrine (often more comfortable than most traditional Evangelicals), but I cannot see them accepting these doctrines as a necessary part of being a Christian. Emerging Church members are not comfortable with absolutes, yet as Catholics, we accept doctrines such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Real Presence in the Eucharist as absolutely true. The truth of these dogmas is not dependent upon our beliefs – we simply accept or reject their preexisting truth. Not only are they true, but they are vital parts of the process of salvation. For example, the Emerging Church has no defined sacramental theology, yet Catholics believe that it is the sacraments which are the means which each person is united to Christ and thus saved. This is not an optional part of the Christian Faith, but a necessary component of it. How can that be compatible with the relativistic Emergent Church?
Needless to say, color me skeptical.
‘Emergent Church Movement’ sounds like a virus: “after the emergent rash, the child will develop a fever and seem unwell for several days.” I probably read too many books about childhood illnesses.
Fr. Rohr is something of a wing-nut. Anything he’s advocating is likely to be more or less screwy. He’s a big Enneagram guy, for example, which makes it hard for me to take him seriously as an arbiter of what is or is not compatible with Catholic teaching.
Brian McLaren is a wing-nut, too, but he’s not a Catholic priest and his rather…unique take on “Orthodoxy” is therefore less scandalous.
On the other hand, the article doesn’t say what it is that’s drawing Catholics to this sort of thing, but I’d suspect at least part of it is the search for some real, intentional community. Same sort of impulse that draws people to Opus Dei or Communion & Liberation, maybe.
I can’t fault people for trying to find community. And haven’t many U.S. Catholics been expressly trained (by priests like Fr. Rohr) to regard dogmas and doctrines as at best superfluous and at worst counterproductive?
I’ve never heard of Rohr and only vaguely of McLaren, but I’m not surprised that they are “out there.”
I am very sympathetic to the desire for a real, intentional community. I think the parish is ultimately supposed to be that, but as we all know, this doesn’t always (or even often) happen in practice. Which is why groups like Opus Dei and ones not so orthodox spring up.
It seems to me that the legitimate communities, like Opus Dei, are great, but the focus of our efforts to build community should still be primarily the parish. This is where we come into regular contact with our neighbors and unite with them through the Eucharist. It is the part of the divinely-instituted structure of the Church – not just a man-made response to existing deficiencies.
It seems to me that the legitimate communities, like Opus Dei, are great, but the focus of our efforts to build community should still be primarily the parish.
I agree, at least to a point, but that raises two questions for me:
a). Why is it that current parish life falls, so often, so far short of anything like this? I have some thoughts, but would rather hear yours.
b). Given the answer to a), above, what can one actually do to fix it?
Those may be a bit comprehensive for a comment thread…
a). Why is it that current parish life falls, so often, so far short of anything like this? I have some thoughts, but would rather hear yours.
We first should see it in perspective. Before the upheaval of the 1960′s and 1970′s, the parish was the intentional community we are talking about. You had your strong Irish/Italian/Polish parishes with members whose lives revolved around their parish community. Yes, it had its flaws, but all in all, I think it was a strong atmosphere.
I think the current parish falls short of this because of the dramatic change in American/Western lifestyles. Everyone is mobile as well as isolated. Think about your typical neighborhood today: most people haven’t lived there longer than 10 years and everyone stays locked up in their homes or backyards with almost no connection with their physical neighbors. This cannot help but impact the neighborhood parish.
b). Given the answer to a), above, what can one actually do to fix it?
Hard work.
Seriously, two things:
Practically, I think a major effort can be made to make a parish a true community. For example, caring for others in the parish when they have a baby, a loss, or other major family event – my wife is particularly good at this. This leads to a true sense of community, and is much more effective than just having greeters each Sunday.
Spiritually, I think encouraging distinctive Catholic devotions like perpetual adoration/stations of the cross/First Friday Mass can go a long way as well. This has to be the foundation for a true Catholic community.
Just some thoughts off the top of my head…
Eric, I agree that the things you mention are probably some of the best ways to foster true community. There is a danger psychologists call “a false sense of group” which comes about when you force it or try to “play community” when you are really not one… Anyway, the things you mention would foster true community because they are acts of charity and acts of true worship. The other thing is, while we tend to focus on fixing the bad theology we hear in our Sunday homilies, and there is so little we can do about that in an immediate sense, we lose the opportunity to do what we CAN – loving others in our parishes. I mean, even if your pastor is less-than-stellar formation wise, you can still put together a prayer group or an apostolate of some kind that will draw other faithful parishoners. That small group becomes the seed of the community.
Another thought – I think its important for each person to examine his own life and discover what it is that hinders the parish community life we are called to. If the parish of the 50s, though not perfect, is a good model for what we are aiming for, what in my own life keeps me from living that? Just a little example that comes to mind – my grandparents would never have put sports above the day of rest that had its focus in parish life, but today parish events are poorly attended in part because of the idol of kids’ sports. Am I willing to say no to my child’s participation on the travel soccer team or whatever if it will disrupt our parish life?
Will I live in a smaller home nearer my job if doing so leaves me freer to participate in parish life?
Will I put up with the person who annoys me on the adoration committee and use the opportunity to grow in holiness?
etc.
Just some (preachy) thoughts.
So, I’m just going to interject my own thoughts into this discussion. I was raised Methodist, spent the last 10 years in a non-denominational (but still very Wesleyan) church, and am contemplating joining the Catholic faith. My desire to join the Church came about because of my study of the Emergent movement. Rob Bell and Brian McLaren have opened my eyes to a different spiritual reality that is lost in much of evangelical/fundamentalist Protestantism and is, at its core, Catholic. They advocate practices similar to the monastic disciplines of people like Thomas Merton and try to bring about a return to the “ancient practices.” Because of my discovery of the Emergent church, I have fallen in love with the faith as espoused by the Church. I still have questions about different doctrines, but every time I attend Mass, I walk knowing that I have come closer to God through the liturgy and the tradition. The Emergent movement, in my experience, is a necessary and timely tool to help some of us grow in our understanding and practice of the message of the life of Christ. It is sacramental, it is incarnational, it is trinitarian, and, this may be just my belief, it is Catholic. I thank God for people like Bell and McLaren.
Drew,
Thank you for your comments – it sounds like you have had a positive experience of the Emergent church and it’s good to hear from someone who has “been there.”
I’ll pray that the Lord leads you to a spiritual home.