No such thing as a Liberal Catholic!
"Right Wing", "Left Wing", "Authoritarian", "Liberal", "Traditional", "Modernist", "Conservative", "Progressive" "Reactionary"- It is astonishing nowadays to find the Roman Catholic Church using what are essentially political terms to describe sections of opinion within it. We have all been seduced by this, and find ourselves searching for the appropriate adjective to describe which sort of Roman Catholic we are, anxious not to be associated with the "other side"! Sadly the political associations do not end with which label we ascribe to ourselves or to others. Describing one's self as a "traditional catholic" unfortunately gives rise to assumptions about one's political views, which are often unpleasant, totally inaccurate, and thoroughly unchristian. It is discomforting and alarming to think that a situation has been allowed to manifest itself in which clergy and laity talk in these terms because the inference, if not the fact, suggests division and disagreement. The Church, in its teaching and structures, based on the authority of Christ Himself, seems determined not to exercise that authority, but instead to allow the confusion and divisions to deepen by condoning debate and discussion.
Such disunity is the product of an atmosphere in which personal conviction and speculation are permitted to flourish, without check or correction; where positive and authoritative statements of Roman Catholic belief are accompanied by local hierarchies' grovelling apologies to those that maybe offended. Particularly depressing is that much of the hand wringing is reserved for those who are supposedly Roman Catholic! Not that these take much notice anyway!
At one time however the only description that would be used was "Catholic". We did not feel any compulsion to offer further explanation, as we knew what we were and what we believed in. The reason for this was quite beautifully simple, Orthodoxy! Orthodoxy expressed, defined, and reinforced by the Mass and the sacraments. Orthodoxy augmented and confirmed by Catholic family life. Orthodoxy given effect by the uniform religious teaching in our schools.
It would seem that such orthodoxy is a casualty of the Conciliar Church. Certain tenets of the faith are now seldom mentioned for fear of "worrying" the faithful unduly, whilst others are ignored for fear of giving offence. False charity has replaced the real thing when we fear correcting error and telling the whole truth.
Absent the clarity and solidity that orthodoxy brings, confusion, complacency and ignorance thrive with terrible consequences. Consequences only too evident over the last thirty years, consequences that have not and will not be reversed or even arrested by any amount of novelty or mealy-mouthed pandering.
None of the labels are necessary, as there is only one kind of Catholic, and that is an Orthodox Catholic. No further qualifications are relevant.
How that orthodoxy is expressed, realised and guaranteed, well, I think we all know the answer to that question!!
Mark Johnson. Editor.
[Taken from the Latin Mass Society's February 2001 Newsletter.]