Friday 22 June 2012

Words to Remember: Faith sustains us

Season 4, Episode 22: beginning @ 37:25

Brother Alwyn Macomber (a Ranger): ... That is what faith is for. Faith sustains us in the hour when reason tells us that we cannot continue, that the whole of our lives is without meaning.
Brother Michael (potential Ranger):  Then why were we born able to reason if reason's useless?
Brother Alwyn Macomber (a Ranger): Not useless, but it's also not enough. Faith and reason are the shoes on your feet. You can travel further with both than you can with just one. If you  must have reason for an answer, then consider this. If today the Rangers came back to earth from their place in the heavens, you would not know about it. They would come in secret and move around us and help us and we wouldn't even know that they were here, because the secret that they bring is feared by people who still blame science for the Great Burn.
Brother Michael (potential Ranger): Then you think the Rangers are here today
Brother Alwyn Macomber (a Ranger): Yes, I believe they could be. That's all that faith requires - that we surrender ourselves to the possibility of hope. With that, I am content.

Sunday 10 June 2012

A Great Little Primer on Vatican II

Author: Massimo Faggioli
Title: Vatican II: The Battle for Meaning
Publisher: New York: Paulist Press, 2012
Details: 140 pages; solid notes; good preliminary bibliography for those interested in learning more about the theological implications of Vatican 2 and the impact that it has had on the Roman Catholic Church over the last 50 years.

For once, I am whole-heartedly recommending a book. It is clearly written and it should give readers an introductory understanding of the development of the theological fault-lines that have developed within the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican 2.  It does require some understanding of Christian theology, but Faggioli is focused on the history of theological movements and the text does not depend on technical terminology to explain his points.

For those who are baffled by the response of the church and its laity, this book may begin to help explain the differences in the interpretations of, and the solutions offered to, the child sexual abuse scandal within the church. It also helps to explain why Vatican 2 seems to be a flash-point for many of the writers and in particular, for the responses coming out of the Curia.

So. You know what is left out of the discourse????

 Children Just Saying ........... The discourse of rape culture, of course, in the academic literature, of course. Just struck me as I was r...