He's Baaaaack!

After a long absence, the writings of Fr. Richard McBrien once again taint the pages of the Catholic Courier. This time he is addressing the issue of the upcoming visitation of women’s religious communities, particularly that of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The point of McBrien’s piece is to question the objectivity of the CDF’s investigation and to suggest that they are setting up straw-men now so that they can harass women’s religious communities in the United States. “one has reason to wonder how objective and dispassionate the visitation of religious communities of women in the U.S. will be.” Of course, this notion is preposterous, given the CDF’s role in safeguarding the objective truths of the faith.

He then summarizes Cardinal Rode’s outlining of four distinct approaches to religious life today.
“The cardinal-prefect listed four distinct approaches to religious life today: new communities that bring energy to old traditions, older communities that have revived their traditions, and older communities that have, according to The Boston Pilot, simply accepted their decline and have acquiesced. Again, no examples were given.
Cardinal Rodé described the fourth approach in even more ominous terms. He claimed that "there are those who have opted for ways that take them outside communion with Christ in the Catholic Church, although they themselves may have opted to ‘stay’ in the church physically."…

Nonetheless, Cardinal Rodé’s was a serious allegation and should not have been made without evidence. Perhaps it is expected that such "evidence" will be gathered during the course of the visitation of religious communities of women in the U.S. and in the CDF’s investigation of the LCWR.”

McBrien seems plenty ready to hurl accusations here. He insists on examples of abuses being given and lambasts Cardinal Rode over his mention of religious communities that have broken with the Catholic tradition without specific examples. He seems to think that we’re going on a witch hunt for ills that aren’t there.

If Fr. McBrien needs evidence of heterodoxy within US womens’ religious societies, he need look no farther than here, here, or here! Then again, in McBrien's world, orthodoxy is outdated and madness is the hip thing. In any event, let the investigation begin!

-Bellarmine