Cardinal George on Vatican II, Catholic identity, liturgy...

... and much more, in a lengthy interview with John Allen, Jr. (ht: Jimmy Akin). Allen provides an overview of some of the interview's main topics:

• George called some moves by the church following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), such as downplaying fasting and holy days, "sociologically naïve," in the sense that the loss of those practices has eroded Catholic identity;

• He argued that problems of Catholic identity plague both the Catholic right and left, with the right often accepting the faith but not the bishops, and the left sometimes willing to cut the bishops a break but in doubt about the faith;

• George said he does not foresee widespread use of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass, despite Pope Benedict XVI's recent decision to permit the old Mass without authorization from local bishops. Most Catholics, he said, instinctively feel, "That's not where we are";

• George said the American bishops have asked for clarification from the Vatican as to whether the pre-Vatican II rite can be used during Holy Week, a question made acute by a controversial Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews;

• If the old rite can be used in Holy Week, George said, a more positive prayer for the Jews from the new liturgy will "probably" be substituted for the old one - though at the same time, George said, this discussion could also be an occasion to ask Jews to renounce unflattering depictions of Jesus in the Talmud;

• George frankly admitted that the bishops are "not of one mind" on the question of refusing communion to pro-choice Catholic politicians, and he doesn't expect a uniform national policy in the 2008 elections;

• For himself, George expressed great reluctance to "manipulate" worship by publicly denying communion in order to make a political point, even in the service of a good cause;

• In general, George defended recent critical notices about theologians put out by the Vatican, such as the 2004 critique of American Jesuit Fr. Roger Haight - though he candidly said that a 2001 notification on Belgian Jesuit Fr. Jacques Dupuis, who wrote on Christianity and other religions, was "not well thought out";

• George confirmed that if elected, he plans to serve as president of the American bishops, a role in which he said he will have the opportunity to "shape conversations" on the national stage.

The entire 14-page interview can be accessed as a PDF file.

Comments

[Mark Brumley]

There's a lot of good stuff in Cardinal George's interview.

If I can find the time--which isn't likely--I will post something on the whole communion issue, which he touches on. The gist: all other things being equal, NOT denying Holy Communion to those who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin (CIC 915) amounts to an "instrumentalizing" of the Eucharist in the interests of PR, not making waves, etc. NOT acting here, where there is a positive obligation to act, both as a result of the nature of the Eucharist and flowing from the law of the Church which seeks to safeguard it, amounts to a "politicization" of the Church's worship in some other interest than preserving the integrity of worship.

[joe]

Good interview. But the concern for 'offending' the Jewish people gave me a little pause. If suggesting the need for conversion is offensive, I think we might need to be offensive more often.

[Paul]

"the intention is to be sure that our prayers are not offensive to the Jewish people who are our ancestors in the faith"

Really? It seems to me that the Lord wasn't so concerned with offending the Jews in his times. Perhaps the Bishop is "somewhere else right now."

[Mark Brumley]

I think we should avoid giving undue offense. We should make sure our prayers are not unnecessarily offensive, especially to those closest to us--fellow Christians and Jewish believers. That is not something Catholics have at all times been sufficiently attuned to doing.

But when faithfulness to what we believe to be God's command--to make disciples of ALL NATIONS, for example--gives rise to some people being offended, we must obey God and not men. Even Jewish men.