What's Wrong...and/or Right...with the Catholic Church

Rapid Response for SUNDAY, December 2, 2018

ABOUT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: THE CLERGY AND THE LAITY.

This comment is prompted by a recent article by William A. Donohue, PhD, President and Publisher of "Catalyst", the organ of the Journal of the Catholic League For Religious And Civil Rights.
Since the launching of my web site (asthma.drsprecace.com), I have maintained a Link to the Catholic League, to accompany my many years-long subscription. Professor Donohue has long performed a vital and effective service in defending our Church from constant and often scurrilous attacks.
That is why I consider an article he published in the December, 2018 issue of the Catalyst to be a misfire, in tone and to some extent in substance.
See: "Bishops Beware Of Some Lay Clericalism" (p3).
The tone is harsh, judgmental and dismissive.
The substance paints with a broad brush that fails to give credence to the role of the Laity ("the Body of the Church") as clearly defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and as commonly preached from the pulpit. The Laity never subscribed to the "Pray, Pay and Obey" dictum emanating from some quarters in the past.
To this must now be added the alleged and also proven misfeasance and malfeasance of too many of our Clergy during recent decades.
The Laity must therefore now take a more direct role in stabilizing this listing Ship. That role must be on an individual basis and perhaps also on an organized basis. See my efforts, going back decades, to discharge my personal duty in this regard (the web site Category entitled "The Catholic Church", now encompassing about 200 personal articles).
As we practiced in Typing Class:
"Now is the time for all men to come to the aid of their country" (Church).

GS