Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Not likely to be on the SAT:

Integrism

I know, a big, weird word. One I (Orin) didn't know either until a day ago. Here's a bit about it borrowed from wikipedia, some 1982 writings of our Pope, then Cardinal Ratzinger - comments in brackets are from wikipedia (Steven Hand), not mine:

“…we are witnesses today of a new integrism [read: extreme traditionalism] that may seem to support what is strictly Catholic but in reality corrupts it to the core. It produces a passion of suspicions, the animosity of which is far from the spirit of the gospel. There is an obsession with the letter that regards the liturgy of the Church as invalid [read: not legitimate or theologically suspect] and thus puts itself outside the Church. It is forgotten here that the validity of the liturgy depends primarily, not on specific words, but on the community of the Church; under the pretext of Catholicism, the very principle of Catholicism is denied, and, to a large extent, custom is substituted for truth.”

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Principles of Catholic Theology (1982), p. 377



I came upon the word when someone used it to describe someone else as a dissenter on the liberal side of Catholicism. I guess we should remember too that on the conservative side the same dissent, integrism, and schism may be present.

We should also remember our Church is a big one, in which all are welcome - our Church needs all points of view to exist, even to survive.

Yet the key point above - the validity, the worthiness of the liturgy (i.e. Mass) depends principally on the Catholic community gathered. Not language, not gestures, but the community. That's nice to hear.

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