Here's a great article on the problem of clericalism in our parishes. While the author points mostly to clergy, he doesn't spare the laity, either. From the article:
How that plays out on the ground is familiar to anybody who has ever had to deal with the lay religious professional who has carved out his or her niche on the liturgy committee or the RCIA or the Whatnot Committee. Such people can be more territorial than high-strung little yip dogs and as contemptuous of the unwashed as the most ferocious Pharisee. If some impertinent person dares to wonder why there is sand in the holy water font for Lent or why the kneelers have been ripped out and the pews moved so close that it is physically impossible to kneel during the liturgy, they will receive a mixture of condescending explanation and impatient tongue-lashing for their sinister pre-Vatican II tendencies by the local Ubergruppenfuehrer for Liturgical Experimentation with an M.A. from Seattle U (“an institution in the Jesuit tradition”).
Very familiar. The congregation is held in contempt, and they know it.
No comments:
Post a Comment