The average American probably thinks of the Vatican being behind the times. Although that may be true in some instances, it has not been the case as concerns technology. This has especially been true during the pontificate of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Recently, the Vatican put up a Facebook page in honor of John Paul II. Click here to see it. They have also begun posting speeches of JPII on youtube, which are accessible from the Facebook page. It is good for the Vatican and Catholics in general to be spreading the good news of their faith on the internet as well as on street corners.
Nevertheless, the distribution of resources by the Vatican for a facebook page dedicated to the cause of one proposed saint does raise some questions. Although John Paul II was himself known for including more saints from non-consecrated life as well as those from outside of Europe, at the end of day, clericalism still matters. Our Church is trying to fight a supposed war on secularism by putting forth the worship of the pope and cleric. This same clericalism is found in many of the coming liturgical changes (those comments will be forthcoming). I suppose clerical emphasis is what conservative Catholics believe makes the Catholic Church unique, therefore we MUST emphasize it.
Although pope, bishop, and priest serve a necessary unifying function in our Church, the cult of the cleric indicates the false belief that a priest is needed to access God. This is not the case.
A Faithful Catholic
1 comment:
I love your posts, FC. They are always hilarious.
Recommended reading for you this time is 1) the Facebook page itself and 2) the documents from the Second Vatican Council, particularly "Lumen gentium." You might also want to brush up on the sainthood cause process, which should explain to you why Vatican Radio is promoting the upcoming beatification ceremony with a Facebook page.
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