{"id":4203,"date":"2015-07-15T16:56:56","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T20:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/66.147.242.160\/~stumbli4\/?p=4203"},"modified":"2015-07-16T05:04:31","modified_gmt":"2015-07-16T09:04:31","slug":"what-does-archbishop-cupich-know-about-catechesis-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/?p=4203","title":{"rendered":"What Does Archbishop Cupich Know About Catechesis Anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>

An opportunity for Catholic students to dialogue about truth<\/p><\/div>\n

Dominic Lynch at Lifezette.com phoned new Chicago FrancisBishop Blase Cupich for an interview.\u00a0 Since we have so many new martyrs, saints, and venerables in FrancisChurch who seem to elude requirements for demonstrating heroic virtue, saintly character, or miracles, I think we might be looking here at some future Patron Saint of Excuses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a phone conversation, Cupich shared thoughts about Catholic identity on campuses, what he would contribute to this fall\u2019s gathering at the Vatican on the family, and whether he is a Chicago Cubs or Chicago White Sox fan.<\/p>\n

How can Catholic universities in America regain sight of their institutional identities?<\/h5>\n

It\u2019s very important to keep in mind that there\u2019s always a tension in making sure that the Catholic ethos and inspiration that gave rise to the university continues to be handed on from one generation to another. At the same\u00a0time, it\u2019s also important to realize that universities are laboratories where people do grow. They need the space to make sure that they incrementally understand the faith. Sometimes that means it\u2019s not all at once \u2014 there has to be\u00a0a certain pedagogy to it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In FrancisChurch every Catholic is a scientist and every target is a ‘laboratory.’\u00a0 Freedom to sin is ‘space’ and sinning is ‘growing.’\u00a0 Spiraling into a pit of vice is ‘incrementally understanding the faith’ according to some ‘pedagogy!’<\/p>\n

We also know that a good number of students in our Catholic universities are not Catholic. For instance, various theology classes can\u2019t turn into catechetical institutes. There has to be some awareness of teaching people how to think\u00a0theologically. That tension is always going to be there in an institution of higher learning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Teaching theology without catechesis?\u00a0 Thinking ‘theologically’ without learning theology?\u00a0 Embrace the ‘tension’ of cognitive dissonance, says Cupich.\u00a0 In other words, be absurd.\u00a0 It’s just higher learning, see.<\/p>\n

But it sure sounds lower.<\/p>\n

\n
Loyola University Chicago recently hosted transgender activist Laverne Cox. How should a Catholic university navigate thorny concerns like that?<\/h5>\n

I don\u2019t know the context of the person coming there, so I can\u2019t really comment on that particular issue. I do know there are issues of concern to students, and if you can use a controlled environment by which there can be honest\u00a0and open dialogue so people do come to an awareness of what the truth is, that\u2019s of value. It\u2019s always of value for people to take different steps towards the truth \u2014 even in terms of a point-counterpoint. That\u2019s a legitimate\u00a0way for a university to educate people, in general.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don’t know too much about that event but clinically speaking, if the environment is controlled by some creepy professor, then you can have a Petri dish of dialogue.<\/p>\n

I thought speakers came to teach not learn.\u00a0 Giving voice to the depraved and perverted allows the guest speaker a chance to learn the truth from who – the odd student foolish or unfortunate enough to be taking the class, but who’s bold, righteous, and honest enough to speak out and receive a C or an F for his tepid critique?<\/p>\n

The truth moves one way in a situation like that – out the door.<\/p>\n

In FrancisChurch slippery bishops and gay spectacles get mountains of funding while Catholic truth can only pay, protest, and fail.<\/p>\n

From here Abp. Cupich skips right over the Synod without saying anything frightening, then moves toward the family in general.\u00a0 We have to do better accompanying them as they pass on the faith!<\/p>\n

\n
When the Synod on the Family convenes again this fall, Communion for the divorced and remarried is an issue to be discussed. Where do you align on that issue?<\/h5>\n

I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a big issue. The real issue today for families and marriage within the church is: How can the family continue to be the place where the Gospel is passed on? That seems to be where the real crisis is. Some are\u00a0concerned about a decline in Mass attendance, and that is troublesome. However, I believe we\u2019ve lost a sense in the church that the family is where the Gospel is communicated.<\/p>\n

We have to help our families see that if the faith\u00a0is going to continue, it\u2019s going to have to be handed on within the context of the family. As for the other issues of who can go to Communion and all the rest of it, those are not unimportant, but they\u2019re not the central issues. The Synod\u00a0should not concern itself with those kinds of technical questions.<\/p>\n

If you were to make a specific contribution to the Synod, what would it be?<\/h5>\n

I\u2019ve been a priest now for 40 years and I think that marriage preparation is too focused on the relationship between the couple. We don\u2019t do a very good job in the church of helping people who get married to see the role they have in\u00a0bringing children into the world and passing on the faith. We don\u2019t accompany them there.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis has repeatedly asked us to \u201caccompany\u201d people. We have to put together marriage preparation programs that factor into the\u00a0equation of how we are asking them to create a family, a place where the faith is passed on. We don\u2019t talk about that at all to married couples.<\/p>\n

How important is that kind of training for Catholics at an early age?<\/h5>\n

Well, that kind of catechesis is going to be effective not only if it is done well in the classroom, but also if it is supported at home. Too many people believe that they don\u2019t have responsibility for passing on the faith. They think that they\u00a0can take a child to religious education, go off and pick up the laundry and come back and pick-up a Catholic. We\u2019re not serving families well by not challenging parents to take on the catechesis with us. It starts with building a whole\u00a0new generation of married couples who see the importance of their part in passing on the faith.<\/p>\n

What are your plans to stem the tide of Catholics leaving the church?<\/h5>\n

It\u2019s not just the Catholic church that is losing regular church attendance. It\u2019s the case for all of the mainstream, mainline religions. The real issue here is there is a redefinition of the human person that the culture wants to\u00a0promote: that the human person lives in isolation, who is autonomous, who is the author of their own life, and who wants to be left alone. That\u2019s opposed to the church\u2019s understanding that the human person is relational, who lives in\u00a0community with others and whose life is defined in terms of their relationship with others.<\/p>\n

That is scary to some people because communities make expectations of us. We live in a culture today that has a very strong market-driven\u00a0understanding of human life that wants to divide us. It\u2019s easier to sell products to individuals rather than to communities.<\/p>\n

We need to start with this question: How do you see your life? Is it lived in isolation or do you see the value of relationships where we make demands on each other in faith?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Except for the blame he puts on ‘the evil market,’ none of this sounds too bad to me.\u00a0 That’s the problem.<\/p>\n

Well there is<\/em> that bit about too much autonomy and people thinking they are the authors of their own lives.\u00a0 That does sound a touch invasive. I guess it’s possible FrancisBishop Cupich might want to author my life a little, and grab what remains of my freedom for the sake of my family’s faith.\u00a0 Is their faith yet another excuse?<\/p>\n

Didn’t he just tell us that transgender college speeches were dialogue and that sinning was space for incremental growth?\u00a0 Why should I trade my freedom and family so Archbishop Cupich can pass on some of that FrancisFaith?<\/p>\n

I am the author of the life God gave me, and I don’t hate my autonomy – especially now that FrancisChurch seems to want it so badly.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dominic Lynch at Lifezette.com phoned new Chicago FrancisBishop Blase Cupich for an interview.\u00a0 Since we have so many new martyrs, saints, and venerables in FrancisChurch who seem to elude requirements for demonstrating heroic virtue, saintly character, or miracles, I think we might be looking here at some future Patron Saint of Excuses. In a phone …<\/span> Read More →<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[269,564,566,565,563,96],"class_list":["post-4203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-blase-cupich","tag-catechesis","tag-chicago","tag-dialogue","tag-laverne-cox","tag-synod"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4203"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4249,"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4203\/revisions\/4249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stumblingblock.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}