"The World and the Church We Live in Now" by Anthony Padovano/Outstanding article in CORPUS Reports, Nov.-Dec. 2015

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community, Sarasota, Florida

Summary Belief and Belonging; Five Features of Contemporary Belief that are Fairly Universal:

1.       Jesus Christ is worth following, but a lack of agreement on where that leads or even why it is important

2.       Belief in God as a life force. Little agreement on who God is and how to describe God

3.       Certain rituals are important to Catholics whether they attend church regularly or not: baptisms, weddings, funerals

4.       “there I a willingness at charged moments to connect with the past and to follow the guidance of the Catholic Church because it brings a measure of comfort when tragedy overwhelms us (e.g. assassination of a beloved president, the death of Princess Di.)

5.       Desire for the Church to endure and a reluctance to be critical of everything about it. “This leads many to resist other when they denigrate the Church excessively. This concern sometimes rises to the level of affection as in the life of John XX111 or the achievements of Vatican 11 or the funeral of John Paul 11 or the election of Francis or, indeed the ministry of wen religious to the poor.”

Councils and Not Popes Have Had a Decisive Influence over the Church in the Modern Era/7 centuries

Council of Constance 1414-1418

“A Council may be summoned even against a pope’s wishes and act on behalf of the People of God. The Church is the People of God with priority over any structure that impedes this. Constance pressured all three Popes simultaneously claiming legitimacy to resign or to be removed  forcefully. It then elected a new Pope on its own authority.”

Council of Trent (1545-1563)

Decreed Latin was legitimate way to celebrate Liturgy, but not obligatory.

“Declared God’s presence purifies us to the core of our being and does not leave us sinners who require mercy from God and even then are not thoroughly purified.”

“Declared that the Pope was not infallible, however even in faith and morals”

Vatican 1 (1869-1870)

Clarified “that only the People of God is infallible, the whole Church. The Pope participates in the infallibility of the Church when his reaching is infallible.”

3 Foundational Principles from John Henry Newman enter into definition of being Catholic

      a.     ”Church teaching must evolve and develop or else it becomes heresy.”

b.      Consult laity in matters of doctrine.

c.       “The prophetic structure of the Church is the work of the theological community. Its object  is truth and the means to it is reason.”

d.      “There is no infallibility in the Church unless all three structures make their contributions. Infallibility without the laity is impossible.”

…”monarchy and resistance to change are themselves resisted so that they have no abiding future in the Catholic Church.

Vatican 11 (1962-1965)

a.      “No other Council broke ground in so many areas and on such a scale.

b.      “Nor did any her council embrace the world as it is and reach out to all humanity by addressing all people of good will.”

c.        “The document on the Church called for a collegial Church liturgy  brought in the most massive liturgical reform in Church history reversing  more than a millennium of priest-centered celebrations. A collegial Church and a community centered Liturgy reinforce each other.”