This is what I went through. We older guys have something to say to the young guys about this.
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I was in Theology studies in the 70s. All you said about your 80s experience was true in the 70s. I liked to think of, and live out my time in Theology, as a new second novitiate experience, leading not to vows but to something more sacred, ordination. But many were of a different mindset. I think for most of us who persevered, our vocation was saved by the example of good and holy priests we met once we got into active priestly work.
Sometimes I don’t understand Fr. McTeigue’s laments. Isn’t there an old adage, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?
He’s watching the dismantling of the Apostolic Catholic Faith in real time by the hierarchy, and he says things akin to, “Oh, here comes that wrecking ball machine again. Geez, why are they using that? The last time they used that they tore down a whole bunch of the Church. If they use that where they’re aiming, they’ll topple the whole facade of St. Peter’s. Oh no! There it goes! Don’t they know they’re tearing down the whole structure?” as if it’s an accident or something.
It almost seems like he’s stuck in denial, not even seeing what he’s actually seeing, trying to explain it with every explanation except the reality. Does he know the reality but does not want to say it out loud?
It’s like a woman being stabbed to death by her husband and saying to herself, “My gosh, he’s stabbing me violently with that knife. It’s almost like he hates me.”
I don’t mean to be disrespectful to Fr. McTiegue, but sometimes I don’t think what he has to say is very helpful.
Some people do things because they want to do harm, and some people do things because they were taught to do them.
By this time, a lot of people are doing things they were taught by somebody who was taught by somebody who was taught. They think the situation is normal.
Also, it is becoming clear through historical study that a lot of this bad stuff had been going on since Vatican I or even before.
The bad stuff after Vatican II had been long prepared for, and again many of the perpetrators did not know they were not doing something normal and sensible. Because that was what they were taught should be done.
So for example, I saw an interview with one of Pope Leo’s seminary teachers. She seemed nice on a human and Catholic believer level, and loved the Lord and Scripture; but a lot of her scholarly work was exactly what you would expect from her times.
So she probably taught some good things, and some “normal” things that she had no idea were bad. And that is what all the young priests would have learned from her.
fac,
I don’t disagree with you, but what else is someone in his shoes to say or do?
supercooper,
I don’t know what it is about his “shoes” that prevents him from saying clearly what he sees happening and explaining the error contained in it.
Here’s what I mean: According to the Gospel of St. John, near the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus got into sharp conflict with the Pharisees and Scribes. He was very direct with them. He called them liars to their faces. He called them sons of Satan to their faces. He called them whitewashed tombs to their faces. I am assuming He did this to confront their apostasy, and I believe, in hopes of convicting them of sin, pricking their consciences, and having them repent. Maybe He saved some of them with this method.
When Fr. McTiegue talks about the reemergence of the false theology of the 1980s he doesn’t call out those spouting it as to the falsehood of it. Shouldn’t he? St. Peter did, by laying out the whole scenario to the crowd in Acts 2:14-37, and Scripture says that after he spoke so boldly and truthfully, the crowd had “compunction” in their hearts, and were converted. Shouldn’t we, if we have the knowledge and understanding, and the platform to call out error, do so, and not just lament, “here we go again….”?
I like Fr. McTiegue, and I know he is a very smart man, and a good teacher, so maybe in future videos he’ll explain the falsehood of the errors in clear language. But my initial thought after watching that video was to cure that PTTSD, he needs to take a red pill.
fac: I don’t think you quite get what Fr. McT is trying to do.
He is not trying to bring down the entire edifice of what he is tackling in this or other videos. There is no time for that in these short offerings and short offering are what most people out there want. Attention spans are shortening.
He is trying to alert people to various problems and get them to start thinking about them, recognizing them when they pop up in their lives.
I have a great respect for priests such as Fr. McTeigue. I’ve heard that some priests who speak up suffer intense hardships for far less than he has said, and sometimes over what they represent more than what they have mentioned. They still speak with dignity for those they speak about. Most are in a very difficult situation and deserve our prayers for their efforts. We the laity can say or do what we want and receive labels and scorn, the priests suffer real consequences. I’m old enough to dread the return of the same old garbage we fought from the 60’s to the 80’s…with all the new troubles piled on top.
You’re right, Fr. Z, I admit I don’t quite get what Fr. McTeigue is doing in the video you posted. Perhaps his audience are the kind of Catholics that have their faith on the back burner, the kind of Catholic he often describes in his videos as attending St. Typical’s. But for those of us who have our faith on the front burner and are watching the pot carefully, no such warning of a rerun of the bogus theology of the 80s is necessary. We hear the catch phrases loudly and clearly, but we have acquired immunity now, and reject it out of hand. So no PTTSD for us. We see them coming a mile away.
Or maybe he’s speaking to fellow priests who lived through the 80s as young men, and they, having held onto and defended the Apostolic Faith in their priesthood over the years, are by now battle weary, having endured great mental anguish listening to and tolerating the bogus theology being trumpeted by their confreres, and the grief of watching the resulting loss of faith by much of the laity. If that is the case, that he’s speaking to fellow faithful priests of a certain age, then I understand what he is saying.