The Times: The Mass and Elizabeth Johnson

Two articles in the New York Times today will be of interest to Catholics. The first, on the front page, by Laurie Goodstein, focuses on the new Mass translations, and provides a concise summary of the events leading up to Rome's approval of the changes. Her article includes commentary from two priests who will be familiar to America readers: The Rev. Michael Ryan, pastor of St. James Cathedral in Seattle, who first wrote about his "What If We Said Wait?" initiative (and petition) in America; and Anthony Ruff, OSB, professor of liturgy at St. John's in Collegeville, who published his open letter on the Mass changes, addressed to the U.S. bishops, on our site. The other article, by Paul Vitello, is a close look at the USCCB's recent critique of Quest for the Living God, Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ., with some strong words from both sides of the issue.

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7 years ago

Msgr. Chris Maloney, a pastor in Yonkers who had backed one of the resolutions, said, “When you think about it, the change from the Latin to English was a much more difficult transition, and the church survived.”

You're telling me it was difficult...

Jim McCrea

7 years ago

Heavens! Don't you know that Catholic theologians's sole raison d'etre is to by apologists for whatever "The Magisterium" says is the truth?
Corporate Catholic Googlers are what they must and should be. Intellectual integrity and rigor is for their Betters.

Jack Barry

7 years ago

The approach to Sr. Johnson's ''Quest…'' recalls a book assessment by the USCCB Committee on Doctrine under then-Abp. Wuerl on another important topic, human sexuality. In 2010 they critiqued the Salzman-Lawler book ''THE SEXUAL PERSON: TOWARD A RENEWED CATHOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY'' (2008) and issued a press release and scathing 24-page rebuke on ''Inadequacies In The Theological Methodology And Conclusions''.
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-165.shtml
http://www.usccb.org/doctrine/Sexual_Person_2010-09-15.pdf
Theologians Salzman and Lawler had won a prize and praise for their book. The bishops declared in their conclusion: ''The efforts of theologians, however, can only bear fruit if they are in fact carried on within a hermeneutic of continuity and in the framework provided by the Catholic theological tradition and the teaching of the Church.'' (Immediately before that, the bishops had written: ''The issues treated in The Sexual Person are indeed vital matters for the life of the Church in our time. They should be thoroughly studied and discussed by theologians as part of their service to the Church and to society.'')

The constraints of the hermeneutic of continuity and the framework as understood by today's Committee bishops evidently establish the boundaries beyond which theologians are forbidden to stray if they are to serve the Church and society. It sounds as if there isn't much work left for them to do.