Agony in Albany - The Roman Catholic Faithful

Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMDG May 2004 Albany newsletterby William C. Brown and Peter Li, brought togethersuch notable figures as Dr. Monika Hellwig, Fr.Philip Murnion, and Fr. David Murphy from NotreDame, to discuss, “Why Be A Catholic?”The dialog attempted to illustrate how Catholics“must now formulate their own personal commitment,deciding where they stand in the communityvis-a-vis the institutional Church.”The Third Albany Forum was on “The NearDeath Experience: A Christian Approach,” and featureddiscussions on whether or not there was life afterdeath, and if so, what it would be like.The conclusion: Near death experiences“raise serious questions about whether we have traditionallybeen interpreting these doctrines (on Judgment,Heaven, and Hell) correctly.”Certain ReservationsIn 1980, when the Vicinanzos expressedtheir concerns that three religious education seriesused at Bishop Scully High School distorted Catholicdoctrine on homosexuality, original sin, the divinityof Christ, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist,the meaning of the Mass, and other matters, the superintendentof schools told Mrs. Vicinanzo that “notextbook is complete in Catholic doctrine, and, at anyrate, the Bishop is the final authority in the Diocese ofwhat is authentic Catholic teaching.”In December, 1980, in a Message of Love tohis people, Bishop Hubbard castigated critics of thereligious texts at Scully High as “totally simplisticand unprofessional” (The Troy Times-Record, Dec.25th, 1980).In July, 1988, a Catholic of the Diocese wroteto Bishop Hubbard asking why permission was deniedfor the use of Ignatius Press’ Faith and Life Series.That series is widely recognized as providingorthodox catechesis.The Bishop replied: “This series is not recommendedby our diocesan office because of certainreservations which the diocesan staff has about itspedagogical quality. . .The second-grade text alonepresents such a wide range of subjects, it is hard toimagine covering all 34 topics in the course of theusual public school religion program. . . .”Even though the series bears an imprimatur,the Bishop asserted his right to prohibit its use: “It isthe right and responsibility of a diocesan office torecommend which particular series is most appropriatefor use in the Diocese. . . .”In a December, 1988, meeting with layCatholics, Bishop Hubbard was seeking to determinewhy many Catholics are leaving the Church. Lay peoplerecited a familiar litany, which included thechoices of catechisms approved for use in the Diocese.At that time, the Bishop announced that hewas “unalterably opposed” to the use of differentcatechisms, saying it might lead Catholics to religiousprograms outside of their regular parishes.A Look At Parish BulletinsThe current director of the Diocese’s ReligiousEducation Department is Sr. Danielle Bonetti,who has no appreciation for traditional methods ofteaching the catechism. She said that the Albany Diocesedoesn’t require children to memorize, and that,today, Catholics are “looking at life and how our faithinfluences the way we live.”In the old days, she told reporter Tim Beidelof The Albany Times Union, “There might have beensomething on the Rosary, more devotional things.They didn’t have a course on the Bible for adults, ormaking a marriage better, there was nothing likethat.”Parish bulletins now, she said, are full of “allkinds of things going on, from religion programs tosocial events, to all kinds of educational programsand formation programs, helping people to be betterpeople and also better Catholic Christians.”The trend in diocesan religion programsmight be judged by a look at parish bulletins.St. John the Baptist Church in Valatie, N. Y.,announced one week that there would be a Stress andDiscipline and Stress Reduction Techniques program,directly above a notice that Confessions would beheld only one Friday a month.“Because the celebration of the Sacrament ofReconciliation should be clearly separate from thecelebration of the Eucharist,” stated the bulletin,“there will no longer be Confession on Saturday from4:30 to 5 p.m. The Sacrament of Reconciliation willbe celebrated on the evening of the First Friday of themonth, from 7 to 8 p.m. In addition, there will becommunal celebrations of Reconciliation in Adventand Lent, and possibly at one other time of the year.”St. Mary’s Church in Crescent has a traditionof running human sexuality work featuring dissenters50