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Last fall, I wrote about being a progressive-minded Catholic in a conservative diocese. I have struggled to understand how the Diocese of Arlington has come to be one of the most conservative dioceses in the United States, where we have priests who seem to wish that the Second Vatican Council had never happened, that the liturgy was still in Latin, and most importantly, the priest was the unquestioned authority in the parish.
Well, I'm now getting some insight into how this state of affairs came to be. A local priest and historian has been writing a series of entries in his blog detailing the history of the Arlington Diocese, and how it has evolved to its current state. So far, he's written three entries:
Why Arlington? Historical Context of Clerical Madness 1
Why Arlington? Historical Context of Clerical Madness 2
and Why Arlington? Historical Context of Clerical Madness 3
The comment in the third entry in this series about Obama stickers on cars resulting in notes on windshields reminded me of an incident that sealed my decision to change parishes. During that period when I was considering changing parishes, I happened to see a brand-new car in the parking lot at my old parish that had been almost completely covered with sheets of paper. When I looked more closely, I also noticed that it had an Obama bumper sticker, and the sheets of paper were photocopies of an article allegedly describing Obama's position on abortion. These sheets were not only placed under the wiper blades and jammed into the gaps around the doors, hood and trunk, but also stuck to the glass and paint (when I picked up a sheet, it was damp and smelled strongly of perfume, which appears to be how they were made to stick).
This abuse of someone's personal property angered me considerably, and I pulled all the paper off of the car and threw it into the trash. But the incident reflected the attitudes at that parish, and it convinced me that it was time for me to leave. Thankfully, I can't even imagine that such an incident would happen at my new parish.
Unfortunately, the Arlington Diocese has far more parishes and priest who would support this response, and my current parish is a rare oasis of compassion and forgiveness in the raging sea of self-righteous anger that this diocese seems to be. I doubt that the insights provided by the historical analysis in these blog entries will provide any insights about how to change the direction of the diocese, but I know that I for one will do my best to fight to keep my current parish from joining its neighbors.
Well, I'm now getting some insight into how this state of affairs came to be. A local priest and historian has been writing a series of entries in his blog detailing the history of the Arlington Diocese, and how it has evolved to its current state. So far, he's written three entries:
Why Arlington? Historical Context of Clerical Madness 1
Why Arlington? Historical Context of Clerical Madness 2
and Why Arlington? Historical Context of Clerical Madness 3
The comment in the third entry in this series about Obama stickers on cars resulting in notes on windshields reminded me of an incident that sealed my decision to change parishes. During that period when I was considering changing parishes, I happened to see a brand-new car in the parking lot at my old parish that had been almost completely covered with sheets of paper. When I looked more closely, I also noticed that it had an Obama bumper sticker, and the sheets of paper were photocopies of an article allegedly describing Obama's position on abortion. These sheets were not only placed under the wiper blades and jammed into the gaps around the doors, hood and trunk, but also stuck to the glass and paint (when I picked up a sheet, it was damp and smelled strongly of perfume, which appears to be how they were made to stick).
This abuse of someone's personal property angered me considerably, and I pulled all the paper off of the car and threw it into the trash. But the incident reflected the attitudes at that parish, and it convinced me that it was time for me to leave. Thankfully, I can't even imagine that such an incident would happen at my new parish.
Unfortunately, the Arlington Diocese has far more parishes and priest who would support this response, and my current parish is a rare oasis of compassion and forgiveness in the raging sea of self-righteous anger that this diocese seems to be. I doubt that the insights provided by the historical analysis in these blog entries will provide any insights about how to change the direction of the diocese, but I know that I for one will do my best to fight to keep my current parish from joining its neighbors.
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