IS PROGRESSIVISM DEAD IN THE CHURCH?

"He may not have been thinking about it at the time, but Pope Benedict, in the course of his recent U.S. visit may have dealt a knockout blow to the liberal American Catholicism that has challenged Rome since the early 1960s. He did so by speaking frankly and forcefully of his "deep shame" during his meeting with victims of the Church's sex-abuse scandal. By demonstrating that he "gets" this most visceral of issues, the pontiff may have successfully mollified a good many alienated believers — and in the process, neutralized the last great rallying point for what was once a feisty and optimistic style of progressivism.

But Vatican II meant even more to a generation of devout but restless young people in the U.S. Rather than a course correction, Terrence Tilley, now head of the Fordham University's theology department, wrote recently, his generation perceived "an interruption of history, a divine typhoon that left only the keel and structure of the church unchanged." They discerned in the Council a call to greater church democracy, and an assertion of individual conscience that could stand up to the authority of even the Pope. So, they battled the Vatican's birth-control ban, its rejection of female priests and insistence on celibacy, and its authoritarianism.

...Remarks Tilley, "For a couple of generations, progressivism was an [important] way to be Catholic."

Then he adds, "But I think the end of an era is here."

...the familiar progressives-versus-Vatican paradigm seems almost certain to be undone by a looming demographic tsunami. Almost everyone agrees that the "millennial generation," born in 1980 or later, while sharing liberal views on many issues, has no desire to mount the barricades. Notes Reese, "Younger Catholics don't argue with the bishops; they simply do what they want or shop for another church."
Time

We can only pray that the author is right. For a long time I've said the Church in America is splitting into two separate entities. One side is following the Pope and remaining true to traditional Catholic belief while the other side is following the American Progressive bishops and their call for "social justice".

If what the author says is true it looks as though the Progressives are quickly losing the battle. That doesn't mean all is right in God's Church because most young people are rejecting the teachings of the Church and leaving Catholicism and Christianity by the wayside. This is going to leave a Church here in America greatly reduced in number but far more traditional in its actions and beliefs.

I think that a return to traditional Catholic teachings will, over time, cause the return of many that have left the Church. Unfortunately, the current lack of true teaching is going to cause many to leave and never return, taking their opportunity for salvation with them.

Our young people are so poorly catechized that they can't even make an informed decision about their faith. The Church in America has not done its job over the last 50 years and along with the entire educational system has actively worked alongside Satan to destroy all belief in God. We are facing a lost generation of souls.

If you don't believe me, try having a serious discussion about God with the average 20 something. It's nearly impossible because they are so poorly educated they don't even understand the words necessary to convey the concepts. And, they are incredibly antagonistic towards any perceived threat to their "freedoms". They don't and can't understand the true meaning of rights and responsibilities because they have been purposefully mis-educated. This is not only a problem for the Church but it also presents a serious threat to our Republic.

So I hope the author is right about the death of Progressivism in the Church. However, it'll take generations to repair the damage done.