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<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Benedict is circling the wagons. First,
the Vatican is hoping the priesthood sexual predator crisis will “just go away,”
instead of dealing with it effectively. The recent Austrian Preachers
initiative for attacking the shortage of priests by admitting women, allowing
married clergy, etc., drew his outspoken anger. Orders of nuns are rebuked
for their efforts to help the poor and solve social injustice instead of
focusing on abortion and contraception issues. Now Caritas is experiencing
new restraints and petty controls. Vatican II is a dim memory. The
college of Cardinals is ‘stacked’ with ultra conservatives in the Ratzinger
image.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pope is preparing
an Encyclical to cap his papacy and insure reactionary steps are imbedded in
Catholic institutions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">“The Catholic church is an Anvil that has broken
many a Hammer.”</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Change doesn’t come easy to the RC church.
If you assume a “normal cycle” of change in corporate human affairs as something
like: A movemental dynamic precedes institutional formation or change; normal
institutions don’t preclude dissent, dissent pushes for renewal; renewal and
change meets with resistance; and real change occurs slowly or not at all.
For example, the Reformation took 300 years, Vatican II petered out in 50.
Outside of Revolution institutions don’t change fast. We were naive to
imagine the renewal of the institutional church would take 40 years.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Rod Rippel</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=dmdunn1@gmail.com
href="mailto:dmdunn1@gmail.com">David M Dunn</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, May 03, 2012 8:24 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=oe@lists.wedgeblade.net
href="mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net">Order Ecumenical Community</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Oe List ...] The Roman Catholic Church,the Old
Catholic movement, and our common memory</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
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<DIV>On May 3, 2012, at 8:30 AM, Tracy Longacre wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN
style="WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium arial; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"
class=Apple-style-span>Hmm, they sound like the Episcopal Church. Why did they
decide to create a new organization?</SPAN><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV>
<DIV><B>Many were profoundly wounded by their experience with the R.C. church,
but identified just as profoundly with being "Catholic." </B></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As far as I can discern this means at least:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>- related to a continuous thread of symbolic leaders that goes back to the
earliest church</DIV>
<DIV>- focused on the Eucharist as the central act associated with being the
People of God</DIV>
<DIV>- grounded in daily living as a sacrament embodying Holy Mystery</DIV>
<DIV>- recovering an authentic form of an ancient tradition that got lost in
institutionalization</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Why create a new organization? The founders of the ECC identified with the
Old Catholic Movement that traces its lineage back to the anti-papal movement in
the Catholic church in Europe at the time of Vatican I in the late 19th century.
None of the existing churches feels fresh, open, dynamic, and real. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'll have a richer train of thought before the year's out.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">To Herman's comment: </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B>Very interesting about independent Catholic
churches. Now tell us about:</B></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT color=navy><SPAN
style="COLOR: navy"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">• new monasticism<o:p></o:p></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">• emergent churches<o:p></o:p></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">• co-located congregations</DIV></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Others will know more than I do about all three
of these, but…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The new monasticism is a handle for a variety
of intentional communities of faith involved in community service, many small,
often urban, some with storefronts, some living in community. As far as I've
read, emergent churches are exploring new language, new ways of engaging the
world, maybe new theologies. (I don't know if many are wrestling as deeply as we
have with grounding, transparency, and radical collegiality with other faith
traditions.) The two co-located congregations I know about are Light of Christ
Ecumenical Catholic Community and Bethany Lutheran Church in Longmont, Colorado.
They share a building, worship space, various liturgies and ministries.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV>David</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV
style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space">David
Dunn<BR>740 S Alton Way 9B<BR>Denver, CO 80247<BR>--<BR><A
href="mailto:dmdunn1@gmail.com">dmdunn1@gmail.com</A><BR>720-314-5991<BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><BR>
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