The Hermeneutic of Continuity?

Many things can happen in 42 years. This is obvious when one looks at the state of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. As you may have heard, in some polls, up to 70% of Catholics have lost the biblical belief that Jesus is present in the Holy Eucharist. Many people think going to Mass on Sunday is an optional suggestion. Many, including some priests, have forgotten that our Catholic Faith has been divinely established in the world and we have no right to change the gift we have received from the Lord God.

What comes into question is how we understand the Church and view the church. The word "hermeneutic" which essentially means "the proverbial lense through which we comprehend a certain subject" is often used to describe this approach towards the Catholic Church.

The Holy Father reflected on all of this in his Christmas Address a year and half ago. He asks:

"What has been the result of the Council? Was it well received? What, in the acceptance of the Council, was good and what was inadequate or mistaken? What still remains to be done? No one can deny that in vast areas of the Church the implementation of the Council has been somewhat difficult, even without wishing to apply to what occurred in these years the description that St Basil, the great Doctor of the Church, made of the Church's situation after the Council of Nicea: he compares her situation to a naval battle in the darkness of the storm, saying among other things: "The raucous shouting of those who through disagreement rise up against one another, the incomprehensible chatter, the confused din of uninterrupted clamouring, has now filled almost the whole of the Church, falsifying through excess or failure the right doctrine of the faith..."

He continues:

it all depends on the correct interpretation of the Council or - as we would say today - on its proper hermeneutics, the correct key to its interpretation and application. The problems in its implementation arose from the fact that two contrary hermeneutics came face to face and quarrelled with each other. One caused confusion, the other, silently but more and more visibly, bore and is bearing fruit.

Then he points out:

On the one hand, there is an interpretation that I would call "a hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture"; it has frequently availed itself of the sympathies of the mass media, and also one trend of modern theology. On the other, there is the "hermeneutic of reform", of renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us.

As to the first, the "hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture", the Holy Father points out:

In a word: it would be necessary not to follow the texts of the Council but its spirit. In this way, obviously, a vast margin was left open for the question on how this spirit should subsequently be defined and room was consequently made for every whim. The nature of a Council as such is therefore basically misunderstood. In this way, it is considered as a sort of constituent that eliminates an old constitution and creates a new one.

As to the latter, the "hermenuetic of continuity," he points out:

The Church, both before and after the Council, was and is the same Church, one, holy, catholic and apostolic, journeying on through time; she continues "her pilgrimage amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God", proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 8).

Thus, if we are to continue in the same Faith of the Apostles, the Martyrs and all those who have accepted their discipileship as Christians, we too must take up our Faith in Jesus Christ who has handed on his Holy Spirit to the Catholic Church to guide her. Most prominently in our Holy Father who continues to teach on behalf of Christ to each of us. And thus, knowning his own weaknesses the Pope pointed out:

Lastly, should I perhaps recall once again that 19 April this year on which, to my great surprise, the College of Cardinals elected me as the Successor of Pope John Paul II, as a Successor of St Peter on the chair of the Bishop of Rome? Such an office was far beyond anything I could ever have imagined as my vocation. It was, therefore, only with a great act of trust in God that I was able to say in obedience my "yes" to this choice. Now as then, I also ask you all for your prayer, on whose power and support I rely.

We should remember to pray for our Pope and our Bishops, and especially our priests. For many have been the attacks on Holy Mother Church and on her sons who have accepted the call to the Priesthood. Many priests have been sidetracked or distracted in their following Christ, and we know that Satan even now tempts them to turn away, for in wounding the shepherd the sheep will scatter (Speaking of which, I will soon be writing about what I have been learning in the book A Generation Betrayed) . Let us, ignobled sheep that we are, take up the cause of Holy Mother Church in our prayers so that no priest maybe left behind for lack of our prayers. For truly Christ Our King can renew the Church, if we each will accept his gentle invitation and command to his disciples to take up our cross and daily follow him.