Catholic Sensibility

All of St Blog's is abuzz ... ... with the strains of liturgical abuse in the air. Lots of people are commenting online about the CDWS document on liturgical abuse. Some of it isn't pretty. At Amy's place, Archibishop Buechlein is taking it on the chin. One commenter said, "Please notice that the document calls for charity, and I've seen precious little charity among the commenters ..." which prompted another thirtysomething posts dragging in everything from sex abuse (what else?) to cake-eating and cryogenics. For some of these abuses listed, Buechlein says they're not happening in Indy. I think I'm fairly liberal in my liturgical theology, and I've never even thought of doing some of the things listed. So why not take people at their word on that? Even this early, I'm tempted to weigh in with a two-point response: This document has missed the mark for concentrating on abuses. Some will say that sinful human beings need boundaries for good conduct, and as a parent, I would agree -- to a point. But liturgy needs to do more than not err. If we want worship to excel, it will take positive steps to ensure that happens. Rome cannot control every diocese, and a bishop cannot reach every parish. But there are needful steps which can be taken everywhere, on all hierarchical levels of the Church, to ensure better liturgy, not just "not bad" liturgy. If the complaints which spawned this document were the driving force, then I think the CDWS has misfired on that point, too. If complainers were satisfied with what they had wrought, they would sit back with smug looks on their faces and watch the progressives scramble. But in St Blog's, that's not happening. People are saying the document is a paper tiger and that the bishops won't take it seriously, and it's another round of bile for the Faithful Catholics. Maybe the problem wasn't "liturgical abuse." If some complainers cannot find peace with the pope, with new conservative bishops, with a conservative curia, with new crackdown documents, with lay ecclesial ministers losing jobs, with Kerry campaigners losing church jobs, one wonders how long the list has to grow. My hunch is it would need to be endless. Some, though not all, Catholics have taken complaint as a virtue, and it can be a dangerous tiger to wrestle with. Otherwise good and sensible people have allowed themselves to be seduced by anger. When nothing seems to satisfy, perhaps God has eluded those who are embittered. Maybe some of this document is about those who seek wrongly, and find themselves always thirsty and clearly dissatisfied. Again.