Trans-Modern Church

[Gerard Bugge]

=09I received the following interesting and provocative post from
Michael---the "mysterious sender" (actually I requested to be join his
mailing list which sends 2 posts a day, 20 days a month, many of them
excellent indeed!). But for those who are not on his mailing list, you
may find this piece by Paul Vitz (a psychologist at Columbia University
and a convert to Catholicism along with his wife, Evelyn). It seems to
address some issues important to Catholics (and all Christians!).

=09Gerard Serafin

=09-------------------------------------------------------------
TRANS-MODERN CHURCH
=20
=09=09=09=09Paul C. Vitz

=20
_________________________________________________________________
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That the Catholic Church is in a serious period of conflict and change =
is
recognized by all her observers. The changes ahead for the Church can b=
e
analyzed by having recourse to four terms - modern, postmodern,
antimodern, and trans-modern. This last term is a new one, but it is ve=
ry
useful in understanding the path we are treading.
_____________________________________________________________________=
_
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=20
Modern: By modern I mean the historical period and main ideas of the la=
st
250 years. Modernism begins around the middle of the eighteenth century
with the French Enlightenment. Key events in this period have been the
French and American revolutions, the rise of modern science and technol=
ogy,
the industrial economy, and the modern city. It has been the period of =
mass
intellectual movements such as democracy, communism, and fascism. Key i=
deas
have been liberty, egalitarianism, rationalism, and the like. During th=
is
period, the Church has remained outside of these major movements and ha=
s
clearly recognized modernism as a major threat - indeed, often a heresy=
=2E
Nevertheless, the Church has made her peace with important positive mod=
ern
contributions, such as religious liberty, science, and democracy.
=20
Postmodern: The postmodern represents the major intellectual changes of=
the
last fifty years. Postmodernism is a natural extension of modern ideas
fueled by a hostility to the very ideas from which it springs.
Postmodernism dissolves the modern certainties, using modern logic itse=
lf.
Postmodernism can best be understood as a kind of morbid modernism.
=20
Nietzsche was perhaps the first modern thinker to lay the groundwork of
post-modernism. Today's postmodern theorists include such figures as
Richard Rorty, who has claimed that "truth is what your colleagues will=
let
you get away with saying."
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Although the Church officially holds on to its premodern orthodoxy, the
practice of Catholicism has been, understandably enough, greatly affect=
ed
for years by modern, and now postmodern, mentalities. The antihierarchi=
cal
sentiments in the Church are classic expressions of modernism's hostili=
ty
to any form of authority. The pressure for the ordination of women is b=
oth
modern and postmodern in its character; this movement's antihierarchica=
l
and egalitarianism emphases are modernist, while their slippage toward
antirationalist, antiorganizational goddess-worship has strong postmode=
rn
characteristics. The focus on sex education is a modern emphasis, while=
the
rejection of any clear moral teaching of doctrine is postmodern.
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Antimodern: Antimodern refers to contemporary ideas and movements that =
are
rooted in the premodern historical period. A major antimodern movement =
is
fundamentalist Islam with its rejection of the West on the grounds that=
it
is secular, corrupt, and immoral. This antipathy to the modern is also
found in the Islamic failure to develop a modern economy. Unlike so man=
y
Asian nations, the Islamic countries have not entered the twentieth
century; still less are they like the Asians for their interests in the
technologies of the next century. Apparently a great deal of Islamic en=
ergy
comes from the sheer magnitude of its battle with Western secular
modernity.
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There are many smaller expressions of the antimodern mentality. In some
respects, Protestant fundamentalism can be seen as an expression of the
same phenomenon. Even clearer are the writings of the Protestant
"Reconstructionists" who argue that Americans should reject the
Constitution as secular and anti-Christian. They argue Christians shoul=
d
create a new America, based upon a biblical vision of society. In the
Jewish world, much of the revival of Orthodoxy and Hasidism can be
classified in the same antimodern category.
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Within Catholicism, there are also strong antimodern currents starting =
to
emerge in the social and political world. Here I would include groups, =
both
lay and religious, devoted to the revival of the Latin Mass, like the
Society of St. Peter. The Lefebvrites are another example, rather extre=
me,
of an antimodern movement that rejects the changes introduced by the Se=
cond
Vatican Council. These antimodern ideas and movements, in spite of thei=
r
weaknesses, have a positive contribution to make both as counterweights=
to
modern and postmodern thought, but also as preservers of important
traditional and premodern culture.
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In the world of politics, we see many antimodern movements developing
around the world, most of which are secessionist in character. These
movements reject the implicit cultural homogenization of the modern sta=
te.
Instead, there is an antimodern identification with race or religion or
culture or ethnic identity. Here one might include the Quebec movement,
Scottish nationalism, the national sovereignty movement by the native
Hawaiian people, not to mention the ethnic conflicts all through out th=
e
former Soviet Union. A bitter revival of this antimodern mentality is t=
he
sad story of conflict in Yugoslavia.
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Trans-modern: The trans-modern refers to a historical period already on=
the
horizon. It is a period that will transcend modernism and yet not rejec=
t
all things modern. Trans-modern ideas will help make this a new and
positive period after modernism is over. The Church's major theorist of
trans-modernism is Pope John Paul II, with his extensive writings on th=
e
person, the family, and the theology of the body. The pope is trans-mod=
ern
in his combining of modern phenomenology with premodern Thomism in orde=
r to
present a new philosophical theology of the person.
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Much of Cardinal Ratzinger's work as well as von Balthasar's is also
trans-modern in character. In music, three composers recently appreciat=
ed
are also transmodern - Gorecki, P=E4rt, and Tavener. All three were hea=
vily
involved in late modernist theory, stemming from Schoenberg. All three =
are
serious Christians - one is Catholic, two are converts to Russian Ortho=
doxy
- and all three have come through modernism to a new tonal and spiritua=
l
expression in music. They have, if you will, transcended modernism. Thi=
s is
not the place to list trans-modern theorists in other fields. The point=
is
that a trans-modern mentality uses the modern, but clearly moves beyond=
it,
by not returning to notions that are literally premodern in form. When =
the
Holy Father speaks of "crossing the threshold of hope" to "a new
civilization of love" he seems to have a vision of a trans-modern socie=
ty.
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Given these categories to describe the present situation roughly, what =
is
likely to lie ahead? The major impact of modernism and postmodernism in=
the
Church has been felt in the diocesan structures: diocesan seminaries,
chancery offices, religious education staff, and many of the traditiona=
l
orders. For many Catholics, this is what comes to mind when they think =
of
their Church. And it is this Church indeed that is in the gravest troub=
le,
that is in decline. Most diocesan seminaries don't have enough candidat=
es
to replace their retiring priests, the same diocesan clergy who have be=
en
most affected by modernist thought.
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In addition, many dioceses are desperately wondering how to finance the=
ir
diocesan obligations. In the late 1960s one diocese in the eastern Unit=
ed
States had an endowment of more than $250 million; the same diocese now=
has
an endowment of approximately $1 million. Huge sums have been wasted
because of bad fiscal management and lawsuits - the latter usually due =
to
serious sexual sins of priests who were protected by their bishops unti=
l
legal damage settlements woke them up. Meanwhile, donations by the fait=
hful
have not replaced what was lost.
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In dioceses all over the country, large outlays still go to support wha=
t
were once Catholic hospitals. While Catholic schools are getting pretty
good publicity, much of the education and many of the students in them =
are
no longer Catholic. One Catholic school in New Jersey currently has a
student body that is 90 percent Muslim. Large numbers of unchurched or
Protestant minority students fill our inner-city schools. The new movem=
ent
for choice in education is very likely to succeed; if so, many children=
now
in the Catholic schools could very possibly leave. They are there now n=
ot
because the schools are Catholic, but because these schools are the onl=
y
low-cost option for parents disgusted with the public schools. Once oth=
er
choices are available, parents will take advantage of them. In short, t=
he
present diocesan system is not only in trouble because of its modern an=
d
post-modern theology, but also for various economic reasons.
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Given the challenges that lie ahead, what might some of the new,
trans-modern structures of the Church look like? The evidence is alread=
y
available, if one looks at the lively organizations already on the scen=
e.
=20
First, these organizations are primarily nondiocesan in character. Taki=
ng
examples mostly from the US, one thinks of the Legionaries of Christ, O=
pus
Dei, Focolare, Catholic Answers, the St. Joseph Foundation, Sodalitium
Christianae Vitae, Catholics United for the Faith, the Missionaries of
Charity, Daughters of St. Paul, Communion and Liberation, and even the =
new
Covenant-Keepers. One could also include the Eternal Word Television
Network, and the new orders that have developed in conjunction with it,=
as
well as the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Rome,
Washington, DC and recently with new branches elsewhere. In the
intellectual world, there are publications such as First Things, New Ox=
ford
Review, and CRISIS, and academic institutions like Thomas Aquinas Colle=
ge,
Christendom College, Thomas More, and Franciscan University of
Steubenville. All of these examples of renewal bring people together ov=
er
much larger areas than a diocese.
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Second, all of these organizations are either founded by the laity (oft=
en
recent converts) or founded primarily to benefit the laity. The apostol=
ate
of the Legionaries of Christ is to the laity; Opus Dei is a lay movemen=
t,
as are Communion and Liberation, Catholic Answers, and the St. Joseph
Foundation. The Eternal Word Network is primarily run by lay people, an=
d of
course it speaks to the lay public, sometimes over the heads of the
bishops.
=20
Third, all of these organizations are reliably orthodox in their theolo=
gy,
and all of them are growing. In the Protestant world, it has long been
known that those denominations that are most traditional are those whic=
h
grow. It is the fundamentalists and the evangelicals who are now a majo=
r
cultural force. It is the old main-line and now very modern or postmode=
rn
denominations that are rapidly losing membership.
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Modernism and postmodernism are the kiss of death for any church. Somet=
hing
similar to this is taking place in the Catholic world. The Catholic ord=
ers
and even the diocesan seminaries that are orthodox and traditional are
those that are growing. And it is the modern orders with their involvem=
ent
in social work, and the postmodern ones with their Goddess worship and
interest in female ordination that are becoming extinct.
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A fourth characteristic of many of these organizations is their innovat=
ive
use of new opportunities. If the old orders represent the dinosaurs, th=
ese
are the new mammals. They are on the Internet; they are using all kinds=
of
new methods, technologies, and procedures for expressing their apostola=
tes.
Amazing as it may seem - especially in light of all the money the bisho=
ps
had at their disposal to set up a television network - EWTN, led by Mot=
her
Angelica, a traditional nun, and funded by donations mostly from laity,=
is
the only significant Catholic voice in television.
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All of this suggests that the emerging, much smaller, transmodern Churc=
h
will be dynamic and innovative, but largely outside the present and
troubled diocesan system. New organizations and orders, enthusiasticall=
y
orthodox, will provide their energy to the Church linked to each other =
and
to Rome through the new media. But once the diocesan system has gone
through its transition, once the dioceses have liquidated their theolog=
ical
and economic liabilities, then will the transmodern groups support and
reinvigorate a strong diocesan revival.
=20
Although to some degree this will be a new phenomenon, it will also hav=
e
strong similarities to previous periods of Church history. Early in the
thirteenth century, for example, during a period of considerable turbul=
ence
and rising heresy, the mendicant orders of Saints Francis and Dominic w=
ere
founded. They too were a radical departure from the accepted orders of =
the
time, focused powerfully on the laity, especially the urban laity, and
thoroughly, even aggressively, orthodox.
=20
Perhaps such orthodox lay-focused movements have always been the sign o=
f
creative renewal and evangelization in the Church.