Commentary: Filling in the "generation gap" in the Catholic Church in America

Catholic bloggers have been doing an excellent job pointing out some of the fallacies and false oppositions being set out by the media in the advance days before Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States.

One uneven treatment that I think this blog is uniquely suited to address is well represented by this story by the Associated Press: "Generation Gap Shapes Catholic Church in America".

From the introductory paragraphs:

In his visit this month to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI will find an American flock wrestling with what it means to be Roman Catholic.

The younger generation considers religion important, but doesn't equate faith with going to church. Many lay people want a greater say in how their parishes operate, yet today's seminarians hope to restore the traditional role and authority of priests.

Catholic colleges and universities are trying to balance their religious identity with free expression, catching grief from liberals and conservatives in the process.

There is a little good mixed in with a great deal of bad here. That little good is the part about seminarians. But it makes them out to be an isolated phenomenon. Young lay persons, at least the hundreds I've encountered in my life, also want to see the traditional role and authority of priests upheld.

And while, on the whole, the younger generation (which I presume, must also include non-Catholics), "doesn't equate faith with going to church", there are also certainly hundreds (again) of youth that I have personally met who do. See the uneven picture emerging?

The article tries to broadly suggest a great deal of interest on the part of American Catholics in the figure of Pope Benedict, but a generally lax approach to following the teachings of the Church.

Again, my experience says otherwise, and while I'm limited to what I know (which is a good deal considering my years of blogging these issues), and is supported by the sheer numbers of individuals I know who actually subscribe both to the truth that Pope Benedict preaches and the life which results from the teachings of Christ.

Can the Catholic Church in America improve? Yes. Are the youth especially called to fidelty? Absolutely. But is it really such a lost cause? I would strongly disagree with intimations that it is. Consider:

Older Catholics who remember the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s are still debating its modernizing reforms. The council changed everything from the role of lay people to the direction priests face while celebrating Mass.

Benedict has revived some traditions and prayers that had been largely abandoned since Vatican II, refueling the debate.

But young adult Catholics are fed up with the fight, according to James Davidson, a Purdue University sociologist of religion who studies American Catholics.

This line of argument especially irks me, because it dismisses Catholic youth as being either uninvolved, uninterested or uninformed about these debates, or normally - all three. Well, try telling that to the "Whapsters" , or the kids at PhatMass, or me (frankly), or the amazing and brave young men studying for the priesthood, or the thousands of kids attending education at orthodox Catholic colleges, or the dozens (if not hundreds) of youth blogs who I've come across in these past years.

I'm not saying there's a silent majority here, I'm saying there's a very vocal minority. But passionate, creative minorities change culture too, and often, sooner. And my thousands of young readers don't waste time.

The article's explanation of the next generation of priests is especially lacking:

Monsignor Thomas Nydegger, vice rector of the Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University, said seminarians today are reaching back in Catholic tradition — like Benedict does — for rituals and clerical garb they find inspiring.

But they blend that interest with modern church goals: to serve parishioners and the larger community and to reach out to people of other faiths, he said.

The author reveals his impoverished understanding of the landscape by using "but" to start the second paragraph. In fact, this interest in "modern church goals" is part-and-parcel with their devoted reclamation of traditions that were falsely discarded by the previous generation. And the mentioned goals aren't modern, they're ancient.

Moreover, this new generation has seen the projects of their predecessors, and has decided what works - not always the innovations of the last twenty years, but always the tradition that has inspired the Church to proclaim the gospel for the past twenty centuries. And yes, that can even include distinctive clerical garb.

The truth of what I'm saying is born out by the phenomenon of recent priestly vocations - the men coming into the priesthood are attracted to orthodoxy and tradition; and the same applies to catholic youth who stay within the Church. In other words, if you don't think being Catholic is important, you aren't very likely to stay. If you do stay, especially in today's hostile climate, it's a good bet you believe in what she teaches and strive to live it.

Before this gets too lengthy - okay, it probably already is - I'll respond to the final paragraph of the article:

One visit from Benedict won't solve the problems of the American church. But by coming to the U.S., he can show Catholics — even briefly — what it might be like to be truly united by faith.

Without realizing it, the author has stumbled upon a very true insight. Yes, one visit from the pope won't overcome the challenges facing Catholic youth in America in the 21st century. But guess what? You can listen to the pope when he isn't physically in your country. Some of us - *cough* - make rather a habit of following what he says, year round, even when he's Rome-bound. It's a good way to bridge the gap this author points out.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, bookmark AmericanPapist, and get the wider picture. Fill in the gaps!