Sunday, September 07, 2014

"The pre-Conciliar practice was much sounder"

Boniface, "Alternatives to Conventional RCIA" (Unam Sanctam Catholicam, August 26, 2014).

Anyone who has been through the program of RCIA, with almost no exceptions, can tell you that he is 200% right. RCIA actually deters some Christians from becoming Catholics, in many cases not because their understandings are too "Protestant," but because the RCIA's presentations are too "Protestant," if not "New Age" or "Care Bear" fluff.

The author notes:
First of all, it must be noted that there is really no legitimate way to "get rid" of RCIA. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults is mandated from the highest levels of ecclesiastical authority and there is no Diocese in the West where it is not pushed by the local Ordinary. Attempts to abolish or ignore RCIA will be met with stern resistance from even the most traditional minded bishops.
Then, along the way, this characteristic admission:
We can see at once that from a pastoral perspective, the pre-Conciliar practice was much sounder.
As an afterthought, I cannot help thinking the photograph posted at the top of his article was quite intentional, given the subject and his subsequent defection from the Faith.

[Hat tip to JM]

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