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16 July 2007 at 2:56 pm by Bob Thune · catholicism
(see post below for context)
Just two weeks prior to the Luis Palau Heartland Festival, which was endorsed by Omaha’s archbishop, the Vatican released a clarifying statement regarding its view of Protestant churches. Here is an excerpt:
QUESTION: Why do the texts of the [Second Vatican] Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of “Church” with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?
RESPONSE: According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense.
In other words, while Palau and his organization were inviting Roman Catholics to participate in their festival in the name of unity, Rome was clarifying that it does not consider any Reformed or Protestant church to be worthy of the title “church.”
Congrats to the Catholics for being very clear on where they stand theologically. I only wish Omaha’s evangelical community could be equally clear on where it stands theologically.
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16 July 2007 at 6:53 am by Bob Thune · catholicism
In the interest of playing well with other churches in Omaha, we at Coram Deo have not said much about the Luis Palau festival which took place last weekend. Though Palau’s methodology is vastly different from ours, it seems that God in his grace often brings good even out of these sorts of events. If there’s one thing we know from Scripture, it’s that God is capable of making himself known through some less-than-orthodox means (see Numbers 22).
However, late last week, I became aware of some troubling developments that have bothered my conscience all weekend – specifically, the fact that the Archdiocese of Omaha was going to have a “confessional tent” at the Palau festival where priests would take confessions from festival-goers. When the Catholic archbishop endorses an evangelistic event, thoughtful Christians should ask why. So it’s time to open Pandora’s box.
According to the Catholic Voice newspaper, Palau reached out to the Roman Catholics and asked them to be involved in the festival. This is apparently a “first” for the Palau organization, and those who agree with it are defending it on the premise of “unity.”
I love my Roman Catholic friends, and we have much to learn from their leadership on social justice and human rights issues. But anyone who has studied Roman Catholic theology should know that the gospel is one thing we do NOT agree on. Unity at the expense of the gospel is not biblical unity. And it’s time someone stood up and said so. What more confusing message could we send to our city than to say, “Luis Palau, Catholics, Evangelicals, and liberal Protestants all agree on the essential message of the gospel?”
My friend in the gospel Erik Reymond did an interview with NPR on this issue last week… they unfairly represented his point of view, but I appreciate him for speaking out and being the “contrarian” on this issue. Read his blog for more. Let us be willing to go against the grain (even disagreeing with our evangelical brethren) when faithfulness to the biblical gospel requires it!
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20 January 2007 at 10:08 pm by Bob Thune · catholicism
In preparing for my message on church leadership this weekend, I was doing some research to try to understand how the city of Omaha views church leaders. By and large, is our city trusting of religious leaders? Or do they have reason to be skeptical?
The bad news is: the gavel falls squarely on the side of the latter. Omaha’s Catholic Archbishop, Elden Curtiss, was named by Beliefnet.com (“the largest spiritual website… not affiliated with any spiritual organization or movement”) as one of America’s Worst Bishops for his (mis)handling of multiple sexual abuse cases.
Any of you former Roman Catholics have some insight as to how this has affected the Catholic segment of our city?
My missional two cents: this will make it harder to gain credibility in our city. And it means that healthy, gospel-centered leadership is part of bringing redemption to Omaha. If we can show the church and the city what humble, godly, Christ-centered, gospel-saturated, strong, biblical leadership looks like, we will be sowing seeds of redemption into a city that has every right to be skeptical.
May we grieve with those who have been hurt by abuse. May God allow us to be agents of His redemption. (And, in the process, may He bring the church of Rome to repentance for its unbiblical understanding of church leadership.)
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