For some the path to a healthier church is about waiting for the orthodox positions of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church to change.
Others see no hope in this patient hopefulness…no hope that “patient hopefulness” will eventually resolve the polarization afflicting the Catholic Church in a post-Vatican II age.
Once Judaism had to face a similar case of on-going polarization within itself. From this realization flowed the diversified branches of orthodox, conservative and reform interpretations of their faith.
What if we are in need of a three-pronged Catholicism…orthodox, conservative and reform?
- Not such a strange idea as it seems, if you check out “Will Catholicism go the way of Judaism?” by Marquette University theologian, Daniel Maguire.*
- Why even Pope Francis sees the need for a “multi-faceted unity” of faith in Cardinal Kasper’s article, “Vatican II: Toward a Multifaceted Unity,” (ORIGINS, July 2, 2015)**
Catholicism is not new to the idea of branching out. Rome, Antioch and Alexandria are today three branches of the original Christian “mother” Church in Jerusalem. Has the time come to officially recognize a Vatican II Branch of Catholicism?
We could say Holy Mother Church has already conceived a new Vatican II vision by the Holy Spirit at Vatican II. That vision is the seed of a new branch of Catholicism born in the documents and in the people who experienced the implementation of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council and in those who were later influenced by it.
The Roman Branch of Catholicism was reared and educated in scholasticism, systematic theo-logic and an ethics of justice.
The yet-to-be-proclaimed Vatican II Branch has been nurtured in a conciliar commitment to “the construction of a new form of the church adequate to the demands of our age” as Richard R. Gaillardetz puts it.*
This new form of Church would, according to Gaillardetz, include:
- dialogical engagement compared to hierocratic monoply on truth
- mutual respect between clergy and laity, differing from a hierarchy of respect
- pastoral approach to doctrinal formation in contrast to a scholastic approach
- unity-in-difference committed to humble learning from each other
In his book , An Unfinished Council, Chapter 4, “Toward a New Ecclesial Form,” Richard Gaillardetz does not suggest the formation of a new branch of Catholicism, but rather a rebuilding of the temple from within the ruins of the old temple by means of a “synthesized reading” of the documents of Vatican II.
We do not find this solution to be a fair assessment of Roman Catholicism and its contributions to the Church.
- Roman Catholicism is hardly a temple in ruins. It has complete control of the Church.
- Even though that complete control has driven many from the pews,
Roman Rite Catholicism has a very faithful following of cardinals, bishops and people who want the the church to return to the highly-structured Roman system of theology/doctrine, governance and liturgy.
- Even though that complete control has driven many from the pews,
- Not to mention, there will always be people who find support in highly-structured systems for the certainty and security of mind they provide. It may also be that we gravitate toward a more structured approach at different times in our lives.
There will also always be people who need a less-structured variation of Catholicism……those who need a more open Catholicism…
…much as Paul of Tarsus needed a more open interpretation of the Apostles’ original interpretation of Christianity as a Jewish sect entirely compatible with Judaism.
…much as early Catholicism later needed to make room for the Roman and Eastern Rite branches of the faith.
For these people and all those who see Vatican II as a singular event in the course of the history and future of the Catholic Church, we ask again,
Would a Vatican II Branch of the Church be such a terrible thing?
Would it not unify the Catholic Church and PREVENT schism?
Would it not it make the Church MORE healthy and LESS myopic?
For more information:
https://ritebeyondrome.com/picture-the-possibility-of-a-vatican-ii-rite/
For further discussion: https://ritebeyondrome.com
Links below are to sources quoted in this article:
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Rite Beyond Rome 
I think this is a great article. Do you have Maguire’s book? Good thing he is no longer a priest….he would be excommunicated. And re: liturgical renewal of the renewal, I actually think it would be a good sign to require the priest to face the East at mass. It demonstrates perfectly that the Roman Rite has turned its back on the people of God. Consilia Karli https://RiteBeyondRome.com
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The Roman Rite has not turned its back on the People of God. It just has a different Point of View (POV) on the God-human relationship and on the priest-people relationship.
This is why we say that there is need for a Vatican II Branch of Catholicism. The Vatican II Point of View (hermeneutics) is growing more non-hierarchical by the day. Roman Rite hermeneutics/interpretation of the God-human relationship is based in hierarchy. Roman Rite Catholicism is entitled to its view of God AS IS the Vatican II Rite. ONE CATHOLICISM, Many branches.
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