One of the most noteworthy recent events in the Church occurred after the Extraordinary Synod closed on October 18. On October 20, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput gave the annual Erasmus Lecture for the magazine First Things in New York. Media coverage focused almost entirely on a remark the archbishop made in passing during the Q&A about the confusion that emerged from the Synod. But donâ??t waste time on that â?? misleading â?? sideshow. The really important, truly lasting thing was the lecture itself.
First Things will bring it out in its own good time. For now, you can watch it here. (I myself had to â?? I was not in New York but en route between the Synod and a lecture of my own at Aquinas College in Nashville, a subject for another day.) Itâ??s worth your time because the good archbishop deftly sums up and offers remedies for our dire situation as believers, which is likely to get worse. Itâ??s simple realism for all of us, especially future priests, to be prepared for a culture that, in the next quarter century, will be â??drastically different and much more unfriendly.â? We will be â?? in large part already are â?? â??aliens in an alien land.â?
Read Full Article »