Photo from a Call to Action liturgy in 2008. (John Buescher)
For better or for worse, most priests and bishops try to be relevant. In 1965, Pope Paul VI released the documents of Vatican II. Among them was
Gaudium et Spes, “The Church in the Modern World.” Henceforth, with renewed vigor, we would engage the world. It didn’t take long for the new spirit to dominate our devotion. But a funny thing happened on the road to a relevant Church.
In 1968, I was a freshman in a Catholic high school run by the Christian Brothers, dressed in their prim and proper habits. A local priest taught religion, and I learned traditional moral tools such as “the principle of double effect.” By the following year, the Christian Brothers had become relevant. As the school year opened, they cast off their religious garb and sported Beatles haircuts and sideburns. In religion class, we listened to groovy music, such as the Simon and Garfunkel song, “Sounds of Silence.”