Sioux City Bishop Nickless Calls For "Exorcism" of "Spirit of Vatican II"

You read that right!!!!!!

On Thursday, Bishop Walter Nickless issued his 1st pastoral letter as Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City. It is titled Ecclesia Semper Reformanda (The Church is always in Need of Renewal) & subtitled Bishop Nickless's Pastoral Letter on the Future of the Church in the Diocese of Sioux City. & if this letter is a sign of things to come, then the Diocese is in good hands.

Unfortunately, I can't cover everything in the letter, it is 17 pages long. But I would like to point out a few things, including his take on the "Spirit of Vatican II". I won't say he has read some of my comments on that "spirit". But I will say that it makes me feel good to know that based on what he said, I am on the right track.

He starts out in his introduction by pulling no punches. It is clear that he also understands his role as Bishop. "As shepherd, I am called to "speak the truth in love" (Eph 4:15), the truth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior." In order to do that he talks about the time he spent travelling through the diocese to meet "the priests and people of the diocese, always listening, asking questions, studying and, of course, praying about the current state of the Church." A shepherd that wants to know what the condition of his flock is & what their needs are. & even more importantly, taking the whole thing to God in prayer to discern what he should do.

Even in the intro you can see the direction he is heading when he talks about his experiences in the years after Vatican II as he studied for the priesthood. He points out that the Church is made up of imperfect human beings & as a result the Church is "always called to grow, change, deepen, repent, convert, improve, and learn from our successes and failures in the pursuit of holiness and fidelity to Jesus Christ and the mission He has given us. Moreover, we need to do this in the midst of an ever changing world, culture and society." These few lines are so rich that i could spend a long time going into all that is found in them. But I won't since he does so in the rest of the letter. I will just point out some key words that are the heart of understanding this. He talks about the need to repent. Every other term used is a part of that process of repentance. Next he talks about fidelity to Jesus Christ. Dissidents beware. because the final sentance is a shot right across your bow. By talking about the fidelity to the mission we are given & comparing it to the ever changing world, etc, he is throwing out any & all room for relativism.

On to what he says about Vatican II. He starts out by making it clear that Vatican II didn't change a single thing in Catholic Doctrine. He does this by quoting Blessed John XXIII's comments. He looks at the post council problems & why they occured. & he starts by attacking the "hermeneutic or interpretation of discontinuity or rupture" than many try to pass off as the official stand of the Catholic Church. He points out "This interpretation sees the pre-conciliar and post-conciliar Church almost as two different churches. It sees the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past." Wrong, he makes it clear that view "is not the true meaning of the Council." he makes it clear that there is no such thing as a Pre or Post Vatican II Church.

Taking as his guide an address that Papa Benedetto gave to the Roman curia in 2005. In it the Pope "explains that the 'spirit of Vatican II' must be found only in the letter of the documents themselves." Bishop Nickless then reminds us "The so-called "spirit" of the Council has no authoritative interpretation. It is a ghost or demon that must be exorcised if we are to proceed with the Lord’s work." I have to cheer at that line as I have said the same thing time after time.

He then goes on to attack relativism. As a result rather than convert the world, too often the Church was converted by it. "We have sometimes lost sight of who we are and what we believe, and therefore have little to offer the world that so desperately needs the Gospel." He calls us to refind what we have to offer. We need to be "intrinsically traditional and conservative in what pertains to the faith, and creative in pastoral ministry and engaging the world."

But why has so much been lost. he places the blame on the "hermeneutic of discontinuity". He says that it "is a false interpretation and implementation of the Council and the Catholic Faith. It emphasizes the "engagement with the world" to the exclusion of the deposit of faith. This has wreaked havoc on the Church, systematically dismantling the Catholic Faith to please the world, watering down what is distinctively Catholic, and ironically becoming completely irrelevant and impotent for the mission of the Church in the world. The Church that seeks simply what works or is "useful" in the end becomes useless." Those words are not going to endear him with the "Spirit of Vatican II" gang. But they clearly needed to be said. & he knows that he had to & thus did so.

He goes on to offer this diagnosis: "Our urgent need at this time is to reclaim and strengthen our understanding of the deposit of faith. We must have a distinctive identity and culture as Catholics, if we would effectively communicate the Gospel to the people of this day and Diocese. This is our mission. Notice that this mission is two-fold, like the Second Vatican Council’s purpose. It is toward ourselves within the Church (ad intra), and it is to the world (ad extra). The first is primary and necessary for the second; the second flows from the first. This is why we have not been as successful as we should be in bringing the world to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ to the world. We cannot give what we do not have; we cannot fulfill our mission to evangelize, if we ourselves are not evangelized."BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rest of the document goes on to talk about what needs to be done in the Sioux City Diocese to ensure the Catholic Church under his care fulfills its mission. He gives 5 priorities to ensure this is done.

1. We must renew our reverence, love, adoration and devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament, within and outside of Mass. A renewal of Eucharistic Spirituality necessarily entails an ongoing implementation of the Second Vatican Council’s reform of the liturgy as authoritatively taught by the Church’s Magisterium, the promotion of Eucharistic Adoration outside of Mass, regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Eucharist and our Mother.

2. We must strengthen catechesis on every level, beginning with and focusing on adults. If we, who are supposed to be mature in faith, do not know the Catholic Faith well, how can we live it and impart it to our children and future generations of Catholics?

3. The first two pastoral priorities, renewal in Eucharistic Spirituality and Catechesis, will foster faithful families that are the foundation of the Church and the society. We are called to protect, build up and foster holy families in our midst, without whom the Church and the world perish.

4. If we renew the Eucharistic, catechetical, and family life of our diocese, we will simultaneously foster a culture where young people can more readily respond to the radical calls of ministerial priesthood and the consecrated life.

5. We must acknowledge and embrace the missionary character of the Catholic Faith and the vocation of all Catholics to be, not only disciples, but also apostles.

I won't go into details. There is way too much to do so. But I will mention that in discussing the 1st priority, he lays to rest false ideas about what it means to be actively participating in the liturgy. He decries the blurring of the role of the priest with that of the laity. "The liturgy, like the Church, is intended to be hierarchical and polyphonic, respecting the different roles assigned by Christ and allowing all the different voices to blend in one great hymn of praise." I could go on & on. As I said, he is clearly not aiming for the aprobation of the "Spirit of Vatican II" crowd.

As I said, there is so much more I could go on & on about this document. He has marked out a clear path that, if followed, will lead to a proper understanding of Vatican II as well as restoring the Diocese to what God intends it to be. I know he will meet with some resistance from clergy & laity alike. But it is clear he intends to lead in word & action. & he knows that there will be those who oppose them. To them he issues a call to renunciation. But it also a call that all of us must heed as we all have areas where we still need to renounce sin. "To accept the divine plan God has for each of us, we need to renounce attachment to our own plans. To change the world for Christ, we need to renounce attachment to how we want the world to be for ourselves."

Not an easy thing to do. But it can be done. & Bishop Nickless tells us how. "By God’s grace, let us all urgently hope and work together untiringly, to renounce whatever may keep us from loving God totally, for our salvation and that of all our neighbors."

& he concludes with a challenge to his flock that all of us would do well to heed.

"We have an exciting challenge before us. I am convinced that God has great things in store for the Church of the Diocese of Sioux City. God desires each one of us to grow in holiness. Let us abandon all to Divine Providence, knowing that 'in reality, holiness consists of only one thing: complete loyalty to God’s will.'"