The Spirit of Vatican Council II has a New Lampshade

Continuing on the O'Malley misdirection, we can take some key thoughts of Vatican Council II and the "Spirit" crowd which he advocates

1. "from commands to invitations"

True.  And there is the obliteration of liturgical law.  That was object #1 of the radical left who sought to overthrow right reason and thinking after Vatican Council II.

2. "from monologue to dialogue"

This is a lie.  The Mass has always, always, always been a call and response.  It has been the hallmark of the liturgy from time immemorial.  To argue otherwise isn't naive, it is stupid.

3. "from laws to ideals"

See point #1.  This is object #2.

4. "from threats to persuasion"

Threat of what, exactly?  And persuasion to what, exactly?  The Council was pastoral, so what was the pastoral nature trying to persuade the faithful toward?  And what was threatening (other than some ephebophilia priests) in the pre-conciliar church?

5. "from ruling to serving"

And this mistake will get Paul VI canonized.  What a crock.  The Holy Father is a monarch.  He does rule, whether he likes it or not.  Object #3 regarding my first point.

6. "from hostility to friendship"

Hostility toward what?  Heresy?  Error?  What is the opposite of the Good?  If the Church is good and some of her members are caught up in a heresy (namely 2; Protestantism and Modernism), how is that being hostile?  It is only hostile, IF one accepts the heresy as legitimate.

7. "from rivalry to partnership"

Thank you Anibale Bugnini, his Consilium, and the Protestant cohorts involved, regarding the deregulation and reform of the Mass.  "Nothing in the renewed Mass need really trouble an evangelical protestant."  MG Siegvalt; a professor of dogmatic theology in the Protestant faculty at the University of Strasbourg.

Who exactly considers the Protestant a rival?

8. "from suspicion to trust"

And that trust has brought us what, precisely?  The pews are empty.  There is more disdain for the priesthood now, than ever.

9. "from withdrawal to engagement"

Withdrawl from what?  The Catholic mind, heart, and soul was more engaged before the Council than it has been since.  Ever sit in on a CCD class?  Or an adult catechesis class?

10. "from passive acceptance to active participation"

Passive acceptance?  So, unless somebody is doing something, he is not active?  So, if somebody is not doing something he is passive?  That is rather limiting.  I wonder how Stephen Hawking feels about that?  Actual participation is more important than active participation.  We should engage our whole heart, our whole mind, our whole soul and our whole body in prayer, not just our body and call it good.  If I am an EMHC (God forbid), but I don't pray, what good am I?  If I am a lay reader, but don't understand the Scriptures, what good am I?  That happens a lot, btw...how many lay readers stumble over words during the readings, must take time prior to Holy Mass to read through what they are charged with, etc...

11. "from behaviour modification to conversion of heart"

The Catholic was converted at baptism.  Catechesis is not a form of conversion, but rather it is a modification of a behavior, to conform to the Life of Christ.

This isn't rocket science.  But O'Malley and people of his mindset are so far off the mark that they can't even see in front of them.  The reality is that those who have hijacked Vatican Council II are not looking for the best interest of the Church at large, but rather they are looking to promote an agenda, which is not that of the Church.  There is no continuity between 2000 years of Catholic thinking and the last 50, unless it is directly influenced by the history and traditional teaching of the Church.  It is most easily seen in the liturgy, but it is also clearly seen in "pastoral ministry" regarding sexuality, marriage, family life, and education.

We must return to the core values the Church teaches.