Before the Lithuanian bishops accept all the religious texts and advice the American Catholic Church is going to send them, they ought to come visit a few U.S. dioceses to view the destruction the updated catechisms and methodology have caused.
Cardinal Bernardin`s own territory would be a good place to start. They`ll find bankruptcy, organized defiance of Rome, closed parishes, declining Mass attendance and contributions, an empty seminary and a worse shortage of vocations and priests, and no ”state interference” to blame it on.
Catholics in the Baltic Soviet states should count their blessings and be glad they`re so far behind the West. They may find that the ”new worship practices and lay leadership” they`re being told they need will destroy what 50 years of communism could not.
