Recently, the Pew Forum published a survey on the level of religious knowledge across faith and denomination lines, and Archbishop Chaput of Denver delivered an address concerning what it means to be Catholic in the "Late Republic." Father Steve Grunow analyzes both articles here.
The juxtaposition of two articles struck me as significant. Archbishop Chaput of Denver recently delivered an address to the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars entitled,
“Life in the Late Republic: The Catholic Role in America After Virtue." The Archbishop’s remarks are for the most part concerning John Courtney Murray SJ. Quotes abstracted from a text written by Father Murray in 1940 leave quite an impression and give pause for much reflection. However, what struck me most about the speech was this gem from the Archbishop himself: “The people of Israel forgot their God because they weren’t taught. And if American Catholics no longer know their faith, or its obligations of discipleship, or its call to mission- then we leaders, parents and teachers have no one to blame but ourselves.” Also this: “The role of Catholics is exactly the opposite of what we’ve been doing for a half century or more- compromising too cheaply, assimilating, fitting in, fleeing from who we really are as believers; and in the process, being bleached out and digested by the culture we were sent to make holy"...