Catholic Dads

Ecclesia Semper Reformanda

October 20th, 2009

If you do nothing else productive today, read Ecclesia Semper Reformanda – The Church is Always in Need of Renewal. It is the first pastoral letter from Bishop Nickless of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa. It’s only 14 pages long and is an easy read, but it contains so many “wow” moments that I kept reading passages again and again.

Bishop Nickless was ordained in 1973, so he was a newby when the Church was beginning to implement Vatican II and has a great perspective on the past forty years of the Church. In his pastoral letter, he discusses Vatican II and the good and the bad of its implementation. He discusses where it has led us and where we need to go from here. By the end of the letter, you will be fully aware of what is means to be Catholic and what you are called to do.

For me, the high point of the letter is where he talks about the Eucharist (starts at the bottom of page 5). I just wish a priest had said something like this to me twenty years ago.

The only thing better for this letter would be if it was signed by the head of every diocese in the Church.

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