It seemed like two different Churches:
1) Archdiocese of Detroit, 1970 to 1975: I was active, even as Inner-City Vicar; It seemed close to the Reign of God with Cardinal Dearden, great auxiliary bishops, parishes open and very aware of the poor. Then I went out of country for 7 years.
2) Archdiocese of Detroit, 1982 to 1992: new leadership, much more conservative. New Archbishop had public quarrels on many issues. Came to our historic Church for historic event and Mass 20 minutes late. He was angry and late, but then spent an extra ten minutes showing me his vestments and explaining them. Cardinal Dearden (then retired) and other bishops vested separately, and still showed much of the same old spirit. It seemed as if we were changing from a Vatican II Church back into a Vatican I Church.
Canon Lawyers I knew had been teaching about “Conscience Solutions” to some marriage problems; I brought it up at a Vicars’ meeting and other vicars looked at me as if I was crazy to bring it up there. The bishop’s response made me very aware why: this wasn’t part of his thinking at all. It no longer seemed like a Vatican II Church. Authority at the top was obvious, and people were now thinking: “Top Down” and “Down Here, we’re not really the Church”!
Response from JanStephen (17 July 2015)
Larry, Your story of the two churches reads like the tale of two cities … and so well captures what happened. And, having undergone some attempts to reverse the direction of Vatican II, all part of how people grow, like a dialectic, now with Pope Francis, for sure evidence of the Holy Spirit, putting wind in the sail of making this Church into what is envisioned in Vatican II… in essence undergoing Reformation II.
The Church of Detroit in the 70s the right direction.{jcomments on}