Aggiornamento et Ressourcement

Once again, Fr. Robert Barron writes an article as insightful in identifying the Church's problems as in suggesting directions for the Church's future.

Vatican II, has occasioned both a culture of ressourcement, a rediscovery and renewed appreciation and usage of Sacred Scriptures, patristic traditions, and historical research; and aggiornamento, a bringing up to date, a greater sensitivity to the call of the times. However, perhaps a reaction to the stifling conservatism of the past, the council's aftermath has tilted more towards the latter, spawning a culture of too much accomodation with the world and too dogged a pursuit of modernity. The renewed appreciation of our rich cultural and intellectual heritage has been engulfed in the tide of accomodation.

Now there are calls for a return to traditionalism, a tough reform of the reform. While I am all for reform, I am also for caution with this reactionary-looking return to conservatism, which in many cases expresses a heavily glossed-over nostalgia for the eras of Vatican 1 and Modern Roman Catholicism. For reform to be truly reflective, and not merely cause a tilt from one side to the other, a careful balancing act must be exercised. Our Church needs the graced balance between ressourcement and aggiornamento, for this state of things provides the Church both the stability and dynamism she needs to effectively pursue her mission to the world.