A Pope's Visit and His Dress Code




Benedict XVI is a throwback in more ways than one! Benedict is a Pope who is concerned about continuity -- especially continuity with the Pre-Vatican II church. With his impending visit to America, a country whose Catholic members are restive and suspicious of the new Pope's views on just about everything. He has his fans, of course, among Traditionalist Catholics -- especially those who like Latin masses.

Michael McGough, an editorial writer for the LA Times, looks into this issue in an article entitled: "Dress code: When Pople Benedict XVI visits the U.S., what he wears could send a message to Catholics." In recent months, Benedict has taken up wearing Roman style vestments as opposed to neo-Gothic ones that have been in favor since Vatican II. These vestments include the high miter -- sometimes referred to as the "crocodile miter" and the fiddleback chasuble. Where as the Gothic chasuble is longer and flowing, this one looks a bit like a heavily embroidered sandwich board.

I am not Catholic, but because I consider them my Christian brothers and sisters (my wife even teaches at a Catholic School), I am concerned about what is happening in this very influential church. As one who believes strongly in Christian unity I'm concerned about any sign of separation between Catholic and Protestant. We don't have to agree on everything, but I appreciate the ability to work together and even worship together on occasion!

Not being Catholic, my question is -- what does this change in dress suggest to us?

Comments

Mystical Seeker said…
As one who believes strongly in Christian unity I'm concerned about any sign of separation between Catholic and Protestant. We don't have to agree on everything, but I appreciate the ability to work together and even worship together on occasion!

The only problem I see is that your definition of working together is not the same as that of the Catholic Church's. While you might envision Christian unity as being the meeting of equals, they don't see it that way. Instead, they see themselves as the only true church and so any "working together" would have to be only on their own terms.
Robert Cornwall said…
You are right, especially at this time, that the trend of the RCC is to see Protestants as less than equals and that cooperation must be on their terms. That was less true a decade or so back, when at least in America there was growing convergence. Benedict's prerogatives seem to be taking us in a very different direction.

Of course, I'm an eternal optimist so I'll keep trying to look for openings, even if they're getting smaller!

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