Stuck in a Box of Suicidal Madness

By Randall Smith. But first a note from Robert Royal: At TCT, we try to maintain a certain serenity rooted in our belief that God is, ultimately, in control. Of everything. But we also still cannot take this mission too casually. We're at the point in our mid-year fundraising that donations are flagging. That's understandable, but something we cannot accept. We're still a long way from where we need to be to be sure that this mission continues for 2024, with all its challenges, let alone in coming years. I can't say this clearly enough: if you believe in this mission, what are you waiting for? I know that in the past you've responded to our needs. I'm calling on everyone to support the work of TCT. Now. Without delay. The situation is dire. The need great. Click the button. Do the right thing. Support The Catholic Thing. Now for Professor Smith's column... So I read that the pope was interviewed on 60 Minutes. I had the reaction most people probably did: "Wow, is that show still on?" I mean, I haven't seen 60 Minutes in years. I don't watch network television anymore - who does? - but it's nice to know that someone is still trying to keep alive those old television traditions. I fear it's probably a losing battle, though. It's likely that 60 Minutes will soon be like Sexagesima Sunday. People will ask: "What's that?" and then an AI program will tell them a partially true story about it. Like most people, I only read the headlines about the papal interview, not the interview itself. (Who has time for that?) So, I take it that the pope said something about people being "stuck in a box" in the past, not able to move on, and that this is suicidal. And there was something else about "madness." All this seems to have been controversial. I'm not sure why. I mean, I'm pretty sure I understand what he must be talking about. Haven't we all been struck by those people who are "stuck in the past" as though it's still 1965 or 1972? Some Catholics are still playing the same tune about "the spirit of the Council," rather than paying attention to what the documents of the Second Vatican Council actually say. There are still aging boomers strumming out on their guitars the old St. Louis Jesuit hymns from the 1970s, thinking it's "for the young people," when "the young people" haven't been interested in music like that for decades - if they ever were. Young people are increasingly falling to their knees to receive Communion, learning standard Gregorian chants and hymns by Thomas Tallis, Josquin des Pres, and John Taverner. We still have aging church leaders who think that modernist church designs with white-washed walls and "church-in-the-round" are "cutting edge," even though that style also went out of fashion decades ago, and congregations are increasingly opting for contemporary churches that hearken back to classical, Romanesque, or Gothic styles. You want to say, "Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Philip Johnson are dead. Move on. Don't get stuck in that modernist box - literally. And we still have church leaders who seem to think that the way to draw people back to Mass is to make it more "hip," even though "hip" isn't a term anyone uses anymore. I only use it with my students when I want to look especially nerdy. I say something like, "Hey, I'm really hip," which shows how totally out of touch I am, and they all laugh. For some reason, these 1960s holdovers seem to think that stripping away all the beauty of the Church, the liturgy, and the vestments will make the Mass more "approachable." All I know is that more congregations, especially those with young people and families, are opting for more beautiful churches, more solemn liturgies, and more traditional music. So too, the religious orders that have re-dedicated themselves to their traditional roots are thriving; those that abandoned them after the Council are dying or dead. As is often said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and exp...