Msgr. Robert J. Batule: Penitential Revival, Anyone?

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*Image: Return of the Prodigal Son by Pompeo Batoni, 1773 [Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna]

By Msgr. Robert J. Batule, The Catholic Thing, Dec. 28, 2022

Msgr. Robert J. Batule is a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. He is currently the Pastor of Saint Margaret Parish in Selden, New York. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Catholic Social Science Review and has been a contributor of articles, essays, and book reviews to various journals, magazines, and newspapers during the course of his priestly ministry.

We can’t say what fruitfulness will come of the Eucharistic Revival underway in the United States. What we do know is that it’s urgently needed and long overdue. And we’ll see if our bishops’ three-year emphasis on Eucharistic dogma and practice will renew the faith in America, or not. At least now we’ve recognized the enormous gap between what the Church teaches about the Eucharist and how Catholics live out that teaching in our nation.

But I’m wondering if a Penitential Revival is equally urgent. The troubling signs that prompted the Eucharistic Revival are even more apparent when it comes to the Sacrament of Penance. And it’s notable that we haven’t been talking much about it. …

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