Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, The Catholic Thing, Dec. 16,2023
Father Peter Stravinskas holds doctorates in school administration and theology. He is the founding editor of The Catholic Response and publisher of Newman House Press. Most recently, he launched a graduate program in Catholic school administration through Pontifex University.
I often hear “Your generation destroyed the Church,” from Catholics under the age of 50 – both clerical and lay. And I resent it. I don’t mind owning up to mistakes I have made, but I refuse to be blamed for mistakes I didn’t make. Let me explain.
It was precisely my generation that had our Catholic patrimony ripped from us, and, yes, precisely by the pre-Vatican generation (so extolled by so many young “conservatives”). The dismantling of the liturgy began when I was a freshman in high school; interestingly, the only time I ever got sent to the principal’s office was because I mocked the singing of “Kumbaya” at a school Mass. …