"We all desire progress, but this cannot be possible without change,"
wrote Cardinal William Goh of Singapore in his Sunday homily, published
on July 5 on Catholic.sg. Cardinal Goh, a conservative, has so far been
supportive to Catholics of the Roman rite.
However, in his new
homily, he calls for adapting to changing situations. "We cannot remain
where we are when the times have changed."
The key part, which
was published in bold in the original article and excerpted by the
Cardinal on X.com, is surprisingly critical of [anonymous] Catholics:
"The
danger with traditionalists is that in their desire to remain true to
the past, they forget that fidelity to the past requires change.
The irony is that not changing is being unfaithful to our past. Simply
sticking to past practices by merely repeating them would be a sign of
infidelity. Instead, fidelity to the past means fidelity to the original
principles that led to certain practices and rules. While the
expression must change according to the times, the core truth remains.
The essence and the truth itself cannot change, but the way we express
this truth must adapt to our times.”
Cardinal Goh goes on to
speak about the celebration of the Eucharist claiming that it has
[allegedly] evolved over 2000 years: "The essentials of the Eucharist
cannot be changed, namely, that the Mass is a sacrifice, a meal, the
real presence of the Lord and a thanksgiving. However, how the Mass is
to be celebrated has been changing since the first Mass was celebrated
by the early Christians."
He calls to trust in God and uses the
word "surrender" as if traditionalists are to disarm: "If changes are
difficult to accept, we must take the risk of believing in His divine
plan for us."
Cardinal Goh then uses the word "submission": "We need to be docile and trusting."
Resumé:
"We will only hurt ourselves if we insist on sticking to our limited
view of life and staying in the comfort our familiar environment."
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