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Traditionalists turn to the leadership for tighter control over doctrine, liturgy and practice. Progressives look to the leadership for removal of constraints in the same areas. The Church needs a pope with an engaged, open stance, sensitive to the struggles of contemporary seekers and not pushing pat answers.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams offers a view of dialogue that transcends merely passing information on to a passive listener. True dialogue changes the speaker as much as it does the hearer, and poses a model for better understanding God.
Irish poet Seamus Heaney's spiritual journey could be seen as a casualty of the so-called secularising effect of the '60s and '70s. Heaney describes a shift from faith as external and ritualistic, to something more personal.
A teacher at a Catholic college joked that students turned to Madonna — the pop icon, not the religious one — for spiritual inspiration. Western society may seem to trivialise religion, but a culture of authenticity has developed in which people seek their own way and deepest fulfilment.
The secular media tends to frame Church politics as a tussle between progressive and conservative. If that perspective is true, both sides of the divide rely upon a shallow analysis of the cultural change that shaped Western society since the 1960s.
Our secular age is schizophrenic, or better, deeply cross-pressured. People are not conscious of a need for religion, yet they are moved to know that there are dedicated believers, like Mother Teresa.
A strong theme of 20th century philosophy and social science is humans as 'dialogical' beings. Our sense of self is defined only in relationship with others, and the other is understood on his or her own terms. But in recent years, this view of the world has been contested.
James McEvoy teaches at Catholic Theological College, Adelaide.
Lily Brett's writing about her struggle to come to grips with her emotional scars in middle age gives us insight into our own. Moreover, the doctrine of original sin suggests that our temptation to blame violence entirely on terrorists is far too simplistic.
Forty years into the journey, commentators debate whether the Council was overly optimistic about modernity. Did the heady days of the early ’60s influence the Council’s agenda to its detriment?
What shape is modern Western culture in today?
The waves of generosity in response to victims of the recent tsunami bring to light a real strength in modern culture. We have high standards of compassion.