Being an American Catholic in the 21st Century

Intermountain Catholic

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Holy Cross Father Richard E. Gribble will present a Lenten Mission at St. John the Baptist Parish March 1-6. photo courtesy of Fr. Gribble

SALT LAKE CITY — When Holy Cross Father Richard E. Gribble brings his Lenten mission to St. John the Baptist Parish March 1-6, "The Challenge of Being an American Catholic in the 21st Century," he will bring a message imbued with his own personal sense of optimism.

A native of Southern California, Fr. Gribble spent time in the Navy before entering religious life and was ordained at 36. He has earned a Master of Divinity at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, a Master of Sacred Theology from the same school, and a Doctorate from the Catholic University of America, Department of Church History, in 1995.

Fr. Gribble has written four scholarly books, five spiritual books, and a number of journal articles, many having to do with his areas of academic interest, American Catholicism, Church History, and American History. He is a professor at Stonehill, College in Easton, Mass.

"I am looking forward to meeting the people of St. John the Baptist Parish and the Catholics of Utah," Fr. Gribble said in a Feb. 20 interview with the Intermountain Catholic. "In fact, I am currently working on my notes and my talks to eventually develop a self-guided retreat on this same subject."

Drawing from the work of Jay P. Dolan, professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, who wrote, "In Search of an American Catholicism: A History of Religion and Culture in Tension," Fr. Gribble said the Catholic Church has been on something of a roller-coaster ride in its relationship with American culture. At times, the two have been compatible, at other times not so much.

"In the days of Bishop John Carroll (the first bishop of the hierarchy of the United States) and then during the days of John Courtney Murray, during Vatican II, Catholics were on the up side of the roller coaster, and were more compatible with American Society. It has often been during our more progressive times. But at other times, when the Catholic Church has taken a more traditional stance, we have been less compatible."

Fr. Gribble describes the times we are living in now as "a valley."

"Personally, I am loving everything Pope Benedict XVI has written, and with age, I am seeing that there is some value to doing things the way they’ve always been done."

Fr. Gribble said the church has seen the openness and collegiality brought about by Vatican II as a good thing, but some of the liturgy and theology that came from the council was taken too far. "People have used Vatican II to create their own theology. That’s where cafeteria Catholicism came from. Ten years ago, I would have been more open to cafeteria Catholicism, but today, I find myself moving closer to the center."

"We must be pastoral," Fr. Gribble said, "If we are going to win the hearts and souls of American Catholics."

Today, he said, he sees people walking away from the church, fewer numbers of active Catholics, and not many young Catholics participating. "It’s hard to convince young people to make Catholicism a part of their lives.

"But I’m the kind of person who believes the glass is half full," he said. "I want to do what I can to help people see Catholicism as something positive and wonderful, something that they want to be part of themselves, something that is a challenge to American society with its pervasive secularism and its indifferentism.

"Jesus was certainly open to all people, but he was never indifferent. He told it like it was, and he was completely compassionate. He told us he came not for the well, but for the sick, those who needed a doctor."

Fr. Gribble said growing up in Southern California gave him a good look at both extreme secularism and extreme indifferentism.

Both papal documents and those that have come to us from the American Catholic bishops have challenged secularism and indifferentism, he said. "A lot of good, recent writings have challenged us to confront anti-Catholicism, which some have called the last acceptable American prejudice.

"Anti-Catholicism exists in American society now," Fr. Gribble said. "You read it in books and see it in movies. We saw it during the Clarence Thomas hearings when one member of Congress said Thomas’ Catholic education might be problematic. There was a time when you would never hear something like that said in public.

He said there are newspapers that are anti-Catholic, and he has used television shows in his classes that are overt examples of anti-Catholicism. "Many people don’t know it when they see it."

Still, he said America is not unfriendly to people of faith. "This country has more people who profess that they are members of a faith than any other Christian country in the world. Of course, I can’t speak for the nations of Islam.

Those attending Fr. Gribble’s mission will get a four-fold look at how they and their faith are challenged in America today. They will examine the challenges presented by themselves, the American society, the church, and their peers.

"Every person has their strengths, their weaknesses, their experiences, and their expectations, and they get tested. We will talk about those elements of every person and how they are tested in today’s society," Fr. Gribble said.

Society presents its own challenges in the form of secularism, indifferentism, apathy, and anti-Catholicism, said Fr. Gribble. "We will look at recognizing those challenges and negotiating the obstacles."

"The challenges of the church are positive challenges," he said. "The church is a wonderful institution, and we are all challenged to be aware of it and well educated about it. So many Catholics ended their Catholic education in their last year of Catholic school or CCD class. We have a lot of educating to do."

Fr. Gribble said our peers – our fellow travelers on the road, offer additional challenges. "These are challenges of diversity of race, politics, and language. The church is a United Nations in many ways, but we are united by baptism. We may be very diverse in our approaches to life, to vocation, to prayer.

"We are also challenged by those people who are on the margins of society – the immigrants, the elderly. We must face it all."

For further information about this mission, call 801-984-7101.