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The Laity and the Ecumenical Spirit, 1889–1893
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2009
Extract
In the late 1880's new sounds reverberated throughout the Catholic Church in America. Rapid urban growth and the rising tides of immigration required new perspectives on religion in the social order: science and historical criticism involved philosophy and theology, and rumblings of internal as well as external controversy were heard in the Church. The layman was achieving status in business and politics and, as he became more vocal on civic and cultural issues, he played a larger role in representing Catholicism before the American people. Self-critical voices sounded forth in the Catholic press, and churchmen were calling upon the laity. When the conjunction of several major centennial celebrations occurred in 1889, laymen leaped into the breach and started a trend in Catholic thought and action that has much to say to our generation, especially in the light of the Second Vatican Council.
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References
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