ENTHUSIASM

A generation before Vatican II, Ronald Knox, the translator of the Jeruselam Bible, wrote a book about heresey that he titled Enthusiasm.

He explained that heresey contains a kernel of truth that is carried to extreme so that it becomes a distortion of church teaching. People with personalities that cause them to want to excel in their faith take extreme positions where they proclaim themselves orthodox, holding purer truth than other Catholics.

It can be irrational as in the case of those people who judge some American bishops as unorthodox. Most of our bishops were appointed by John Paul II. If even one of them is misleading the faithful, it is a serious matter. If the pope neglects to correct the situation, he is at fault.

When persons pass judgement on who is and who is not orthodox, ask for their credentials in study of theology.