The following is a partial reprint from The Renew Process: Strengths and Areas for Improvement issued by the "Origins, NC Documentary Service," January 8, 1987. This publication was sponsored by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, but not necessarily endorsed by that body:

Because of the accomplishments and promise of the Renew process, however, the committee also identified several concerns "in an effort to improve it." Included were: a tendency toward a generic Christianity; a need for greater balance and completeness; a need for more emphasis on the cognitive dimensions of faith; and a need for a broader definition of the eucharist and an emphasis on sacrifice and worship.

Some Specific Concerns About the Process

1. The tendency toward a generic Christianity.
Perhaps the main cause of concern for the critics of Renew and one of the weaknesses we recognize in the process is the fact that basic Christian themes are presented without sufficiently relating them to their specific form as experienced in Roman Catholic tradition and practice. The literature does not identify, to the extent that we think it should, what is distinctly Catholic in our faith process. [Read: Protestentization] As an example, expectation 6 under "what will Renew do for the parish," the formation in prayer, Scripture, community building, justice, etc., does not indicate the teaching of the Church that gives meaning to the living tradition which forms the basis for authentic Catholic renewal.

Even though the authors of Renew claim that it "has never attempted to be a catechetical program," nonetheless there is an admission that there are "formation and programmatic aspects of the Renew process" which provide, directly or indirectly. both content and doctrine for participants in the process. We must be concerned, then, about what such a pedagogical-formational device teaches by exclusion as well as by inclusion.

2. The need for greater balance and completeness.
The authors of Renew admit certain biases in their approach to personal and parochial renewal.

"There is a bias in Renew for immanence...the emphasis is on the God who is among us...ours is a God who has embraced our humanity in the fullest possible way...Jesus is understood immanently in his concrete humanity and historicity...ministry arises out of the people and belongs to the people."

"In Renew the church is more a people than an institution...a definite bias toward the community model of church...the single most revealing element of any theology is its ecclesiology, its understanding of God, Jesus and the faith of a people. One's ecclesiology also reveals a theology of ministry and a sense of mission. That is why Renew clearly commits itself to a model of church that is a community of disciples...a model that is inclusive rather than exclusive or elitist, and one that nurtures itself for mission rather than for self-service."

It is our opinion that the overemphasis of these theological positions causes the Renew process to favor certain aspects of Catholic life to the exclusion of other equally important aspects . This results in an imbalance which can be doctrinally misleading. The total renewal of our people requires, in the long run and for our unity as a church, an understanding and appreciation of the full gamut of Catholic theology and doctrine. While Renew does not claim to offer a course in catechetics or a theological overview, nonetheless it does state that intends "to create a 'theology,' a way of understanding God, Jesus , church, etc., for our time." Therefore, it does have the responsibility to offer a balanced theological perspective.

Some of the "exclusions," in our opinion, that would enrich the Renew theological component and give it a better balance are: a clearer presentation of the distinctive nature of the Catholic Church, not merely as a community of faith but as a structured, hierarchical, visible, sacramental community bound together in a tradition that includes Scripture as a font of faith but also the authoritative development and interpretation of the doctrines of faith by the magisterium of the church; a more balanced presentation of the models of church which broadens considerably the sole emphasis on community; the insistence that God's revelation, and not just personal experience, is the norm for deeper understanding and appreciation of authentic faith.

While we applaud the strategy of Renew to call people to greater responsibility for the mission of the church, and their consequent ministerial roles, we are concerned that a corresponding emphasis on the sacrament of orders is missing. Unless the necessary and unique ministerial priesthood is constantly balance with emerging lay ministries in the church, a distorted vision about the future of ministry can develop, and a confused ecclesiology.

3. The cognitive dimensions of faith need more emphasis.
We are grateful that Renew has developed a process which stresses the contemporary need to touch the affective, emotional and personal faith experiences within a supportive community of believers. At the same time, we think there is need in the Renew process to emphasize more clearly the cognitive, intellectual aspects of faith life. The large group experience can be used to make this presentation. Clearer support should also be given to the need to relate people not only to the parish, but also more effectively to the diocese and the universal church.

We are concerned that the emphasis of Renew on personal and shared "experience as the locus of revelation" can lead to fundamentalism and the privatization of religious truth. Our people must always be made aware of the basis for our faith in Jesus Christ.

We note that Renew is not just a "brief, intensive event such as a weekend experience or retreat" -- rather it is a diocesan wide three-year process of conversion and formation. Because of its duration and impact on the local church, we have to be concerned about the effects it has on the orthodoxy and orthopraxis of our people. The cognitive dimensions of faith cannot be separated from any extended process of renewal or formation in the church if we are to maintain our Catholic unity.

4. The eucharist needs broader definition and an emphasis on sacrifice and worship.
We note the effective way the authors of Renew relate the ordinary things of life to eucharist, and the centrality of eucharist in Catholic prayer. However, we have concerns about the singular emphasis in some of the material on the communal meal, and the paraliturgical agape that can leas to confusion about the essential nature of he eucharistic sacrifice.

Perhaps the main cause of concern for the critics of Renew and one of the weaknesses we recognize in the process is the fact that basic Christian tenants are presented...

We anticipate that the diocesan response to criticism made in "Origins" is that "the program is now updated and these problems no longer exists. The materials and methods of presentation now reflect ..." or words to that effect.

The VIEW suggests that Renew participants include this article with other program materials to assist in making their own informed evaluation. Being aware of these concerns will allow you to look for them and evaluate the program's orthodoxy.

Please write us to obtain a complete copy of the original "Origins" article, on which this review is based.

Dear Dad and Mom:

Sorry I haven't written for so long, but I spent Easter vacation at Palm Springs, and I've been trying to "recover" ever since. Only kidding. I did spend a lot of money there, though. Could you send me some? Thanks.

Not much happening back on ye olde campus of Santa Clara U. Classes are the same boring thing--and basketball is over. I guess the high point was a lecture by Prof. Mary Jo Weaver on April 15. She's a professor of religious studies at Indiana University--yep, right where you hale from, Dad, -- and the author of two books. I had to go to her lecture called "What's Wrong with Being Right?" It's a requirement of the "Women in Biblical Traditions" class. But there were a lot of my friends there, and the lecture was right-on.

Weaver really knows how to bash these fanatics, that's for sure. She compared right-wing Catholics to the Ayatollah Khumeini, Bob Jones University, Mother Angelica, and Pope John Paul II. Guess that about sums it up! She said these fundamentalists are "religious believers with the volume turned up," blaring out a selective truth that excludes gays and feminists and requires obedience to the pope.

Of course, we all cheered like mad. Nobody likes the pope.

Prof. Weaver sounds like she grew up just like you did, Dad. She was born in 1942 in a "back-water, non-ecumenical" mid-western town. She attended parochial school and learned the Baltimore Catechism from nuns, who said the Catholic Church is the one, true Church. We all got a great laugh out of that. She doesn't feel the same as you do about her teachers, though. She thinks they were full of beans, mostly. Their full habits shackled their minds, she said. I thought that was pretty funny!

Throughout high school and college, she stayed strong in the faith, but after graduation, she was influenced by friends at work. She "began to adjust to a new world and looked at the world differently." Religion became a "private matter." The social justice issues of Vatican II pushed her towards dropping the old faith. "Vatican II was a pivotal moment," she said.

I've heard you say the same thing, Dad, but in a different context. You're probably one of the guys she would call a right-winger, but I'll be tolerant. You sign a great check! Hah. Hah. Just kidding.

After Vatican II, Weaver saw that conservatives looked for authority in the pope and a "rigid past," one she was trying to reject. In her studies, she discovered "the limitation of papal authority" in Humanae Vitae. Pope Paul VI went against his own appointed committee's decision and the "majority opinion." She and other liberals were compelled to dissent, naturally.

Weaver said "our experience in the world" is the basis for religion. That sounds right-on to me. She said "liberals thrive in an atmosphere of dissent," whereas conservatives have a "sense of security rooted in fear" and live in a narrow, intellectual world.

I don't really understand all this stuff, Dad and Mom. I always thought the Church had it pretty much together, but apparently this controversy thing is growing. My teachers are real angry about the way things are, and they want to change it. Weaver summed up with five points:

First, she says conservative groups like the Blue Army really dread the future. They think priests are leading people astray. They don't like stupid things like women not wearing hats at Mass, taking communion in the hand, the laxity of sexual morality, sex-ed and stuff. Boy, if you could have seen the stuff happening in Palm Springs, you would see how out-of-it those old fogies really are.

Second, she said conservative nuns, represented by the Institute for Religious Life, are a mere 10 per cent of all religious. They still pray the divine office, aspire to the obedience and virginity of Mary and wear habits. Ninety percent of the other nuns, represented by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, are where the action is.

Third, the four colleges that were established to "protest Vatican II are intellectually isolated and have no voice in Catholic education." I guess that includes St. Thomas Aquinas and Christendom, Mom. Those were the two you had picked out, remember?

Fourth, home-schooling and large families should get with the program. The professor pointed out that large, home-schooling families often have low incomes. She said she attended a home-schooling conference in Bardstown, Ky., and saw "the older siblings spending a lot of time taking care of the younger ones." Reminded me of my own two sisters, you know? How many does Jenny have now? Six. Wow. I gotta send my sex-ed book home to Jim. Anyway, Weaver said she questions the ability of home-schooling parents to educate their own children: "I don't see them as having the expertise."

Fifth, she said "who is right or wrong is not a liberal goal." I thought that was nice. But we all got a laugh out of the conservative goal: getting to Heaven. Wow! They must be Neanderthals. Literally! Weaver said we should include gays and agnostics in ecumenical conversations.

She summed it up by saying that things have changed. "Anyone under 25 doesn't understand the Real Presence." I guess that sums up where I stand, too. I mean, I used to believe it. But after coming to SCU, how could anyone believe in that old God?

Hope none of this worries you guys. I'm cool.

Don't forget to send money, Dad.

Love, Clark

* Tuition at Santa Clara University in 1995-96 is $15,450. Room and board is about $6,780.

Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska has thrown a bombshell into the nation's far left, dissident Catholic community and the after-shocks are still being felt in every sector in America.

In late March, Bishop Bruskewitz said he will excommunicate members of his flock who belong to any of twelve groups whose aims are incompatible with the true Catholic faith. His targets include: Planned Parenthood; Catholics for a Free Choice; Call to Action; The Hemlock Society; and Masonic organizations.

According to Catholic scholars, Bishop Bruskewitz is the only prelate in modern time to threaten such a blanket excommunication. Under this directive, Catholics may attend Mass but are forbidden to receive Holy Communion and other sacraments.

Planned Parenthood is one of the world's leading abortion providers, while Call To Action, a liberal Chicago-based organization, promotes "dialogue" on such issues as women in the priesthood and clerical celibacy. The Hemlock Society is a right-to-die organization.

The VIEW salutes Bishop Bruskewitz. He is a true leader of the Church who is willing to stand up for his beliefs and act on them. Would that more bishops had his courage!

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin stood up to the abortion President in condemning infanticide before Clinton vetoed the so-called partial abortion ban passed by both the House and Senate.

The late George Burns left $100,000 to Star of the Sea School in San Francisco in memory of his wife Gracie Allen who graduated from there in 1914.

A recent poll indicates that support for abortion rights among California voters has dropped slightly during the past year.

The Notre Dame Sisters, at 14800 Bohlman Road, Saratoga, recently hosted the 'Catholic' Women's Network for a day retreat.

The nation's largest video rental chain, Blockbuster, recently made the Disney-Miramax movie 'Priest' available for rental. This blasphemous and anti-Catholic film was condemned by the leaders of Christian and non-Christian faiths.

A recent film, 'Gospa', that favorable portrays the Catholic Church and her priests, received almost no publicity and a very limited run in local theaters.