Conservative Values in Liberal Catholic Paper

John L. Allen, Jr., does it again this week in the National Catholic Reporter.

The European Union's adoption of a constitution without references to Christianity or God "will probably push a few more European bishops to open their doors to new ecclesial realities such as Opus Dei, the Neocatechumenate, and the Legionaries of Christ. In a culture that often seems not just indifferent, but positively hostile, to organized religion, it may be that only disciplined, highly motivated groups operating outside traditional ecclesiastical structures will have the capacity to evangelize and catechize."

"If what contemporary seekers want is a mix of ancient wisdom with a lively sense of the angelic and the preternatural, places like (Spain's very popular Marian shrines at) Montserrat, Torreciudad and Pilar have it in droves. Perhaps rather than trying to reason its way out of the challenge posed by New Age movements, the church would do better to promote its alternatives."