Catholic Quote by George Weigel
“The dynamically orthodox orders of religious women will continue to grow, and the dying orders, which long ago opted for the lightest of Catholic Lite, will continue to die.”
About This Quote
Religious women’s orders will expand, while those that have become overly liberal will decline.
In simple terms: Conservative religious groups grow; liberal ones shrink.
Key Takeaway
Support authentic religious traditions.
Themes
religion
tradition
change
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
observational
sociological
When to use this quote
- church leadership
- community building
- education programs
- faith outreach
- policy making
Key Concepts
sociology
institutional dynamics
Questions to Reflect On
- What drives the growth of traditional orders?
- How can liberal orders adapt without losing identity?
A Different Perspective
Overly rigid traditions may resist needed reform.
![“But ripped out of context, ["Who am I to judge?" phrase] has become an all-purpose filter through which everything else - including the pope's multiple reaffirmations of Humanae Vitae, Paul VI's encyclical on the morally appropriate means of family planning - gets airbrushed out of the picture.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b1d/george-weigel-9372_appropriate_but-ripped-out-of-context-who-am-i-to-ju_146817.jpg)
![“I hope ["reanimated the papacy"] means that the new interest in the pope evokes a new interest in the Church's teaching, of which the pope is the custodian.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a8e/george-weigel-9372_church_i-hope-reanimated-the-papacy-means-that_225548.jpg)
![“The pope [Francis] takes his vocabulary from his pastoral experience, not from the rhetorical tool kit of liberation theology, with its Marxist yammering about "center" and "periphery." The "peripheries," for Francis, are all those who have fallen through the cracks of late-modernity and…” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/14f/george-weigel-9372_argentina_the-pope-francis-takes-his-vocabulary-fr_261899.jpg)
![“[Pope Francis]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that are eating away at the solidarity of the human community.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/79d/george-weigel-9372_absorption_pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the_343248.jpg)
![“[Pope] Francis communicates the pastoral embrace of the Church, the breadth and inclusiveness of Catholicism symbolized by the Bernini colonnade around St. Peter's Square, in a powerful way.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/06a/george-weigel-9372_bernini_pope-francis-communicates-the-pastoral-e_495970.jpg)
![“These [conservative] people, if they're Americans, look back on the last 35 years of our ecclesial experience and take heart from that. The dramatic reform of seminaries continues. The priests and bishops who take their pastoral model from John Paul II will continue to do so, perhaps learning a…” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/22a/george-weigel-9372_bishops_these-conservative-people-if-they-re-ame_542601.jpg)
![“The young man [Turgot] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his studies, his reading, his professors, his associates, all were combined to keep from him any results of observation or reflection save those…” quote by Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5d4/andrew-dickson-white-24254_associates_the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecc_3146.jpg)
![“Girded with faith and the performance of good works, let us follow in his [Jesus] paths by the guidance of the Gospel.” quote by Benedict of Nursia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a2f/benedict-of-nursia-29376_catholic_girded-with-faith-and-the-performance-of_6463.jpg)
