Cardinal Bertone… Stupid?

CatholicCulture.org posted the following brief story:

A Scottish bishop has offered strong public criticism of the Vatican secretary of state’s recent remarks linking the clerical abuse scandal to homosexuality.

“If the Church says something that is wrong or stupid, even Christian leaders should have the courage to say: ‘No. I disagree with that. You are wrong. That was a stupid thing to say,’” said 75-year-old Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen. “This kind of abuse is found in all parts of society-- in families, in heterosexual situations, in homosexual situations. It is not attached to any of those.”

Bishop Moran, who was present along with 20 other bishops in Brussels for a meeting of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, added that the bishops in attendance were “shocked to know that someone in Rome had said that this is a problem of homosexuality.”

With over 80% of the abuse in the United States directed at the same sex, how in the world can Bishop Moran state that it was a stupid thing to say?  It is true that the homosexual issue hits close to home for much of our clergy these days, but really.. greater than 80% is not a homosexual problem?  Yay! Cardinal Bertone for saying it like it is!

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Me Thinks They Protest Too Much!

I must enjoy torturing myself…  I keep reading all of these news stories about the current sex/child abuse scandal and my mind keeps turning over in frustration.  Two things are absolutely driving me nuts about the coverage and the response from the church. 

1. The Vatican was so quiet when the scandal broke out in the United States, they tried so hard to distance themselves from it.  Had they responded then, with hotline numbers, cardinals lashing out, and bishops being forced to resign, maybe this wouldn't still be dragging on!  As it is.. it has still been a pretty minimal response.
2. The Vatican is whining!  If the comments of the news media and the comments on Catholic news outlets are accurately reporting what is being said by Vatican workers and Bishops, then they sound like little kids! 
   • It’s the Homosexuals’ fault!
   • It’s the local Bishops’ fault
   • It’s the Pope’s former assistants fault.
   • The media is trying to pick on us!
   • There is a conspiracy against the pope!

My message to the Vatican and the local Bishops – MAN UP AND TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY!  The only thing they are gaining by trying to shift the blame, and play the part of the poor persecuted church is more time doing nothing!  The Pope appears to want to be the Supreme Pontiff, but have none of the responsibility of that title when it comes to these abuse cases! 

Pope Benedict said to the abuse victims he met with last weekend that they WILL bring their abusers to justice… What about those who covered it up?  Honestly Pope Benedict, before anyone can really believe you, you need to take care of Cardinal Bernard Law!  Clean up the mess that is left here in the USA! 

Unfortunately, it is more of the same from our church leaders… talk…talk…talk.  Very little action! 

Technorati Tags: Sex,abuse,catholic. bishops,scandal,vatican

Celebration

Finally something to celebrate! Two bishops have taken action against the Catholic Health Association and some Women's Religions communities!

Thumbs up to:

Bishop Lawrence E Brandt of Greensburg, PA and Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of Rhode Island

"At least two U.S. bishops have taken actions to indicate their disapproval of the support some women's religious communities and the Catholic Health Association gave to the final version of health care reform legislation. Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of Greensburg, Pa., has directed diocesan offices, parishes and the diocesan newspaper not to promote the "vocation awareness program of any religious community" that was a signatory to a letter urging members of the House of Representatives to pass the health reform bill. In Providence, R.I., Bishop Thomas J. Tobin asked the Catholic Health Association to remove the diocesan-sponsored St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island from its membership rolls, saying that CHA leadership had "misled the public and caused serious scandal" by supporting health reform legislation that the bishops opposed."

Read the Story here!

http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2010/04/16/US-2/

I would love to see more! But at least it is a start!

Talk is Cheap!

I like Archbishop Burke, I really do! He is candid, orthodox, unwavering, and bold. I really like him! But I think he has his targets set on the wrong group. Last weekend, at the Institute on Religious Life's national meeting at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois, Archbishop Burke was awarded the Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award. He took this opportunity to point out the "obstinate betrayal" (read more about this at CatholicVoteAction.org) of many of the religious sisters in our country. Specifically he called them out for their support of the Obama Health Care package and their lack of support for the Vatican Visits announced recently. While I wholeheartedly agree with him that they need to be reprimanded, I have to say, what good did it do? It reminds me of the Charlie Brown shows that I watched as a kid, when the adults talked, it just sounded like this "wa-wa-wa wa-wa-wa-wa-wa". Archbishop Burke's words have the same effect, i.e. no effect! I am sick and tired of our leadership talk, talk, talking about how terrible this or that is.. but then failing to take any action! In the words of an infamous country song.. "a little less talk and a lot more action!".

Rather than telling us how bad they are, Archbishop Burke, let's actually do something! If the leadership of the nuns is no longer Catholic… Then remove them from their positions. If they are teaching heresy, then excommunicate them, or at least have a speedy trial! If their superiors are not taking action.. Replace them! The Vatican has done it before, we can do it again! Stand up for what is right and quit talking! If we want to reform the Church and those within it that are publically betraying our beliefs, yet still calling themselves Catholic.. then first take aim at their leaders!

Allowing these actions to continue with no response other than verbal sparring is tacit approval.

Rev 3:16 "'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."

Politicians or Apostles?

In recent years we have seen bishop after bishop, priest after priest, caught up in the middle of the sexual (primarily homosexual) abuse scandal. Cover-ups, lack of discipline, and a loss of faithfulness among the clergy are the rule of the day. It is true, as has been pointed out in other blogs, that the societal attitude and swiftness of dealing with abuse suspects has changed much in the last several decades. However, the laws of the Church and God have not changed. Priests and bishops have always been called to a higher standard, therefore, the lack of societal recognition of the problem of abuse 50 years ago, did not abrogate the Bishops and priests from their duty to recognize evil and sin and act appropriately.

So, why did the Bishops fail to act until the recent past, and only when the public scandal had become too great to bear? In my opinion, it is the fault of the laity as much as the bishops. We in the Church have accepted a form of clergy "honor" that is neither practical, scriptural, nor logical. How many of us have stood aside quietly while church "politicians" have been appointed to the bishoprics, rather than servants of the people. How many of us have demanded, much less expected, our bishops to preach the Gospel before lobbying congress? How many Bishops do we see leading our priests down on the streets to preach to those most in need of the knowledge of Christ and His saving love?

No, our idea of bishops largely mimics the commonly used term, "Princes of the Church". We allow them to rule, but don't expect them to preach the gospel to the world. We allow them to lobby for political ideas, but RARELY do they lobby in our parishes. These men do have power, they do have authority, yet their focus is too often focused away from their flock, and more on administration. How many bishops personally handle the process of vocational discernment with a possible priest? Often they relegate it to another priest, or a nun, or a lay person. How then, can we expect them to really know our priests, when their contact with them is minimal?

Unfortunately, many (although not all) of our American Bishops have become simply, Church Politicians, or administrators who are busy covering up "scandal", lobbying congress, meeting with dignitaries, and too busy for work among their people. But, we have allowed it and we have reaped what we have sown an increasingly secular clergy, among an increasingly secular laity.

Bishops: Justice for Immigrants is really amnesty for criminals

The US Conference of Catholic bishops (USCCB) has recently re-published the Justice for Immigrants website in a bid to rally Catholics and Congress to support "immigration reform". Bishop John Wester, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, is the head of the immigration committee at the USCCB and together with Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany are spearheading a campaign to prompt congress to reform immigration. Their stated goals are as follows:

• a pathway to citizenship for the 11-12 million of undocumented;
  
• reforms for family migration – the so-called "family reunification";
  
• legal avenues for migrants to come here to work;
  
• the restoration of due process protections for immigrants;
  
• steps to address the root causes of migration or the push factor.
  

While I certainly agree with Justice for immigrants (legal) and the humane treatment of all people, what the bishops are really asking for, in indirect language that would make politicians proud, is that America ignore justice when it comes to ILLEGAL aliens living within our borders and grant them a road trip to amnesty. The fact is that these are not just "undocumented" workers, these are individuals and families that have entered our country illegally, and are therefore guilty of crime, not merely being "undocumented".

Bishop Wester, there is already a path for citizen ship for the 11-12 million illegal aliens in our country. Let me spell it out if you do not understand it. Return to your country (Perhaps Bishop Wester's Diocese can help with the cost of this move.) and apply for legal immigration to America, at which time we will welcome them with open arms.

As noted above, Bishop Wester's call for action also includes a request for the restoration of due process protections for immigrants. Perhaps this has also slipped past the USCCB, but immigrants do have due process protections, it is ILLEGAL ALIENS that do not have them in the country they entered illegally.

Finally, steps to address the root causes of migration. Unfortunately, the USCCB's has failed to give congress or the citizens a plan to address the causes of migration, or the means of paying for it. Let's face it; the biggest reason is quality of life, which most often boils down to jobs and money. The US did in fact make a bid to create more jobs in Mexico (at the expense of American jobs) through NAFTA fiasco. So far, it hasn't worked. Why? Because the issue of money management, workers rights, protections, and fair pay in Mexico need to be addressed by the government of Mexico, not America.

That being said however, there is something that America could do that would help address these quality of life issues in Mexico and assist companies in America. Repeal NAFTA! The greatest thing that the USCCB could do to level the playing field for Mexicans, in Mexico, and thus reduce immigration, is to encourage the repeal of NAFTA until/unless the jobs that are sent to Mexico are afforded the same protection (unions, OSHA, Unemployment insurance, minimum wage, social security, collective bargaining, anti-discrimination, etc) that American's have. Of course if American Companies had to pay for all of this in Mexico, they wouldn't ship the jobs down there quite as quickly. Yes… the root cause of immigration is the fact that Mexico is not America.

The Justice for Immigrants website goes to great lengths to tell us the virtues of having an illegal alien population in our country. According to the website immigrants don't increase crime(Not sure how they can make this claim with open honesty when the very fact that they are here illegally… is a crime.), speak good English by the second and third generation, don't drain the economy, don't compete with citizens for jobs, and are a general benefit to our society.

Perhaps Bishop Wester can extol all these virtues to the family of the Sheriff's deputy that was shot recently in Delta, Utah, his home state, by an "undocumented worker". Perhaps he can explain how illegal immigrants are not burdening our economy by explaining that he is willing to pay the costs to create and maintain the ESL programs in our schools, the cost of translators in our hospitals, and the other costs that the tax payers are covering. Perhaps he can tell the hospitals that those "undocumented workers" that use their resources and do not pay and cannot be collected against, are not really raising the cost of health care for the rest of us. Perhaps they will buy it, perhaps millions of faithful Catholics will buy it…

But not this faithful Catholic.