I’ve heard his name, but I must confess ignorance of this man. Choirloft tipped me off to this blog post which is quite commendable. Here’s a snippet. If you have time, read the whole article. If you want confirmation of his assertion that the Church needs more presence in the area (physically, intellectually, spiritually) proceed to read the comments on his post.
|I’m not Catholic.
And I’m not from Rhode Island.
But I am a fan of the Roman Catholic bishop of Rhode Island. His name is Thomas J. Tobin, and I like what he stands for.
…
America needs more Catholics.
Let me repeat, I’m not one. And I don’t believe in their religion. But I know that a good Catholic is a good Christian and a good American, and we need more people like that.
Where I live, in upstate New York, the Catholic Church is in active collapse. It is closing churches and schools, selling sanctuaries and abandoning communities. For all intents and purposes, it is going out of business. In the 50 years from 1960 to 2010, the Catholic Church of my region has undergone an historic and astounding redefinition and decline.
It is barely even a shadow of what it once was.
And I have often said that instead of going quietly into oblivion, it should go to its neighbors and offer them the hope its believers feel they find in its teachings. I’ve repeatedly goaded our local bishop and his diocese to spread the word, to actively try to win back ex-Catholics and preach the word to prospective Catholics.
I believe that would be good for society.
I believe that America is great because America is good, and America is good because its people have been Christian and its traditions have been Judeo-Christian. It is the general morality and faithfulness of Americans which have helped secure the blessings of God on our country, and morality and faithfulness are learned in worship.
AMEN
Lonsberry was one of my first finds when I moved to Rochester. He got me through many days with young children. I looked forward to listening to the “Big Show” even though I sometimes didn’t agree with Lonsberry. One thing you can say about him, though, is that he is very respectful of the Catholic faith as most who read this board understand it. He has consistently criticized the bishop for many of the things we all lament – poor catechesis, church and school closings and syncretizing the faith – and I thank him for it. In the morning he joins Beth and Chet on 1180 for a roundtable discussion and it is Bob who defends the Church and presents her teachings accurately when Beth and Chet are regurgitating typical and predictable liberal attacks. We need more radio hosts like Lonsberry.
Bob Lonsberry has published other columns on this general topic. See here, for example.
He also took some pretty solid shots at Bishop Clark on the subject of the 2008 school closings.
I agree with Nerina’s comment about Beth and Chet, especially Chet. I can’t stand him. Anyways, another very interesting Lonsberry column is from Dec. 2, entitled “I Like This Catholic Bishop”. Read the comments and how many people attack the Catholic Church for what they “think” it is and not what it really is. Many are fallen away Catholic. This Bishop better get on the stick before he faces judgment day. I wish Catholic had the ability, as can be done in Business Law, to “pierce the corporate veil”. It can be done in business when you smell a rat in the administration of a company.
Re: my post above. I got my columns mixed up. Just ignore me. I took the short bus today.
The reason our country is in the tank is because of the meltdown of the Catholic Church. There ae few good bishops and priests to preach about health care, abortion, homosexuality, premarital sex, end-of-life issues and NFP and so, like Pope Paul VI stated in Humanae Vitae: Morality will decline. And where is the Catholic church when we really need her?