What fear smells like: Our US bishops, God’s frozen people
by Doug Mainwaring, excerpts from LifeSite News
November 19, 2018: I was with the bishops in Baltimore for their annual fall assembly. Paralyzing fear was palpable among the prelates. The air was thick with it, permeating the general sessions, lobby, and corridors of the hotel where they met, ate, and slept.
They have proven it was necessary for Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to have exhorted them to confront sex abuse as “courageous shepherds” rather than “frightened sheep.”
What are they afraid of? Just about everything.
Our bishops fear the laity
Members are scared to death of the people back home who hold them accountable for the existence and perpetuation of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. …
Our bishops fear their own priests
… the priests in their own dioceses who now face this crisis on their own. They’ve had to endure painful “listening sessions” with angry and dispirited members of their parishes, some of whom risk losing their faith. In a sense, these priests have been hung out to dry…. bishops had to return to their dioceses with the news that they basically accomplished nothing….
Our bishops fear the media
During this past week in Baltimore, access to our U.S. prelates was severely limited….
The bishops fear Pope Francis
The bishops fear offending the Holy See. … after being informed that the Vatican had pulled the carpet out from under their plans to deal with the sex abuse crisis, the bishops … could not even agree on a sentence or two … to Pope Francis….
The discussion … revealed a lack of manliness. Very little courage was on display … but when it was, it was magnificent. Five courageous prelates stood out: Bishop Strickland of the diocese of Tyler, Texas; Bishop Cozzens of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; Bishop Daly of Spokane, Washington; Bishop McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri; and Bishop Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois.
Our bishops fear offending promoters of LGBT liberation theology
The bishops were also paralyzed when it came to discussing homosexuality. Most can’t even utter the “h word” … Only one – Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco – dared to use the term….
Why do they fear unchaste gays within the ranks of clergy more than they fear abandoning Church teaching and their roles as shepherds?
The bishops fear protesters who seek faithful shepherds
In the days before they gathered in Baltimore, the USCCB contacted the Baltimore Police Department expressing their fear of the protesters….
“Why do they fear unchaste gays within the ranks of clergy more than they fear abandoning Church teaching and their roles as shepherds?”
The faithful bishops are ‘afraid’ for the same reasons faithful laity ‘fear’ unchaste within and outside the Church. I’m not certain the Bishops fear as much as parallel what the flock does in day to day life. Think about that. The precipice is very high and The Way is very narrow. Much depends on how Pope Francis responds with each turn on the cliff. Our Bishops have not stopped their leadership. Life experiences are precarious as during the life of Christ 2000+ years ago.
I define ’unchaste’ broader than Doug Mainwaring who uses the term ‘unchaste gays’
The Clergy has and is facing a brick wall solid with the color of Antipas/Herodias, Antipas/Antipas, Herodias/Herodias.
Through the example of John the Baptist, I know exactly what is at stake yet I remain in Christ. The pause and silence is deafening to those who do not have Faith. Direct confrontation with sin sometimes results in martyrdom. By hook or by crook, Antipas and Herodias completed their evil. Times haven’t changed. We should anticipate as much at any given moment.
True repentance demands abandonment of sin – nothing less.
Jesus, I trust in you.
I hope what happened in Baltimore will renew the resolve of young priests not to emulate the behavior of their bishops; rather, “to be not afraid.” How sad to have reached such a high position in the Church and be fearful. I’m beginning to understand better what it means to “Pray for Priests.”
“will renew the resolve of young priests not to emulate the behavior of their bishops;”
this is a very dicey situation because the newly ordained priest must swear obedience to the very bishop he might have to abandon as a role model;and bishops tend to accept as seminary candidates those who they believe will be compliant and will be willing to accept the promise of obedience. This is one of the reasons that the American episcopal clergy are so amalgamated as a group. Uniform people = uniform behavior.