During this Wuhan corona quarantine some religious leaders have shown their best sides, others their worst. Some have risen to the challenge, some cower in fear. Some nurture; some exploit. Now we know a lot more about some of our shepherds and pastors, and some of it isn’t pretty. But it is easier to change one’s parish than to change our diocese, so at least we’ve been warned to be very, very careful about certain “leaders.” We might even propose that the worst of what we hear may be the Lord revealing to us what we need to know for the good of our souls, that from which we need to protect ourselves.
We do need to stop and consider whether or not it is appropriate to identify the risks and help others to avoid harm. It is not so much requiring we keep silence in order to be adequately charitable, as much as it is a matter of sharing with brothers and sisters in the faith what we or others have discerned, so that collectively we might be warned to avoid the pitfalls.
Abp. Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C.
Cardinal Blaise J. Cupich of Chicago, Ill.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cupichs-strange
Abp. Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Ala.
I have discussed with some friends whom they would put on top of their least desirable bishops’ list. There’s no point in mentioning their choices, as they can comment on this post. And different people have, understandably, different opinions, maybe based on different needs or experiences. The point is that we are not judging their souls, which we have no right to do, only evaluating the fruit (or lack of it) that we can publicly see. That is called discernment.
Finally, I’ve been asked if I also plan to list the top three prelates I’d most welcome to head any diocese in which I might reside. The answer is ‘no’ because there is so much that we don’t know or can’t see, and “it’s not over, until it’s over.” Meanwhile, there is no point in provoking demonic actions against good, solid bishops, risking pain of the kind Job suffered.