Is there no vaccine for the "Bishops Disease"?

The Priestly Pugilist ^ | 4/2/2009 | The Priestly Pugilist & Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer

[Balt]

[Your PP includes this item not only because it's "stand-alone" probative value, but also because it's so clear an illustration of the disease that infects us as a Church. I won't rehash the events of the situation concerned here, since Father Euteneurer does an excellent job of that himself; but compare this with the situation your PP commented on in the article I wrote below: "We have been placed on the Index of Forbidden Blogs." Neither Archbishop Wuerl nor Archbishop Fisichella believe abortion is justified—or are even "soft" on the issue; it's simply that they have the disease: when someone shoves a microphone or camera in their faces, or a reporter calls up and says, "I'm doing a story on...," their spines turn instantly to Jell-O. Remember, last year your PP speculated regarding what Archbishop Wuerl would do if some other bishop ever took him up on his offer to actually request that a subject be refused Holy Communion:

By ignoring Canon Law, Wuerl is looking for a public relations "out." If, for example, the Archbishop of Boston were to send him a letter saying that he does not want Ted Kennedy receiving Holy Communion, Wuerl would have no problem with instructing his priests to refuse the senator; this way, were someone to shove a microphone in his face and ask him about it, he could say, "It has nothing to do with me." It's not that he has a problem with human life issues or Church teaching; he just doesn't what the onus to be on him. He's a Tame.

Well, it seems your PP might have been giving His Tameness a little too much credit. Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City has, in fact, informed Archbishop Wuerl that he does not want Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius to receive Holy Communion, and His Tameness is dragging his feet. That request came weeks ago; and Wuerl, to date, has told his priests nothing. One is reminded of the remark by William Cardinal Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, about the unseemliness of what he called "territorial morality." Now, it seems, providing formal or material support for abortion is a mortal sin in Kansas City, but not in Washington, DC. But tell Wuerl that he's shooting holes all through the Gospel of Life, and he would probably behave like Robbie the Robot, complete with sparks flying out of his neck because his brain simply can't compute what you're saying. He's not a heretic; but the concern for a smooth public profile with no unsightly bumps just shuts down the whole system—kind of like a "general protection fault" that suddenly shuts down your Windows computer for cryptic reasons known only to Bill Gates.

Archbishop Fisichella's problem is the same. He's not "soft" on abortion; but it's the classic hard case: a child pregnant from rape. In his heart of hearts, he knows the abortion was wrong; but excommunicating the abortionists, as Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho did, is a public relations nightmare...so, he pours water into the vinegar in an attempt to make the Church seem less of an unfeeling bully in the eyes of people who aren't going to look favorably on the Church no matter what she does; and in so doing, causes more harm than he could have imagined. I wonder what goes through his mind when he reads the words of St. Paul: "Preach the truth, whether convenient or inconvenient."

Father Thomas J. Euteneuer is president of Human Life International, a Catholic organization which works to promote the Gospel of Life. —Priestly Pugilist]

It is no secret that pro-lifers over the years have been greatly burdened by the general lack of support by many of the members of our clergy on life issues, but until now, we have been able to rely on the various Vatican offices for a clear, consistent and correct defense of life. A statement made two weeks ago by an official of the Vatican about an abortion case in Brazil, however, has raised more than a few eyebrows, and is causing grave concern for its potential impact on the Church's ability to defend life around the world. I am asking your prayers that the Holy See will clarify and correct this situation right away before further damage is done.

The incident in question involves—unbelievably—the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who issued a statement on March 15th criticizing a bishop in Brazil for properly declaring to be excommunicated the doctors who performed an abortion on a nine-year-old girl who was pregnant from rape. The girl was pregnant with twins so the doctors aborted two babies. Despite her young age, she was not in any serious danger (according to the hospital), nor were the two babies she was carrying in any danger. Even if she would have been in danger, the abortion would have been immoral because the direct killing of the innocent never is allowed. It goes without saying that the Church condemns unequivocally the incestuous act committed against this young girl, however, the issue of excommunication of the perpetrators of the abortion stands on its own and deserves applause, not criticism by other prelates. Unfortunately, Archbishop Fisichella is not the only bishop to publicly criticize the decision of the Brazilian bishop in applying church law.

The innocent little girl, thus, became the center of a perfect storm created by the abortion industry which capitalized on her victimization to promote abortion in Brazil where it is currently illegal. Unfortunately, Abp. Fisichella's intervention gave the impression of a quasi-doctrinal statement and played right into the hands of the abortion promoters by seeming to give permission for abortion in such a "hard case" scenario. Archbishop Fisichella was not condoning these abortions per se, but due to some unfortunate choices of words in his article, and predictably, on the very day that Abp. Fisichella issued his statement, the Associated Press picked it up and titled their own article, "Vatican prelate defends abortion for 9-year-old." The world is indeed watching and listening to what comes out of the Vatican because of the Holy See's immense moral and spiritual authority; hence the responsibility to be loyal without fault when speaking in the name of the Catholic Church.

I applaud most of all the handling of this case by the local diocese in Brazil and pray that all bishops may take an example from this picture perfect handling of a difficult pastoral situation. Credit needs to go to Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho and several priests of his diocese for providing generous pastoral care to the family during this terrible crisis. Indeed, when the girl was transferred to a hospital 140 miles away from the parish, her priest travelled that distance every day to visit her and to assure the family that the Church would provide every possible care for the welfare of the three vulnerable children.

The great irony in all this is that while we get little or no support from Church officials to correct bishops who are negligent in their duty to guard the faith and the flock, in this case, the local bishop did exactly the right thing in issuing this excommunication edict and he was slapped down by a Vatican official!

The appearance of a Vatican compromise on this issue comes at the worst possible time in the cultural and political situation of Latin America. This Catholic continent is especially the target of attack by the aggressive forces of the culture of death, so the last thing we need is for the Church to look weak or divided about our teachings or our resolve to fight the purveyors of death to our brothers and sisters there. The Catholic Church, and her divine authority, is in many places the only shield that the unborn have to keep the abortionists' instruments of death from them. Let us pray that the Vatican will rectify this error and fortify that shield without delay. The unborn children of Brazil as well as all other parts of the world are counting on us!

by Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer

[ichabod1]

I used to think abortion was justified in cases such as this. Now I think the stink of abortion is so odious that mankind cannot be trusted with it. The girl was afflicted not only by rape but by a product of it. The children should have been born and adopted out.

[HighlyOpinionated]

Unfortunately what has happened in the Catholic Church in the United States and elsewhere is what we call “secular education.” Whether the Bishops went to public or Catholic parochial school, they still read books and magazines and watched television and the insidious EVIL of the world planted a seed. Probably many seeds. And seedlings of questions that only The Church has the answers to began to grow and refused to be watered but by secularism. There are exceptions of strong men such as Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. But they are not Americans. Look at what they suffered in their early life and compare it to the cushy soft life of any current Bishop in the USofA. US Bishops have never been put through the Refining Fire. They've been able to have it 'both ways.'

The day will come for US Bishops when He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. Malachi 2. Perhaps "that day" is the current one.