Fidelity magazine published extensive articles on the Chicago scandals of Bernardin's regime in which children of both sexes were molested sexually and physically injured by priests, nuns and parochial school officials. One child was the son of billionaires who are among the greatest contributors to the Archdiocese of Chicago and to the Vatican itself. The mother is a descendant of either Mr. Nash or Mr. Kelly who co-founded the current Chicago Democrat machine. The machine honors the ancestor's memory by patronizing his granddaughter's law firm without quid pro quo. The father went to Bernardin to comlain and made the obvious observation that it would make no sense to sue the Archdiocese, Bernardin (for knowingly covering up) or even the individuals in question since the Church was their family's major charty and they had no need whatever for money damages. Bernardin whitewashed the situation yet again. The parents went to the Vatican where they were allowed by Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, then the Head of the Curial Congregation on the Family to tape their conversation with him. They asked to meet with Pope John Paul II as to Bernardin's administration of Chicago and the abse of their son. Cardinal Gagnon told them that the pope sympathized but would not meet with them as such meetngs were pointless since the American Church was effectively in schism and refused to obey Rome.
Bernardin tolerated the existence of a "priest's Senate" which acted as though it were a legislature of some sort, ever taking the leftmost position available and defying hierarchical authority.
Bernardin was no prize in his previous see at Cincinnati either. He left Joseph Pilarczyk to succeed him there. Pilarczyk is nearly as bad as Bernardin. His seminary has a non-Catholic, a Mason, who is a psychologist of some sort, as the gatekeeper, to prevent the ordination of any orthodox Catholics who slip through. The Diocese of Rockford (next door to Chicago) has benefited from the arrival of several seminarians who fled Bernardin's Mundelein Seminary to come here where we have a very Catholic bishop and more than 40 seminarians, 11 of whom will be ordained this spring. That will be the second class of 11 since my family arrived here in 2000.
Any prizes for guessing where Bernardin might be now?
No kidding? That he asked for such a thing by name? That would be a scandal to any serious Christian organization, let alone the RCC.
Reminds me of a tale I heard, not too long ago.
My former pastor here in Augusta, GA, who is now the vice-rector of Mt. St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland and a wonderful, orthodox priest, used to tell the story of his first trip to Rome in the early '90s, just after he had been ordained.
As a newly ordained priest he, along with his newly ordained companion, was granted an audience with the Pope, together with a number of other priests and visitors to Rome. When the Holy Father finally approached him and his companion he said that he managed to nervously blurt out "Good morning, Your Holiness". He said that the Pope did not reply immediately but stared at them both intently for what seemed like an eternity before he finally intoned in that Polish baritone...."AHHHHHH-MEEEER-EEEE-KAAAAAANS!!" and without another word, turned and walked away.
My pastor said that in that one word he seemed to express a whole universe of feeling towards the American Church. And that was before the scandals broke.