[blueheron2]

I wish the church would take a much stronger stand against politicians that support abortion. I sure would like to know why they don’t do more to rein in priests and members who go directly against doctrine.

[NYer]

I wish the church would take a much stronger stand against politicians that support abortion.

What is the Church's present stand?

I sure would like to know why they don’t do more to rein in priests and members who go directly against doctrine.

That's a blanket statement. Which priests have gone against doctrine? Who has not reined them in?

Ultimately, the person who directs the priests of a given diocese is the bishop. Not all bishops are the same. Archbishop Burke (now serving at the Vatican) holds a degree in Canon Law and has had no qualms in speaking out against catholic politicians, priests and even parish councils. Others, like my bishop, were appointed many years ago and entrusted with a particular task - contemporize the diocese. This has resulted in dismantiling it. Through a process of careful scrutiny, the bishop has only accepted "like minded" men to enter his seminary. The result has been low enrollment. Over the span of his 30+ years at the reins of this diocese, attrition has set in. We are now down to only a handful of priests. The bishop has responded by closing schools and turning parishes over to Lay Ecclesial Ministers. While the number of ordinations in our diocese continues to shrink under this bishop's 'leadership', the applications for seminary in Archbishop Burkes' diocese exceeded the capacity of his seminary. They now have a waiting list.

You are probably wondering why the pope doesn't intervene (the Vatican has a massive dossier of complaints on my bishop from faithful catholics). You will find the answer here.

Why Doesn't the Pope Do Something about "Bad" Bishops?

[Salvation]

Guess you haven't see these for Pelosi, Biden et al. All in all something like 56 bishops have come out correcting them. This is only a partial list.

Updated: American Bishops who have spoken against Pelosi

Here is the complete list of American bishops who have responded to Nancy Pelosi's comments so far:

1. Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver was the first American bishop to respond
2. ... Bishop James Conley, his auxiliary, joined him
3. Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington DC responded twice, first in a press release and second in a statement to The Hill. He has also appeared on Fox News, I am told.
4. Cardinal Justin Regali of Philadelphia, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued this statement through the USCCB website...
5. ... Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, chairman of the Committee on Doctrine, joined him
6. Cardinal Edward Egan of New York publised a strongly worded statement of his own
7. Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo issued a letter correcting Pelosi's claims
8. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh and...
9. ... Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs have chimed-in
10. Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio, CNA reports has added his voice ...
11. ... Bishop Oscar Cantu, his auxiliary bishop, has joined him
12. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville has published an extensive letter
13. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa has a detailed response
14. Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has joined the USCCB's efforts
15. Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin is on-board
16. Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston mentions the USCCB on his blog
17. Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando has written at length
18. Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul/Minneapolis challenges Pelosi's statement
19. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, President of the US Bishops, has weighed-in
20. Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, OR publishes in the Catholic Sentinel
21. Bishop Jerome Listecki of La Crosse, WI responds in a word document
22. Bishop Richard Lennon of Cleveland, OH will comment in his September 5th column (PDF)
23. Bishop Ralph Nickless of Sioux City, IA has one of the very best responses I've read
24. Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco has invited Pelosi to a "conversation"
25. Bishop Glen Provost, LA: "Catholic Church clear on when human life begins"
26. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn: "Judging the Candidates"

{Last updated on September 10th.}

Notes:

• Previous #23 has been removed. Bishop Joseph Gossman of Raleigh, NC is actually the bishop emeritus, and the new bishop, Michael Burbidge has not, to my knowledge, made a personal statement.
• Previous #16 has also been removed, it was an erroneous duplication of current #13.
• #26 was added September 10th, although he published his column September 6th