Posted on 02/27/2009 2:51:50 AM PST by Born Conservative
Bishop Joseph F. Martino could strip Misericordia University and other local colleges of their status as Catholic institutions if he believes they are no longer true to Catholic teachings, according to several Catholic officials.
The bishop has publicly criticized the appearance of gay-rights advocate Keith Boykin, a best-selling author, television commentator and founder of the National Black Justice Coalition, who spoke at two forums at Misericordia this month.
In a statement released by the Diocese of Scranton on Tuesday, the bishop asked the school “to seriously consider discontinuing its Diversity Institute” and conveyed that students should learn respect for all races and cultures, but viewpoints in opposition to Catholic teaching should not be presented “under the guise of ‘diversity.’ ”
The bishop also has asked the school to prove its efforts in teaching Catholic morality regarding sexuality and homosexuality — including naming courses, content and catalog numbers.
Bishop Martino has no direct jurisdiction over Misericordia, said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, or over any other Catholic college or university in the diocese. The diocese does not own them.
The Cardinal Newman Society is a nonprofit organization “dedicated to renewing and strengthening Catholic identity” at Catholic colleges and universities.
“Ex corde Ecclesiae,” issued by the Vatican in 1990, describes the ways a Catholic college or university can be established. Those ways include by the Holy See or a bishop, or by a religious institution, such as the Sisters of Mercy, the founders of Misericordia.
As Bishop Martino has no “day-to-day” authority over Misericordia, the Diocese of Scranton cannot close the Diversity Institute. Only the university can take that kind of action, Mr. Reilly said.
However, Bishop Martino has the authority to declare that Misericordia University is no longer affiliated with the Catholic church, said Richard Yanikoski, Ph.D., president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
Once a year, each bishop is asked to declare which institutions are Catholic, through “The Official Catholic Directory,” published by P.J. Kenedy & Sons. The Kenedy directory is considered by the IRS to be the definitive list of which institutions are officially Catholic, Dr. Yanikoski said.
“In any given year, a bishop has the opportunity to exclude an institution that was previously included,” Dr. Yanikoski said. “Having said that, that’s not the way it’s supposed to work.”
The decision can happen at any point during the year, however, and can be done with a simple official statement by the bishop, Mr. Reilly said. Since “Ex corde Ecclesiae” was issued, four colleges — Marymount Manhattan College, Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College, both in Rochester, N.Y. — have lost their status as Catholic institutions, he said.
“These colleges are able to do whatever they want, but it may mean they are no longer able to identify themselves as Catholic,” Mr. Reilly said. “It’s ultimately a decision the university has to make.”
Bishop Martino is a former member of the Cardinal Newman Society’s advisory board, and Mr. Reilly said he has known the bishop for years. And Mr. Reilly believes Bishop Martino would strip a university of its Catholic status if he thought it was for the betterment of the Catholic church.
“I have no doubt that Bishop Martino is willing to do that if that is necessary. He understands that ultimately it does more damage to the church to have institutions that are hypocritical. I also know that he is a very rational and careful bishop who is going to make sure that is the situation, and probably in his heart would very much want Misericordia to instead strongly embrace its Catholic identity.”
“Ex corde Ecclesiae” also included norms about how Catholic universities and the church should relate to one another, Dr. Yanikoski said.
“If problems should arise concerning this Catholic character, the local bishop is to take the initiatives necessary to resolve the matter, working with the competent university authorities in accordance with established procedures and, if necessary, with the help of the Holy See.”
The dialogues are not supposed to occur only when there is a problem, Dr. Yanikoski said.
“This is supposed to occur regularly,” he said.
The Diocese of Scranton says there may be a meeting with officials from Misericordia University to discuss the bishop’s suggestion to close the university’s Diversity Institute.
“There will probably be a meeting, but no meeting has been scheduled at this time. We have no further comment,” diocesan spokesman William Genello wrote in an e-mail Thursday.
Paul Krzywicki, Misericordia spokesman, said Thursday that the university was working to schedule a meeting with the bishop or his delegates.
“We want to resolve it in a fair way,” he said, declining further comment.
It’s quite amusing (in a very sad way) to see all this ‘heroic’ action against leftist, liberal, anti-”Catholics” AFTER they have decimated theology. It’s like all the little old ladies twittering and puffed-up for their action against FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act)last Sunday. They are ‘doing something’ - when last fall they all trooped over and elected the most anti-infant, pro-abortion ‘Catholic’ Senator Sheehan, elected pro-abortion B. Hussein Obamba, etc. because their priest and bishop hammered on ‘social justice’. It brought to mind Glenn Beck’s 2006 decision not to air his ‘killer documentary show on the threat of the Islamists that would scare us silly’ until AFTER the election because he didn’t want to influence the outcome.
Pure, unadulterated sophistry and BS - get the sheeple twisted up and let them demonstrate AFTER the damage is done. FOOLS.
Martino is fairly new in the diocese. Outrages like this have been going on for some time, and he’s making an effort to clean up the diocese and stop this stuff. Why don’t you give him a bit of support for what he’s doing, rather than complaining about everybody before him? Or do you think that just because something wasn’t done earlier, nothing should be done now?
Similarly, do you think nobody should resist Obama just because they didn’t resist him earlier?
The social justice non-sense is for those whose attention span fails to get them to the 10th commandment.
Neither shall you desire your neighbour’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
. . . even if you want to give them to someone else . . .
Not at all, I just think it is funny that there is such a flurry now - when the many who raised the issue BEFORE we were knee deep in this BS were ignored and marginalized as negative naysayers. We haven’t slipped so far down the slope of degenerate “Catholicism” over night. It took a LOT of episcopate, clerical and ‘faithful’ self-willed blindness to get where we are. Kudos to Martino, it’s about time for the hangers-on.
Close the school, sell it to the highest bidder. Maybe Phoenix University will bid, or a Bible College, both of which would be a big step up.
Better late than never, I guess. Martino just issued a Lenten letter, btw, in which he mentioned public denial of communion for pro-abortion pols because of the public nature of their sin. I’m not sure that he has any of the real offenders in his diocese, but it is a very positive sign that he is writing about it in a firm, unapolegetic way, simply as a bishop who is the teacher of his diocese (theoretically, their job). Watch for some really fierce media attacks on him.
He has been Bishop of Scranton since 2003.
Also, remember, the liberals in the 60's made everything sound good. That's the siren's call. There were some, like our current pope, who switched sides midstream, but the damage was done. I honestly think that those who were cardinals and archbishops at the time were blindsided and really didn't know how to react. That was exactly the case with Cardinal Carberry here.
The other thing is that the orders really don't answer to the bishops. With the Jesuits, that's absolutely true. And they flaunt it. At least there are bishops making an honest effort to clean things up.
Bishop Martino, as pointed out by livius, is fairly new to the diocese (replacing Bishop Timlin), and has been consistent on these issues. I realize that you are talking about Catholics in general, but as far as Martino, this stance is not surprising.
I think that he is providing fair warning to Casey. I'm not sure if Casey has been outside of Obama's rectum long enough to read the letter.
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