Democracy threatened when people of faith don’t act

Milwaukee Catholic Herald Citizen ^ | 1/15/04 | Abp. Timothy Dolan

[ninenot]

Read the WHOLE thing. Dolan's put some OTHER Wisconsin legislators on notice with this column, and rather neatly, invoking M. L. King in the process.

The rumble continues...

[american colleen]

Dolan is way cool. Here's what the spokesman for Bishop O'Malley from Boston said when asked for the bishop's stance on Bishop Burke's recent actions:

The Rev. Christopher Coyne, the Boston Archdiocese spokesman, has no expectation that O'Malley ever would ever direct his priests to refuse communion to pro-abortion rights officials, he said. Unless a person is clearly deranged or saying things against the church at that moment, the archdiocese's policy is that no priest or lay communion minister should ever refuse communion, he said.

"A priest or a Eucharistic minister is not a policeman or policewoman," Coyne said. "The proper place for a conversation (about church doctrine) is not in the communion line, but before or after."

[maryz]

Here's what the spokesman for Bishop O'Malley from Boston said when asked for the bishop's stance

I'd hold my fire on this -- Coyne was the one who answered (you may remember from previous posts that I have no use for Coyne), and he said only that he "had no expectation. . . ." I don't see anything in the article that says he and O'Malley have even discussed it.

O'Malley has quite a bit on his plate right now (settlement negotiations, consulting priests and laity about closing parishes) without plunging into anything else at the moment. I'd wait and see.

[american colleen]

Thanks and you are right... but maybe Coyne could have adopted the same "wait and see" words - he kinda dug himself deep by making any statement here.

Cold enough for ya? ;-) It's a balmy 23 down my way - after last week I don't even bother to wear a winter coat if it's above 20.

[maryz]

Way too cold for me -- usually I don't mind winter that much, but last week was too much; I was just getting over some kind of virus that had hung on four weeks, and that cold weather (having to go outside for cigarettes at work probably didn't help!) sent me into a relapse.

Re Coyne. As I said, I don't like or trust him; he's apparently against rocking the boat -- just the attitude that got us into our current messes!

[Gamecock]

Great Post

[ninenot]

Agree w/Maryz.

Dolan's editorial is thinly-veiled, but not a direct assault at this time for the same reasons. The majority, but not ALL, of the legalities are out of the way on the settlements

And the parish closings are almost done. When that's over, there will be more fireworks.

[american colleen]

Ah ha! Another cigarette smoker. You can't believe how stupid I felt standing outside my place of employment and smoking on those nights that it was below zero. What a loser.

Coyne... very hard to figure him out. Seems to play middle of the road. Not to say I can't understand that - the amount of "Boston Priest Forum®" priests here who are running the monied and powerful parishes and educational establishments is very daunting. I honestly believe that they would openly revolt (with the help of the Boston Globe and all the local radio broadcasters and most of the laity) if the bishop came out now and "Burked" the politicos here.

Let's face it, even the Holy Father doesn't "Burke" people.

[american colleen]

Thanks for your input here... I am sure you are correct - and I hope the same will be true here in Boston eventually.

[TotusTuus]

Concerning MLK, a thought occurred to me. I had always been somewhat ambivalent about the holiday controversy. Recalling all the arguments about whether or not he should be honored with a national and/or state holiday (this blew up in AZ over a decade ago), all the positives and negatives - and there were definite negatives (adultery) - how do you categorize the man?

The daily readings in the Church now come from the kingdom books and involve King David. A man after God's heart. A man who also committed an adulterous rape then murder.

"I would sin like David, if only I could repent like David"

[ninenot]

I categorize MLK as more positive than negative. He was also a plagiarist and (some say) a communist fellow-traveler.

OTOH, he was a non-violent guy, evidently learned in Scripture and understanding of Right Order.

All in all, a human being.

[St.Chuck]

I saw Archbishop Dolan on EWTN a couple of weeks ago, and he was most impressive with his take on the abuse scandal. His perspective here, is again, worthy of respect.

I've been ambivalent about the King holiday as well. I had always considered it a good example of how political correctness has inundated our culture. Until this year I thought that King's impact on America was relatively small, but while listening to his "I Have a Dream" speech on the radio this past Monday my attitude has changed. So melodic, lyrical, and mesmerizing was that oration, and so entrancing that I ran a stop sign right in front of a cop. "That wasn't even a California stop", he told me. So, now, at last, I have some personal insight into how MLK affects Americans.

[Catholicguy]

http://toogoodreports.com/column/general/stix/012901.htm

[Catholicguy]

He wasn't a real reverend, Martin Luther King wasn't his real name, his PHD wasn't Bona Fide, he said "f...ing is a form of relaxation" ("The Walls Came Tumbling Down" Ralph David Abernathy), and the night before he was shot he screwed two different women and beat-up one of them.

Still, he was a nice guy....

[Catholicguy]

http://www.etherzone.com/2003/stang011703.shtml

[Catholicguy]

http://www.martinlutherking.org/articles/the_king_holiday.pdf

[ninenot]

I get the idea that you did NOT join the MLK fan club, nor would you serve in any capacity on same...

[St.Chuck]

Gosh, Mr. Stang's article seems over the top. Lot's of guilt by association and conspiracy theories. All I know is that I am utterly bored by all the attention King gets every year. If Lincoln or Washington received half the adulation King does, maybe we would be more familiar with the dirt on them as well.