Posted on 02/05/2007 4:54:16 PM PST by Frank Sheed
This analysis began with the question, Does the bishop matter? It arrives at an interesting pair of conclusions. The first is that there is no problem ailing the Catholic Church in America that is not being addressed successfully in some place, and typically in multiple places. Second, there is a cadre of bishops, invisible to the national media, largely unknown outside their dioceses, absent from Washington political circles, who are trulyunsung heroes of the Church, presiding over vibrant communities, building the Church, and effectively proclaiming the Faithmen such as Bishop Joseph Kurtz of Knoxville, Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, and Bishop Daniel Conlon of Steubenville, to name just a few.
So to the original question: Does the bishop matter? To be sure, among the local Catholic laity, the bishop has a certain celebrity; his visits to our parishes are occasions. Faithful Catholics monitor the comings and goings of the episcopate with more than passing interest. But does a particular bishop really affect, for better or ill, the health of the Church in his see?
The first consideration in answering this question is whether variations in the vitality of the American dioceses can be detected, such that some dioceses can be said to be unusually robust and others unusually anemic. Absent such variations, there is nothing to attribute to the bishop. After all, the Church in America as a whole is beset by macro trends, such as the emergence of a now-dominant (and hostile) secular culture. All dioceses swim, as it were, in the same sea. Our question is whether some are better swimmers than others.
(Excerpt) Read more at crisismagazine.com ...
I first saw this on the Dom Bettinelli blog, Bettnett. He, like you, questioned the methodology and why the "end points" chosen were felt to be optimal monitors.
I agree this is not perfect and may even be skewed badly but it is all we have right now. At least some Bishops are feeling the heat.
Interesting--great post...
Then again, four of the five dioceses in Wisconsin fall on the article's "20 lowest-ranked dioceses" list. Only one that doesn't show up is the Superior diocese (ranked at 76).
Which is strange because I really didn't think Milwaukee was doing badly (aside from having to deal with the wake of Weakland and the priest shortages that are, sadly too common these days across the entire Church--nationwide, of course)
No.2 overall.... Diocese of Savannah..........bump!!
If you have a copy of this survey in its entirety, I would be more than grateful if you could send me a copy to hvadney@mhcable.com.
The State of the Catholic Church in America, Diocese by Diocese
Feb/March, 2007 | Rev. Rodger Hunter-Hull and Steven Wagner
The link does not bring me to the survey.
Pax et bonum!
Harold
Hi, there! I’m in discernment for the permanent diaconate and am having problems with this Albany diocese ... they’ve now come up with this age thing to exclude candidates even before discernment based on projected age at ordination!
We have a very inept bishop here in the Albany diocese; very unpopular, very uncourageous, started a boys-and-girls-club at the pastoral center complete with gatekeepers and much, much paranoia and secrecy. Pushing away very qualified and gifted persons called to vocations and ministries.
If you have a copy of this survey in its entirety, I would be more than grateful if you could send me a copy to hvadney@mhcable.com.
The State of the Catholic Church in America, Diocese by Diocese
Feb/March, 2007 | Rev. Rodger Hunter-Hull and Steven Wagner
The link does not bring me to the survey.
Pax et bonum!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1779766/posts?page=26#26
NYer can possibly help you out here.
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