I’m not judging his immortal soul. I’m simply judging his actions, or as they appear to me, and I think that’s perfectly legitimate. If lay Catholics had been more alert 40 years ago and more willing to simply say, sorry, your Excellency, but that’s wrong, the Faith would not have been ripped out of our hands by renegade bishops and clergy.
Supposing, instead of closing churches, a new evangelization had been launched, and the new inner-city residents had been invited into the former immigrant churches? But the Faith was so drained of content by these heretical teachers that there was nothing with which to evangelize.
I have no doubt that O’Malley (who does publish an entertaining blog that I read) is not a heretical teacher and is well-intentioned. But he is completely resistant to any suggestion of the Latin Mass, regardless of what the Pope has said, and while he was brought in to clean up the mess left by his predecessors, he simply seems to see himself as being the last one out and the one to close the door and turn out the lights. And I think those approaches are simply wrong.
He may not be herectical but he surrounds himself with them...
As you said in another post, it looks like he's just shutting down the operation, gradually instead of all at once. AFAIK, he has never once expressed any sorrow at closing a parish -- the attitude is more, "Well, we're closing it, and you people are jerks!"
I would think they could have -- at least in some cases -- kept the churches open, and have the priests moved to another rectory; they all have cars. Sell the rectories and convents and halls if they had to, but keep at least one or two Sunday Masses in every church. Meet with the parents about schools and be open to suggesions or offers to help in keeping the school open. Breaks my heart to see a church near me that is now condos -- and it's a 19th century church, gray stone, with a cross still on the steeple! Couldn't ever have been anything but a church.
Just a thought I've had recently, but around here anyway, it's the poorest churches that really have pathetic attendance. I really think the NO is better suited (or more satisfying anyway) to those who are relatively affluent and not badly off. It's the people who are in desperate circumstances (as we all are, well, depending on how you look at) who really need visible acknowledgment of the mystery of suffering and sacrifice -- not this "Aren't we wonderful!" stuff!