Bishop Martino's departure: did he jump or was he pushed?

Catholic Culture ^ | Sep. 1, 2009 | CWNews

[Pope Pius XII]

That's the easy question. Bishop Joseph Martino was pushed into resignation at the age of 63. No intelligent observer can credit the official explanation: that Bishop Martino retired because of health problems. The outgoing bishop openly acknowledged to reporters that he "clearly" was not suffering from any grave illness.

Clearly Bishop Martino was under a great deal of pressure, and therefore it is not difficult to believe that he suffered from insomnia and fatigue: the only medical complaints that were mentioned in the press conference announcing his departure. But while those are serious problems, they are not ordinarily serious enough to compel a motivated leader to resign. And even if insomnia had risen to the level of a serious medical problem, the question remains: Why was the bishop under so much pressure-- the sort of pressure that could give rise to such serious problems?

If anyone had lingering doubts about the question of Bishop Martino's health, he had only to look carefully at yesterday's announcement from Scranton. Auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty's retirement was announced on the same day. The Dougherty departure, taken by itself, would have been completely unremarkable; at the age of 77, he was well beyond the ordinary canonical retirement age. But the fact that the two retirements were announced simultaneously leaves no doubt about what happened. It was a house-cleaning.

[nickcarraway]

I hate to say I told you so, but this was obvious.

[Pope Pius XII]

What do you mean?

[nickcarraway]

(We might even ask, in passing, why Church leaders persist in offering such implausible excuses for the resignations of bishops. If no one really believes that Bishop Martino is too sick to carry on, why is that flimsy explanation offered to the public? Corporate leaders routinely offer vague, unsatisfactory reasons for a change at the top: it is a matter of "different styles of leadership," they might say, or a question of "conflicting visions." But those explanations, lame as they are, are not transparently false. Don't Church leaders attach any importance at all to the principle of that honesty is the best policy? Don't they worry about undermining their own credibility?)

[Steelfish]

I think Pope Benedict is keen on keeping and/or appointing traditional conservative bishops and cardinals. I cannot believe that any conservative bishop/cardinal would be removed or asked to step down because he is too conservative. Just not in the cards. Can’t wait until Roger Mahony turns 77!

[nickcarraway]

I mean it was obvious he was forced to resign, because someone was not happy with him. And it’s a message to the U.S. bishops.

[Pope Pius XII]

who would that someone be?

[Erik Latranyi]

It is becoming clearer and clearer that the liberal politicians wanted Martino to go. Those liberal politicians provide much of the funding for the Church in the US and carry a great deal of weight.

[nickcarraway]

I don’t know who made this decision, but the message was clear.

[Pope Pius XII]

If our bishops had half the faith the early church did, the liberals would be powerless to stop it.

[Pope Pius XII]

What message was that?

[Erik Latranyi]

If our bishops had half the faith the early church did, the liberals would be powerless to stop it.

The Church needs to make a decision....stay large and enjoy the money from CINOs or accept a smaller, yet morally pure institution.

[nickcarraway]

You posted the article, don’t you have a clue? The message is: don’t buck the USCCB, don’t get too vocal about politics, including abortion, etc.

[Pope Pius XII]

I thought it was “Keep your BIG MOUTH SHUT”.

[Pope Pius XII]

I thought it was “Keep your BIG MOUTH SHUT”.

[nickcarraway]

That too.

[Pope Pius XII]

Benedict XVI predicted we’d see days like that. And I didn’t believe him. I DO NOW! I think we will see a holier and purified Church. That’s when the left will attempt to squash the Church with one quick stroke.

[nickcarraway]

I was surprised that they made an example of Bishop Martino, because he didn’t seem to be the most vocal or conservative bishop.

[Pope Pius XII]

made an example? confused.

[Cicero]

I’m sure that the libs will be happy to see Bishop Martino go, but I’m not sure if they had the power to push him out without his consent—because he was feeling sick and tired.

Let’s wait and see who is appointed in his place, and what happens next.

The Church in America is, indeed, in a difficult position. If they offend the libs, they will lose money at the collection plate, sure. But if they kowtow to the libs, they will continue to bleed Catholics and suffer from a worsening shortage of priests.

It would have been MUCH easier if the bishops had stood fast earlier. But there were negative forces who had wormed their way in at Rome as well as here, and it wasn’t done. Now, the only way is to bit the bullet and suffer the short term consequences, if the Church is to be healed and start to grow again.