Posted on 03/24/2002 6:32:42 PM PST by Longshanks
As I noted in last month’s issue of Christ or Chaos, the explosion of public revelations dealing with scandals involving priest pederasty and the cover-up of such scandals by ecclesiastical officials in this country and across the world is partly the result of the failure of bishops to understand that no man who demonstrates any homosexual tendencies whatsoever can be ordained to the priesthood. The Holy Father’s spokesman, Dr. Joaquin Navarro Valls, made this exact comment himself recently.
However, there needs to be some plain talk spoken in love about the Holy Father’s own responsibility in this matter. Pope John Paul II has abdicated his responsibility to personally supervise the appointment of bishops and he has failed quite utterly to discipline bishops who have let scandals fester and doctrinal impurity to go unchecked in their dioceses. The Holy Father’s abdication of his role as governor of the Church has done incalculable damage to the Holy Faith. Thousands of souls have been lost to the Church as a result of scandals which need never have occurred and by the failure of the Holy Father to use his disciplinary power to remove bishops responsible for knowingly ordaining homosexuals and for believing that such behavior after ordination is a disqualification for further pastoral assignments. And this is to say nothing of the Holy Father’s refusal to admit that his bishops are responsible for the promotion of doctrinal impurity, creating, instead, a climate of a siege-mentality in which some Catholics have come to believe that all bishops everywhere are beyond criticism for anything. Indeed, His Holiness has done much to help create such an environment by his praise of bishops–and his abject refusal to do anything to remove men who are harmful to the Faith (Roger Cardinal Mahony, Matthew Clark, Howard Hubbard, Rembert Weakland, Tod Brown, Joseph Imesch, Patrick McGrath–and to permit recently others to continue to preside over the destruction of the Faith until the point of their retirement, most notably the late John Raymond McGann, the long-time Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre). Sadly, the Holy Father refused to take action against a French bishop who supported RU-486, the French abortion pill, until the laity in France kept pestering Rome for the man’s removal, which took place in January of 1995.
The Holy Father’s lack of governance of the Church undoes the claim of some of his great apologists, such as George Weigel, that history will record him as John Paul the Great. Pope John Paul II will go down in history as a man who traveled widely and wrote much. However, he will also go down in history as a man who let ecclesiastical bureaucrats beneath him determine the human fate of the Church at this point in salvation history. There is no escaping this conclusion. One can love the Holy Father while recognizing in all candor the weaknesses of his pontificate. No great holder of the Chair of Saint Peter would stand by idly as bishops, such as Reginald Cawcutt in South Africa, justify homosexual behavior and mock the pursuit of holiness which is supposed to be the universal vocation of every baptized Catholic. And no “great” pope would attempt to positivistically reaffirm bishops in their fidelity to the Deposit of Faith when the truth of the matter is that most of the world’s bishops help to undermine the Faith.
It is not difficult for any pope to know who his episcopal appointees are. There are only three thousand dioceses in the world. More important than any pilgrimage or World Youth Day is the duty a Pope has to know the men he appoints as ordinaries of dioceses. He should not rely upon the word of ecclesiastical functionaries in the Vatican, nor should he rely upon the foxes around the world in episcopal attire who want to replicate themselves by nominating men who will continue the theological and liturgical revolution begun in earnest in the 1960s at Vatican II. It is important for a pope to personally interview all possible candidates for episcopal appointments (even as auxiliary bishops) and to elicit information from well-placed sources in the laity in a particular diocese. A pope’s most lasting legacy is the quality (or lack thereof) of his episcopal appointments. Far from being an impossible task, the job of supervising the selection of bishops is eminently possible and morally mandated for the good of the salvation and sanctification of souls.
RCF has a genuine Catholic martyr as one of their founders. Clipping from the linked portion of the lead article:
“In the early 1990s, a group of priests, including [Father Charles] Fiore, assembled a dossier on ecclesiastical problems in the U.S. The information was carefully collected and documented with guidance on Church law given by the Rev. Alfred Kunz, a canon lawyer.
“Kunz also assisted in the founding of Roman Catholic Faithful. In 1998, Kunz was mysteriously murdered, and the police thus far have been unable to make any conclusive progress toward solving the murder. Fiore described Kunz as 'having no enemies - except those who hated the Church.'
“According to Fiore, the dossier was sent by courier to Rome. The courier was a Polish-speaking priest and a friend of Pope John Paul II's personal secretary, then-Monsignor, now Archbishop, Stanislaus Dsiewicz.
“Dsiewicz brought the file to the pope's attention. The pope briefly examined the documents, Fiore says, put them aside and then, referring to his previous attempts to lead and discipline the bishops regarding various issues, exclaimed, ‘I've told them, and they don't listen to me.’ John Paul II, in effect, admitted that the U.S. bishops did not properly lead the Catholic Church in America.”
Pray and pay only? No, if you have information and can write a well-reasoned letter, then let Rome know about it. They ARE read and they ARE acted upon, however slowly it may seem to us. But what do we do here in the States? That's a good question. For starters I'd say support faithful priests and bishops. Come to their aid on this forum and with your friends. Unless you are personally involved in a specific case there is not much more you can do directly. However, this is the time that the Church is carrying the cross up to Cavalry. Some would even say that the Church is in it's death agony, like Christ, soon to experience it's ressurection. We can't forsake our Pope and good, holy priests when they need us the most.
The Catholic Church codified and closed the body of Scripture. It was the Catholic Church which proclaimed that there was no new revelation. And yes, Sacred Tradition must agree with the Scripture. Sacred Scripture is brought to you through the Sacred Tradition and the Deposit of Faith.
It's fine that you have your issues with the Catholic Church, at least you're thinking about your faith, just don't make the mistake of thinking that anger and hatred and pride can change the heart of a Catholic because most people don't really know what Catholics truly believe (and that includes CINOs) and they don't bother to take the time to find out. They attack the Church and her beliefs on misconceptions and prejudice and think they sound erudite and pious and instead just sound pompous and ignorant.
There is no issue with the Roman Catholic Church that should keep you away from the Sacraments.
Go to one of the Welcome Home, Catholics; Journey Home; Cathlics Can Come Home sesions in your area and ask the questions. You just might be amazed!
There is no issue with the Roman Catholic Church that should keep you away from the Sacraments.
Go to one of the Welcome Home, Catholics; Journey Home; Cathlics Can Come Home sesions in your area and ask the questions. You just might be amazed!
I admit I have mixed feelings about the article. On one hand I agree that "the Vatican" has not done enough to curb those who would "politically and socially liberalize" the Church. Yet somehow, I still have a feeling this is an attempt to "paint" Pope John Paul II, as being a "willing stooge" to the liberal agenda. (Much like the attempts to label Pope Pius X as pro-nazi.)
As to your call to action: I am willing to defend my faith and make my opinions known... but I am not going to demand I be included in the decision making process within the administration of Canon law. In other words; I believe we as Catholics have a duty to address the problems and give practical advise based on our experience; But we do not have the right to dictate specific actions to the Church.
Praying for our Church leaders to have the strength to address these severe problems is, IMHO, the best solution.
Gladly. The quote you gave is :
"We teach and define that it is a dogma Divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra, that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the Divine assistance promised to him in Blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or morals, and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves and not from the consent of the Church irreformable."The first part you bolded says the the doctrine of Papal Infallibility is Divinely Revealed. It does not say that the Pope, when defining doctrine, is receiving new Revelation.
Catholics believe that public Divine Revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. Therefore, the only thing that the Pope, in exercising his infallibility, has to work with is that said Revelation.
From your comments I take it you are not Catholic. Fine, but your rejection of Catholicism should be a rejection of the real McCoy, not a strawman of your own, or any other Protestant's, making.
That would be Pius XII.
I recently attended a lecture given by Ronald Rychlak, author of the brilliant defense of Pius XII, Hitler, the War and the Pope. It is truly stunning the bald faced lies which are told by the Left regarding Pius XII.
Pius XII. A man so pro-Nazi that he was hated and feared by the actual Nazi hierarchy and was lavishly praised by virtually all of his notable Jewish contemporaries for his actions against the Nazis.
Thank you for that. We need to make it happen. I am part of a group on the west coast that will coordinate. Will be in touch.
Fair enough. That is not generally a good place for laymen to be. However, there is nothing wrong with hammering the hierarchy until they do the right thing.
JP II couldn't even celebrate Mass yesterday; his knees wouldn't let him.
Arinze can't do anything; he's got his hands full with AIDS decimating his country.
No. This pederasty problem is a Western problem and can only be fixed by Western bishops. A Charles Chaput (Denver) or Cardinal George from Chicago are clean enough to do it. Egan and Law are compromised.
Nonsense. The Pope is the vicar of Christ. He is the ruler of the Church on Earth and has the authority to clean up any part of it he chooses. Since nearly all the Western Bishops are compromised, as you admit, how do you expect the Western Church to clean up its act without heavy-handed action from the Vatican?
John Paul II is all talk and no action, and that is how history will remember him.
JP II will be remembered as a saint.
Your jihad against Vatican II will have to wait.
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