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To: Ronaldus Magnus
Again, any attack on the legitimate authority of the church's bishops is an attack on the heir of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.

The issue is the illegitimate use of authority. The issue is legitimate opposition to injustice, wickedness, and out and out evil. If a bishop has covered up for a pedophile, out he must go. If a bishop uses his office to persecute the conservative faithful and promote anti-Magisterial, anti-Papal individuals, out he must go. If the laity must use everything in their power to see to the resignation or removal of such individuals, then they must be like St. Catherine of Sienna and without temerity speak the truth to power when power is unable to see the truth.

OBEDIENCE TO PETER AND TO THOSE OBEDIENT TO PETER.

87 posted on 04/18/2002 9:31:34 PM PDT by history_matters
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To: history_matters
The issue is the illegitimate use of authority. The issue is legitimate opposition to injustice, wickedness, and out and out evil. If a bishop has covered up for a pedophile, out he must go. If a bishop uses his office to persecute the conservative faithful and promote anti-Magisterial, anti-Papal individuals, out he must go. If the laity must use everything in their power to see to the resignation or removal of such individuals, then they must be like St. Catherine of Sienna and without temerity speak the truth to power when power is unable to see the truth.

Finally, some substance to your rebuttals. I agree with everything you said here about the illegitimate use of power by bishops. I disagree, however, in who should lead the effort for their removal. "All authority comes from God and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God" (Romans 13:1-2). Although by natural law people are always permitted to defend themselves, it is not for us in the laity to participate in the removal of the religious we deem unfit. That's not our role. We have a good Pope. If you have a problem with a particular bishop, write a letter to Rome. Don't just attack the bishop's office.

OBEDIENCE TO PETER AND TO THOSE OBEDIENT TO PETER.

You need to to try harder to believe this. "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:13-19). We should do our part to defend His Church, but never allow ourselves to become so misguided as to think we can please Him by attacking it. This is Christ's Church, he won't let these liberals wreck it. For someone who claims in their Free Republic profile to pray full-time, you appear to have a great deal of hate and fear for those in the church with whom you disagree and are quick to judge those whom you do not know. God will not abandon us and we should never loose our faith in Him. As Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said to a troubled priest, "You wouldn't have these problems if you prayed more".

91 posted on 04/18/2002 10:32:19 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus
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