You keep getting more personal and vulgar, but that doesn't make you more right. Perhaps you just weren't paying attention to what's going on in your own area. I entered "catholic diocese interfaith" into Google and got back 19,900 hits. On the first page (of hundreds) you can see "Interfaith Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland," "Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia Interfaith Council for Public Policy," "The Catholic diocese of Peoria: a unique interfaith exchange took place..." "Diocese of Santa Rosa Interfaith Relations,"
What diocese do you live in? I'm sure if we add the name of your diocese to the Google search term we'll come back with several of those 19,900 web pages. Every diocese has programs like this. I find it hard to believe that yours is an exception, unless you happen to live in Lincoln, Neb, and I understand that even Bruskewitz is not entirely innocent of these ecumencial activities.
The worst Fr. Peter Scott was able to come up with against Bp. Bruskewitz was:
- Your presence at the consecration of a Methodist "bishop" by the name of Joel Martinez.- Your presiding over an ecumenical church service with an Anglican "bishop" and a Lutheran minister.
- Your preaching in October 1992 at a Methodist church on Wesleyan campus, during one of their services
- Your convocation of a meeting of all the priests of the diocese and of as many Protestant "clergy" as desired to come in the basement of Risen Christ cathedral for the purpose of dialogue concerning baptism.
- Your permission granted to a charismatic and interdenominational group called Servants of Christ the King to use the basement of the Old Cathedral, St. Mary's, for their prayer meetings.
He then went on to accuse him of violating the (abrogated) 1917 Code and being "suspect of heresy".
Bp. Bruskewitz answered:
Your letter lists five incidents which you falsely claim have "caused grave scandal to the Catholics of the Lincoln Diocese". This manifestly absurd, false claim illustrates vividly to all the Catholics of Lincoln, your ignorance about this Diocese and its Catholics. Furthermore, the incidents, as you relate them in your letter, are serious misrepresentations of what really occurred.
We've never had any sort of "interfaith" service at my Novus Ordo parish, by the way.
You're getting more and more dishonest. You've changed from "interfaith services" and "exchanging pulpits" to having get togethter and talk sessions with protestant neighbors. I used to think better of you ... guess I was wrong.