V
_veritas
Guest
I do not live in the LA Archdiocese so I cannot comment from experience. All I know is from what others who live there have said, and from what Cardinal Mahoney has published himself in writing that is accessible to everyone. Also, the Cathedral here in St. Paul MN was misfortunate enough to have the leading priest of the Newman Center campus out there come to speak last Lent – it was so bad our priest had to apologize on behalf of the Archbishop the following Sunday.
Problems in the LA area in terms of orthodoxy seem to be primarily in the areas of moral “progressiveness,” in areas of personal sexuality (promotion of gay lifestyle in particular. The Gay Pride Masses at the Cardinal’s cathedral are well documented.). There also seems to be a lack of firm episcopal oversight with regards to the functioning of priests and clergy under him. Liturgical abuse and poor catechesis abound, dissenting priests appear to flourish. (In fact, it was later discovered that the priest who caused such a stir here in St. Paul was originally from our Archidocese and was asked to leave – the Paulists sent him to LA to lead a college campus ministry. Go figure.)
On top of this, Mahoney’s recent problems with the law are not too good either… shuffling accused priests around and then lying about it is not kosher in the United States, or anywhere else for that matter.
Here’s the deal though – no matter what Mahoney does personally, or what any bishop does *himself, *do not be troubled! The Church, the Body of Christ is composed of sinners, just like the rest of us. The authority of the Church, and of the bishops, is secure in Christ.
We must be respectful of *all *bishops and clergy, for they hold the very Bread of Life within their hands. Their own sinfulness or even their own saintliness, makes no difference on the objective consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ. Christ deigns to cross the threshhold of the altar at every single Mass.
Look back on the history of the Church – there were some pretty morally corrupt popes back there, and many many “bad” bishops and priests. Religious orders have been both good and bad. There have been many many “unreliable shepherds” as you put it (look at St. Bishop Athanasius, “Athanasius against the world” as the saying goes.)
Yet - NO teaching of Christ, through the Bible or through the Tradition of the Church, has EVER been contradicted by the Church. Not one of the “bad” popes ever led the Church herself into error (no matter how badly they led themselves into sin).
With all this, the Church herself remains the spotless bride of Christ. This is because the Church is protected by the Spirit, the protection of infallibility. This protection is not well understood, people think that it means the same as “inerrant.” No - the Church is infallible, she is protected from teaching authoritatively on matters of faith and morals that which is wrong.
This does not mean that individual bishops/priests won’t teach error, what it means is that the Church will not teach errors in matters of faith and morals. The Bible is the only thing that is inerrant – completely and absolutely without error of any kind, it is the direct word of God to His people.
I would suggest you read the following for more information:
The Authority of the Church
columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/magistra.html
The Church’s Magisterium
columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/jyoung.html
Should I Obey?
cuf.org/nonmemb/obey.pdf
American Catholics at the Crossroads
catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Homiletic/07-97/america.html
Also, these two books woudl be invaluable to you as a person in RCIA:
Exploring the Catholic Church: An Introduction to Catholic Teaching and Practice by Marcellino D’Ambrosio
The Belief of Catholics by Msgr. Ronald Knox
Do not be afraid! Come to Christ, through the Church that He has given us in His love!
+veritas+