Archbishop Vigano calls DC Archbishop a "false shepherd"

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Donald_S said:
I’ve only just entered the church
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Recommendation #1:

Stay away from life site “news”. This used to be a reputable source for news on pro life topics. Now it’s anything but reliable. It went off the deep end into cuckoo conspiracy land about 10 years ago. They have half baked conspiracies, out of context distorted renditions, and outright falsehood and smear jobs on people.

Stay away!

Now as for the archbishop and what he said: archbishops are people, and people do things that are wrong. And archbishops can also have problems— and this one seems unstable
at best— what he wrote was a little cray-cray. Sooo… Pray for him, but don’t be too upset by it because remember the Church is made up of people and people aren’t perfect. But the Church is. That’s the miracle.
 
I don’t think it’s wrong for bishops to call out other bishops when they’re doing something grievously wrong, and preferably after trying to correct them in private first (cough…German bishops…cough). But I don’t think this is the way to do it. Archbishop Gregory’s statement was dumb and hypocritical, and he’s taken other problematic stances and actions in the past, but I don’t think calling any bishop a false shepherd is going to improve things.
 
Donald_S said:
I’m not sure how appropriate it is to call out another leader publicly like this.
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You’re right. It’s not the way Catholic leaders should be talking about each other in public.

Vigano is an interesting case. He’s made big headlines over the past year or two with some of the things he’s said and done. I was supportive of him at first, but he seems to be going a little off the rails.

Of course, Catholic leaders will have different opinions and come into conflict with one another. This has happened quite literally since Biblical times. But these types of public statements are rarely ever the way to go about it.
 
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Sheep have a field of vision up to 320 degrees .
I think that is pretty good.
 
“At a time when many are calling for unity and understanding within the Church and society”

Archbishop Gregory’s biased political statement certainly was not about unity and understanding. Perhaps I’m wrong but I don’t believe we heard from the Archbishop praising President Trump’s Pro Life and Religious Liberty policies.

I appreciate Catholic media like LifeSite News and Church Militant. Our Lady said the final battle will be the attack on marriage and family and they are on the front lines.
 
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  1. Why is Archbishop Vigano “hiding”? There is no reason for him to hide.
  2. . . . . I can see why the Pope doesn’t say much about him because he’s really starting to come off as having some personal problems (the thread yesterday involving his focus on an unapproved apparition was another example of this).
  3. I understand that the opinions of Catholics, including Catholic clergy, are divided on what Archbishop Gregory (who is African-American and old enough to be extensively personally familiar with racial prejudice in USA) said. However, it is not appropriate for one Archbishop to be blasting another Archbishop. Furthermore VIgano is not even from USA, which makes it even more inappropriate in this situation.
 
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CTBcin said:
Vigano is an interesting case. He’s made big headlines over the past year or two with some of the things he’s said and done. I was supportive of him at first, but he seems to be going a little off the rails.
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I thought his initial pronouncements were at least somewhat reasonable, whether I agreed with him or not.
But lately he is giving every impression of . . . being misguided for whatever reason(s). . . .
Those who dislike our Pope or enjoy thinking that the Church is all messed up love the stuff he churns out.
 
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I don’t believe this happened. It is far too improbable that a bishop did this. I don’t know of a precedent over the last hundreds of years. I would have to have evidence he said this.
There is a great deal of fake news, directed against innocent people.
 
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Donald_S said:
Any thoughts on this?
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First two thoughts:
  1. Do we have evidence to prove that Archbishop Vigano wrote this letter? The link you provided goes to a blog post in which someone seemingly copy pastes the contents, but I can’t see where they mention their source. (I’m not suggesting Vigano didn’t write it; I have no vested interest either way. I just find it strange to read an alleged letter for the first time in such a blog post format, without an explanation about where the blog author got it from.)
  2. Regardless of whether this is an authentic Vigano letter, and regardless of whether the contents of the letter are themselves appropriate (I’m not trying to suggest one way or another in this comment)… how did the blog post author arrive at the conclusion that the letter “calls Archbishop [Wilton Gregory, specifically, a] false shepherd”? I don’t see that this letter specifies this ‘Archbishop’ anywhere. Instead, it alludes in non specific terms to the alleged existence (past and present) within the Washington Diocese of “false shepherds” (plural) whom he advises the faithful not to follow, specifying that those “whose way of life is full of lies, deceits, lust and corruption” are false shepherds. At the same time, he says the Washington Diocese includes “holy pastors and priests who are among you.” I literally don’t see where this letter suggests who is who. My default assumption would be that by using the plural in both cases (the existence of holy pastors (plural) and false shepherds (plural)), the letter is referring to everyday priests. Am I missing something obvious, that has anyone assuming this letter is a direct attack against the current Archbishop specifically? Some current news item or other context that has someone making this connection? Because as an outsider looking in, I wouldn’t have had a clue this letter was alleged to accuse an Archbishop.
 
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Alternative source for those questioning the authenticity. I used the blog post first because I have seen general criticism of LifeSite News in prior threads.


Both articles have this quote. It seems very clear, to me at least, that he’s calling the current archbishop a false shepherd. While it is not explicitly stating it, it is implicitly stating it.

"Over the past twenty years, your [Archdiocese] of Washington, in particular and now for the third time, has been and continues to be deeply afflicted and wounded by false shepherds whose way of life is full of lies, deceits, lust and corruption. Wherever they have been, they were a cause of serious scandal for various local Churches, for your entire country and for the whole Church,”

Edit: In addition to the above, the timing of the letter comes almost immediately after the current archbishop openly criticized Trump for what he perceived as using a Catholic facility to further a political agenda.
 
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The only thing Archbishop Gregory is guilty of is issuing an ill-conceived statement at the height of his anger. I understand his outrage. The event with the President should have been rescheduled. The Archbishop was upset about the events at St. John’s and what he perceived as an act of violence against a lawful and peaceful assembly in order to use the Bible as a political prop. For the President to then be showered with praise at the Shrine of JPII is at the very least poor timing. Gregory did not communicate this well at all. I hope the next time he issues a statement, he takes a moment to let his anger dissipate a bit.
 
I don’t believe “appropriate” is the appropriate concern. Truth - or falsity - that is the issue, concerning false shepherds. If a “shepherd” is actually a ravenous wolf in sheep’s clothing, for such a man propriety, customary standards, outward politeness and superficial deference - appearances - are everything. Such men tend to polishing the outside of the cup, while within are all sorts of uncleanness. Such men specialize in pretending - they are actors on the stage - literal “hypocrites”. They hide in fashions, political correctness, externals, and they are masters of disguise. “Appropriateness” runs off their robes like water off a duck’s back.

They need plain truth. They need pure light. They need honesty, from those who have truth.
 
The only thing God wants from us is our sanctification; that is, the unmasking, uprooting and removing everything sinful from our heart that separates us from God; to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love neighbor as we love ourselves.

The danger with the devil is that he is very tricky, and one of the ways he destroys the faith is by dividing and conquering the minds of people through trickery of lies and half-truths. And he is an equal opportunity deceiver, thus he deceives both those “on the Left” just as much as he does “on the Right”, adapting himself and masking behind the appearance of truth and justice, while slithering into the hearts and minds of people via one of the Capital Sins, usually beginning with Pride.

In Hebrew the name Satan literally means “the accuser”/ “the adversary”, and in Scripture we see how Satan even quoted the Sacred Scriptures to Jesus Christ. Likewise we see the history of division in the Church being caused by deceived individuals, often brilliant minds within the clergy, blinded by pride and leading the masses astray via division, usually in the name of cleaning up the Church by pointing out the personal sins of others.

Thus just as the devil used the Scriptures against Christ, deceived People misinterpret the Scriptures to argue against the teachings of the Church, much like self-proclaimed ultraCatholicTrad sects misinterpret and twist the teachings of The Second Vatican Council, and today’s mass media misinterprets and twists the words of the Pope, using people everywhere to become unwitting agents to spread slander.
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The devil always masquerades as an angel of truth and justice. Thus today the mass media, which now includes talking heads on YouTube, especially those in the Church to be the “divide” of Satan’s divide and conquer tactics. A tactic which pits people against one another in order to cause the division which leads to both sides destroying others through the spread of lies and slander, leading to heresy, schisms and ultimately the loss of faith of countless people from all different walks of life.
 
yankeesouth said:
I appreciate Catholic media like LifeSite News and Church Militant.
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Neither is “Catholic media”.

Whether they are good or bad is a matter of opinion, and a matter of degree. There is no factual answer.
John may like Fox News more than Bill. Mary may like Focus on the Family more than NCRonline. It’s all subjective.

But some things are objective, yes or no.
CM and LSN do not meet criteria for Catholic media. If you want to argue they are good media, fine.
 
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