I don’t know that he had in mind the same thing that most people who cite his comments do.
What people who attempt this argument miss, however, is that Lincoln is a relatively small, rural diocese. The same sort of effect probably wouldn’t be produced nor the mere suggestion fly so well in a major metropolis Archdiocese.
Well, since you know that he didn’t have what I have in mind, praytell what he did have in mind.
Ah, yes, I see. A bishop can only tend his flock in a diocese that is populated by a bunch of beer swilling hayseeds, not in an enlightened, educated, and forward looking metropolis.
I think that he was merely making an honest observation that this appears to be the way that the Church (and I might add many things in society, for that matter) seems to be heading, in reality. You have smaller, dedicated groups of people who are leading particular efforts within societies that may lead to a certain spark of renewal invigorating a path with which it’s members (and those who are attracted to their common interest) can move forward to transform society. And he was acknowleging the value in that. What I don’t think he was saying was the kind of simplistic “let’s cut off all the dead wood” that so many would prefer.
It’s always sad to see this sort of anti-big city sentiment that too many “country bumpkins”Ah, yes, I see. A bishop can only tend his flock in a diocese that is populated by a bunch of beer swilling hayseeds, not in an enlightened, educated, and forward looking metropolis.
harbor. Certainly, I am not promoting the kind of prejduce which you seem to think concerning “hayseeds”. Heck, in a city like Chicago, we’d pretty much celebrate the kind of person you describe. It’s just that we’d consider them blue collar Bears fans, rather than “hayseeds”.Rather, the reality is that when you are dealing with a large, diverse populous management becomes much more difficult and requires a certain skillfullness in order to be effective. And when you have a lot of people who may simply not want to follow someone’s lead and will do what they want, anyway, it makes things all the more challenging.
A “Catholic” who wishes to defy the orthodox rulings of his Ordinary are exactly the people who need to be taught obedience.
There is no room in the Church for heresy and schism-by the very definition of the terms they put themselves outside of the Church. I am not advocating forcing opinions-heresy is never a valid opinion to hold in the Church.
Perhaps you do not know what Bishop Bruskewitz is mainly known for. It seems his biggest contribution to Amereican Catholicism is being an outspoken critic of “soft” bishops and excommunicating many different organizations within his diocese. These organizations undermined catholicism in some way, from SSPX on the right, to planned parenthood on the left.
I’m talking about the Church in general, I don’t know this Bishop or the diocese of Licoln Nebraska, I was commenting on the current state of the American Church. Of course it is the norm not the rule, there are exceptions, lest anyone be offended.
Hence the reason why we need more Bishops who actually understand their vocation - like Bruskewitz. He is not a politician nor is he in the business of being a conciliatory principle. Rather he brings the sword and defends his flock with true charity. You guys in Brooklyn could definitely use a tough guy like this.
Bishop Vasa and who is the other one?
I don’t think it’s the rural vs urban dynamic that helped enable to pull off a mass excommunication. The diocese of Belleville is only slightly larger but also very rural and spread out and any sort of thing there would explode that pathetic pathetic diocese. It’s got enough trouble as it is without some bishop expecting Catholics to be Catholic. Rather, I think a key component to Bp. Bruskeiwitz’s success was that he inherited his diocese from another bishop who was also not an idiot. So he had a good foundation upon which to build instead of, for instance, Bp. Carlson walking into the mission territory of Saginaw (no offense to the Catholic family that was already living there
).I agree in that it really has to do with the spiritual well-being of the diocese, whether urban or rural. A diocese that was traditionally very orthodox, like Los Angeles, that is suffering under a very liberal administration will probably rebound much faster upon the appointment of an orthodox archbishop than a diocese that has been watered down for many years, such as Seattle. If, for argument’s sake, Bishop Bruskewitz were appointed Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles, he would have far greater success in getting them back into spiritual shape, whereas if he were sent to a diocese like Seattle or Portland, Oregon, there would be large scale schism on the part of the clergy very quickly. Frankly, I think open schism would be good for such a diocese. At least we could see who is on Rome’s side.I don’t think it’s the rural vs urban dynamic that helped enable to pull off a mass excommunication. The diocese of Belleville is only slightly larger but also very rural and spread out and any sort of thing there would explode that pathetic pathetic diocese. It’s got enough trouble as it is without some bishop expecting Catholics to be Catholic. Rather, I think a key component to Bp. Bruskeiwitz’s success was that he inherited his diocese from another bishop who was also not an idiot. So he had a good foundation upon which to build instead of, for instance, Bp. Carlson walking into the mission territory of Saginaw (no offense to the Catholic family that was already living there
Good point. Bishop Flavin was also a very good bishop and the Diocese itself is not what I’d call a hotbed of heresy. Sure, I’ve met a few liberals there but, I think most of them come in from the outside. He had a good, healthy base so that a few tumors could be excised without major ill effects.
And, so, we all agree here for once. An amazing thing!
And Bishop Olmstead formerly of Wichita, now in Arizona. I actually was not talking about Bishop Vasa at all.
My issue was just that a heterodox diocese needs some strong-arming to get it back on track. I don’t think a bishop can transform a heterodox diocese into a model of Catholicism in a few years.