Cardinal Bernardin and Church Militant

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Tis_Bearself

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I always heard that Cardinal Bernardin was a pretty holy guy, in that he
  • Cleaned up a lot of mess he inherited from the previous cardinal who was allegedly financially corrupt and in a long-term relationship with a woman
  • Was one of the first bishops in US to start directly addressing clergy sex abuse in his diocese
  • After he himself was falsely accused of sex abuse (due to someone’s false memories under hypnosis), met with and forgave his accuser
  • Having been diagnosed with cancer, died an exemplary Catholic death.
With all this in mind, why does Church Militant continue to bash him so much? Was it just because he was supportive of some priests who ministered to gays? Am I missing something?

It seems like as US Cardinals go, Bernardin was one of the good ones of the last few decades, and there were others much more deserving of criticism.
 
I’m not going to change my opinions based on what CM says, but I’m curious as to why they have a problem with Bernardin.

I am not from Chicago and wondered if I was missing some event or context. I always thought of Bernardin as pretty close to saintly, I remember the news reports when he died and it was a bit surprising to see a Cardinal making the news in such a positive way at that point.
 
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Might be his Seamless Cloth that some interpret as leveling abortion with other social issues.
 
The fact that CM is irresponsible does not mean Bernardin was good. He helped align the Church with the Secular establishment.
 
I agree. I think it is his promoting the Consistent Ethic of Life, also known as the seamless garment, that has so many conservatives and those who consider abortion to be the preeminent life issue, too often to the exclusion of all others, so upset with Cardinal Bernardin. I think it is the same reason why they now disapprove of Pope Francis, for saying the other life issues are “equally sacred,” and actually suggesting we don’t focus so much on abortion.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Can you please give specific examples?
I am aware of Voris’ contention that Bernardin supported gay clergy.
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Well, Tis_Bearself, check out what James Grein says in this episode of The Vortex:


I do admit that Cardinal Joseph Bernardin is no longer here to defend himself.
 
Bernardin was publicly accused during his life and it was found to be a false accusation. If someone had another accusation, that would have been the time to come forward. I’m not finding accusations credible now since the man was cleared and is dead.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Bernardin was publicly accused during his life and it was found to be a false accusation. If someone had another accusation, that would have been the time to come forward. I’m not finding accusations credible now since the man was cleared and is dead.
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As I have said, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin is no longer here to defend himself.
 
Isn’t it really just the same old conservative liberal divide? If Cardinal Bernardin was alive today, I think he would be more aligned with Cardinal Cupich and Bishop McElroy than he would be with Cardinal Burke or Archbishop Chaput. He was in many ways a progressively oriented bishop, from what I’ve read, often leading from the heart. Contrary to what some conservatives say, those in the Church who hold a more progressive point of view can still be good and holy too, as I truly believe Cardinal Bernardin was.
 
Cupich seemed bizarrely resistant to TLM. It’s hard for me to imagine Bernardin being that unkind. Maybe I don’t know him well enough though.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
With all this in mind, why does Church Militant continue to bash him so much?
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Don’t know. All I know is that I don’t want to stand before God as the accuser of brethren, who accuses them before God day and night.
 
Because there are some things that need to be cleared up. They are not the only source reporting weird things going on.
 
Well, (name removed by moderator), I can’t say that I have the highest level of self-esteem.
 
I do wonder if Michael Voris has exploited James Grein. You might want to check out E. Michael Jones’s 2016 e-book The Man Behind the Curtain: Michael Voris and the Homosexual Vortex. I do admit that Jones is a problematic figure in his own right.
 
I won’t be able to answer your question is a substantive way because, frankly, I’ve not done the research and no longer live there. But I grew up in Chicago and heard a lot about Bernardin as a young person. He was considered a “liberal” archbishop in a archdiocese that had many problems (and still does). My parents who were fairly conservative Catholics considered him far too liberal, and I remember especially so for the “seamless garment” matter as well as lax oversight of priestly formation, e.g. Mundelein Seminary. Admittedly, what passed for “liberal” in those days might way seem conservative today.
 
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Thanks, that’s the kind of insight I was hoping to get.

I could for instance say a lot about perceptions of Cardinal Hickey or Archbishop Lyke because they were around my home diocese for years as bishops. When you actually live with a bishop in charge year to year, you get a better understanding of how he actually interacted with and affected his flock, not the impression that some media good or bad wants to give you.
 
I wish I knew more. You know how it is when you are a young person and you hear and sense things, but don’t really pay any attention to what the adults do and things like Catholic archbishops seem to be in another universe. However, my parents were educated, well informed Catholics who worked in Catholic schools and publishing, so their opinions about him would not have been merely based on hearsay. Still, I have no idea how I myself might regard him if he were around today.
I “check into” Church Militant, Taylor Marshall, etc. every so often and I think they are right about some matters and deeply flawed on others. A lot of hype and sensationalism, as well as borderline scandal on some issues. I continue to think they and their ilk have a place, given the polarization of Catholic media, but I make sure I take them with a grain of salt.
 
Yeah, I don’t get too heavily invested in anyone’s view.

When I read media it’s more like,
“Here’s CNN’s view…Here’s America Magazine with Fr. Martin’s view…Here’s Breitbart’s view…Here’s BBC and Reuters with views from across the pond…Here’s Church Militant with Voris’ view…yeah all of these are about what I would expect from each of them.”

I don’t grab one and say, “Oh, thank God for Michael Voris, he is telling the TRUTH and no one else is!” Nor do I do that for any other source.
 
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