Catholic archbishop deletes tweets telling Trump to 'stop racism, starting with yourself'

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That’s unfortunate. So many fallen away Catholics believe that the bishops will no longer bravely speak against evil. Deleting a tweet, well, not brave. Not brave at all.
 
I disagree with him, but man up and stand by your misinformed tweets, Bishop. Plus, the silliness of thinking deleting your tweets is going to avoid exposing you. Learn a bit more about twitter before you post.
 
I suspect the next level above the Archbishop may have told him he was breaking the rules regarding no political partisanship. Or the Archbishop may have realized he was likely to get such a call if he didn’t take the tweets down.

Whether or not I disagree with his views, my opinion is that we don’t need bishops adding to the political division in this country at this point. I don’t care if he’s criticizing Trump or Elizabeth Warren, just stop.
 
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Completely agree. However I do believe the Bishops do need to have a more centralized voice about the political issues of the day. With Obama the Bishops criticized Abortion and fought for religious freedom. With Trump they are criticizing immigration and divisions. I just think their voice is not loud enough to reach Catholics.

What this Bishop did with twitter, was not smart and had to delete it. However he could have made his statements in Twitter if the USCCB approves of it.

Meaning, if a bishop wants to get political, they should get approval from higher ups to make sure that the message is unified by all Bishops.

I also believe that if an influential person says they are Catholic and support something against the church, that the Bishops handle it appropriately. If the influential person still refuses to correct themselves, then the Bishops should make a public statement.
 
I don’t know. Bp. Paprocki certainly wasn’t afraid to put himself in the middle of a political debate, bravely naming names and calling out actions. Other bishops shouldn’t be afraid to speak out on moral issues if they want to stay relevant.
 
drcube said:
if they want to stay relevant.
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A bishop doesn’t need to be concerned about “staying relevant”. He’s not some pundit. He’s there to lead his flock, not give a public opinion on every current events issue.

Concern about “relevancy” harks back annoyingly to the whole 60s through 80s social justice era.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
A bishop doesn’t need to be concerned about “staying relevant”. He’s not some pundit. He’s there to lead his flock, not give a public opinion on every current events issue.

Concern about “relevancy” harks back annoyingly to the whole 60s through 80s social justice era.
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I didn’t mean relevant in the pop star sense, but stepping up and addressing the real moral issues of our time is necessary for the Church to be relevant. If the Church and her bishops doesn’t step up and address the abortion bills of Illinois or the rhetoric of the President, then it becomes irrelevant very quickly.
 
I’d say one could argue taking a stand against racism or killing babies isn’t aimed at a certain person, and both are dual-moral and political issues. Fully onboard there.

Telling a specific politician to stop being racist is the height of being political. it is also unnecessary, unprovable, and does nothing but enflame others and create further division. So if the Bishop’s goal was to anger and divide his flock, he did a good job.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
I’d say one could argue taking a stand against racism or killing babies isn’t aimed at a certain person, and both are dual-moral and political issues. Fully onboard there.

Telling a specific politician to stop being racist is the height of being political. it is also unnecessary, unprovable, and does nothing but enflame others and create further division. So if the Bishop’s goal was to anger and divide his flock, he did a good job.
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I don’t have a problem with bishops calling out specific politicians. After all, Bishop Paprocki called out specific politicians.
 
I don’t either, but don’t say stupid things you have to walk back as though you can see into a person’s heart or intent.

He basically said Trump is a racist. I don’t recall Bishop Paprocki every claiming he knew that politician X hated children.

Chide them for policies they espouse you believe aren’t in line with Church teaching, if you choose to. What he claimed is much more sinister and personal, and serves no one.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
I don’t either, but don’t say stupid things you have to walk back as though you can see into a person’s heart or intent.

He basically said Trump is a racist. I don’t recall Bishop Paprocki every claiming he knew that politician X hated children.

Chide them for policies they espouse you believe aren’t in line with Church teaching, if you choose to. What he claimed is much more sinister and personal, and serves no one.
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The bishop didn’t ‘have’ to walk it back. He chose to. In the end, through his action, he gave everyone who makes excuses for the racist language used a pass. It’s no wonder why many don’t see the Church as moral leaders tacking the issues of the day.
 
I think the primary difference with Bishop Paprocki calling out the politicians that he did is that the politicians he named were Catholic, and he was promulgating a decree that they were to be denied communion in his diocese until they publicly repented; I doubt he would have named them specifically if they were not Catholic. He was making an administrative decision for their good and also to set an example for the people in his diocese with a concrete action (denying them the Eucharist) that was within his authority to do, and something that according to Canon Law, that he is actually obligated to do.

In this situation, Trump is not Catholic, and the Archbishop’s statement was flimsy in it truthfulness, at best, and is essentially is just repeating a talking point that we hear in the media everyday without real, concrete evidence. I won’t say that it is necessarily wrong for a Catholic bishop to call out a politician by name, whether Catholic or not, but making a blanket accusation of racism that doesn’t bear on any specific moral issue or serve any purpose, other than to insult or attack the subject, is not what I would consider good form for someone in his position. There are other bishops, whether speaking about abortion, immigration, or something else, that manage to make their points without having to resort to name calling or insults.
 
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The problem is he didn’t correct another Catholic, he didn’t simply attack a binary action, he accused a person of harboring feelings he cannot possibly have insight too.

It would be just as wrong for me to tweet out that the Bishop has inappropriate lust in his heart. Hey, why not?

He can’t possibly know Trump’s heart or feelings, and what is where he erred. Stick to specific actions or policies, or even statements; don’t attach an “-ism” to what you post. I’ll follow Bishop’s who do the former; i’ll tune out the ones who do the latter, fair or not.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
The problem is he didn’t correct another Catholic, he didn’t simply attack a binary action, he accused a person of harboring feelings he cannot possibly have insight too.

It would be just as wrong for me to tweet out that the Bishop has inappropriate lust in his heart. Hey, why not?

He can’t possibly know Trump’s heart or feelings, and what is where he erred. Stick to specific actions or policies, or even statements; don’t attach an “-ism” to what you post. I’ll follow Bishop’s who do the former; i’ll tune out the ones who do the latter, fair or not.
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I’m sure that most Catholics tune out the bishops they disagree with.
 
No, I agree Bishop’s who did what I described. Points you neglected to address, because you apparently don’t see any issue with claiming to know what is in a person’s heart, I assume?

Kind of like if I said you need to let go of your sexism and ageist thoughts. Pretty meaningless thing to say, just as what the Bishop posted was meaningless.
 
To summarize how some people behave:

Catholic clergy: Abortion and gay “marriage” are sin.
Left: Shut up! Bigot! Hate speech! You should be arrested! Separation of Church and State.
Right: Freedom of speech and religion are important.

Catholic clergy: Trump is racist.
Left: Yay!
Right: Shut up! Separation of Church and State.
 
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Dr_Meinheimer said:
No, I agree Bishop’s who did what I described. Points you neglected to address, because you apparently don’t see any issue with claiming to know what is in a person’s heart, I assume?

Kind of like if I said you need to let go of your sexism and ageist thoughts. Pretty meaningless thing to say, just as what the Bishop posted was meaningless.
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The bishops approved the pastoral letter on racism which states:
“Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love ( Mt 22:39).”

I think the good bishop is well qualified to determine if some of the acts of Trump are racist based on this definition.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
The problem is he didn’t correct another Catholic, he didn’t simply attack a binary action, he accused a person of harboring feelings he cannot possibly have insight too.
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I think the problem is lack of supporting evidence. Now if Trump had just screened “The Birth of a Nation” at the White House, the tweet would have some merit.
 
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