Francis supports the US bishops’ public stands, says Cardinal Dolan

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catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/10/10/francis-supports-the-us-bishops-public-stands-says-cardinal-dolan/

Pope Francis’s appeal for the Church not to focus exclusively on moral issues does not mean that the American bishops have to change their priorities in the public square, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said.
Speaking to the American Catholic News Service, the president of the US bishops’ conference said: “What he’s saying is that if the perception of the Church is of a scold who’s always nagging and always negative and always fearful, we’re not going to make many converts, because nobody wants to join the Church out of fear or [join a] a paranoid group.
“If we emphasise the positive, the gracious, the embracing, the warm, inviting side of the Church, then we’re going to attract people,” he said. “And that, of course, is what Pope Francis is saying and doing on steroids.”
Cardinal Dolan met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday, along with Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, vice president of the US bishops’ conference, Mgr Ronny Jenkins, general secretary, and Mgr J Brian Bransfield, associate general secretary.
The cardinal said the group told the Pope about some of the US bishops’ “pastoral priorities”, including support for immigration reform and objections to the Affordable Care Act, “because it excludes the baby in the womb and the undocumented worker, and also because the implementation of it would place a severe burden on our religious convictions and our consciences” by mandating coverage of contraception in violation of Catholic moral teaching.
Pope Francis “was very attentive to that and he listened very closely”, Cardinal Dolan said.
According to Cardinal Dolan, the US bishops have a “lot of issues we’re hung up on, including immigration, the budget battle, proper health care, world peace, Syria, hunger and the HHS [contraception] mandates,” he said. But the “only one that ever seems to get attention would be any kind of controversial promotion that we would do in defence of life, in defence of marriage and in defence of religious freedom, because they tend to be the more combative issues of the day.”
In an interview published last month Pope Francis said that the Church “cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods… We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”
Cardinal Dolan said that “when the Holy Father suggested this new strategy, I don’t think he got a longer standing ovation from anybody than he did from the bishops in the United States. Because we’ve been saying for a long time: ‘Listen to everything we say, don’t just listen to us when we speak about your pet issue.’”
 
McCall1981 said:
catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/10/10/francis-supports-the-us-bishops-public-stands-says-cardinal-dolan/

Pope Francis’s appeal for the Church not to focus exclusively on moral issues does not mean that the American bishops have to change their priorities in the public square, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said.
Speaking to the American Catholic News Service, the president of the US bishops’ conference said: “What he’s saying is that if the perception of the Church is of a scold who’s always nagging and always negative and always fearful, we’re not going to make many converts, because nobody wants to join the Church out of fear or [join a] a paranoid group.
“If we emphasise the positive, the gracious, the embracing, the warm, inviting side of the Church, then we’re going to attract people,” he said. “And that, of course, is what Pope Francis is saying and doing on steroids.”
Cardinal Dolan met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday, along with Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, vice president of the US bishops’ conference, Mgr Ronny Jenkins, general secretary, and Mgr J Brian Bransfield, associate general secretary.
The cardinal said the group told the Pope about some of the US bishops’ “pastoral priorities”, including support for immigration reform and objections to the Affordable Care Act, “because it excludes the baby in the womb and the undocumented worker, and also because the implementation of it would place a severe burden on our religious convictions and our consciences” by mandating coverage of contraception in violation of Catholic moral teaching.
Pope Francis “was very attentive to that and he listened very closely”, Cardinal Dolan said.
According to Cardinal Dolan, the US bishops have a “lot of issues we’re hung up on, including immigration, the budget battle, proper health care, world peace, Syria, hunger and the HHS [contraception] mandates,” he said. But the “only one that ever seems to get attention would be any kind of controversial promotion that we would do in defence of life, in defence of marriage and in defence of religious freedom, because they tend to be the more combative issues of the day.”
In an interview published last month Pope Francis said that the Church “cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods… We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”
Cardinal Dolan said that “when the Holy Father suggested this new strategy, I don’t think he got a longer standing ovation from anybody than he did from the bishops in the United States. Because we’ve been saying for a long time: ‘Listen to everything we say, don’t just listen to us when we speak about your pet issue.’”
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And McCall breathes a huge sigh of relief! 😉
 
McCall1981 said:
catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/10/10/francis-supports-the-us-bishops-public-stands-says-cardinal-dolan/

Pope Francis’s appeal for the Church not to focus exclusively on moral issues does not mean that the American bishops have to change their priorities in the public square, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has said.
Speaking to the American Catholic News Service, the president of the US bishops’ conference said: “What he’s saying is that if the perception of the Church is of a scold who’s always nagging and always negative and always fearful, we’re not going to make many converts, because nobody wants to join the Church out of fear or [join a] a paranoid group.
“If we emphasise the positive, the gracious, the embracing, the warm, inviting side of the Church, then we’re going to attract people,” he said. “And that, of course, is what Pope Francis is saying and doing on steroids.”
Cardinal Dolan met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Monday, along with Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, vice president of the US bishops’ conference, Mgr Ronny Jenkins, general secretary, and Mgr J Brian Bransfield, associate general secretary.
The cardinal said the group told the Pope about some of the US bishops’ “pastoral priorities”, including support for immigration reform and objections to the Affordable Care Act, “because it excludes the baby in the womb and the undocumented worker, and also because the implementation of it would place a severe burden on our religious convictions and our consciences” by mandating coverage of contraception in violation of Catholic moral teaching.
Pope Francis “was very attentive to that and he listened very closely”, Cardinal Dolan said.
According to Cardinal Dolan, the US bishops have a “lot of issues we’re hung up on, including immigration, the budget battle, proper health care, world peace, Syria, hunger and the HHS [contraception] mandates,” he said. But the “only one that ever seems to get attention would be any kind of controversial promotion that we would do in defence of life, in defence of marriage and in defence of religious freedom, because they tend to be the more combative issues of the day.”
In an interview published last month Pope Francis said that the Church “cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods… We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”
Cardinal Dolan said that “when the Holy Father suggested this new strategy, I don’t think he got a longer standing ovation from anybody than he did from the bishops in the United States. Because we’ve been saying for a long time: ‘Listen to everything we say, don’t just listen to us when we speak about your pet issue.’”
Click to expand...
I would prefer to hear this out of His Holiness’ mouth.

For example, I would find it difficult to reconcile Bergoglio’s positions made in the past (both as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and as Pope) with support for some of the positions taken by the USCCB (particularly those taken by Bishops Pates and Blaire).

For example, the USCCB’s position (to include Cardinal Dolan) on immigration is well-known. They want the USA to welcome with open arms anybody who lives here without restriction and to immediately grant full citizenship rights to all. I have never read about any initiative by the USCCB to address economic problems and injustices in the countries of origin of any alien who has stepped foot on the US.

Yet, the Holy Father, just a month ago, made the following statement:

It must also be emphasized that such cooperation begins with the efforts of each country to create better economic and social conditions at home, so that emigration will not be the only option left for those who seek peace, justice, security and full respect of their human dignity. The creation of opportunities for employment in the local economies will also avoid the separation of families and ensure that individuals and groups enjoy conditions of stability and serenity.

Not a word from the USCCB on the bolded text above, yet the Holy Father states that this should be the beginning point. (Please provide links if I am wrong about my assertion about the USCCB)

Or for another example, I don’t think it would be incorrect to say the USCCB Office of Domestic Social Development, under the leadership of Bishop Blaire, has never seen a government social program they don’t like (except, obviously, those that support abortion). For example, see their recent letter imploring Members of Congress to maintain social assistance program funding in light of the recent government shutdown.

On the other hand, Cardinal Bergoglio has made the following statement in the past (and, to my knowledge, has not changed his position):

Cardinal Bergoglio said the challenge to eradicate poverty could not be truthfully met as long as the poor continue to be dependents of the State. The government and other organizations should instead work to create the social conditions that will promote and protect the rights of the poor and enable them to be the builders of their own future, he explained.

In other words, I don’t see how the two positions can be reconciled.
 
The fact is that the USCCB needs to do a better job educating the faithful on which issues are a matter of prudential judgement and which are non-negotiables. The Nuns on the Bus have found much common ground in the matter of immigration reform, and yet do all rank-and-file Catholics understand that we may legitimately disagree with the USCCB bishops AND the “nuns” on this issue? Has the USCCB taken steps to differentiate the HHS mandate from immigration reform? Religious freedom, violation of conscience, abortion and contraception are seriously non-negotiable issues of doctrine and yet the immigration issue takes an equal footing. It may take even more equal footing now that the Holy Father has told the world that we spend too much time on the former issues.

We need clarity in leadership. Perhaps it is true that American bishops are too “obsessed” about pushing their political issues to the public, and the media, when care and catechesis of their own flock should be the utmost responsibility. And how can they teach authoritatively on non-negotiable doctrines when Canon 915 isn’t being enforced uniformly? There are a few bishops who are unafraid to use the power entrusted to them. Let us pray that the rest can take steps to make a real difference and restore hard-identity Catholicism in the USA.
 
markomalley said:
I would prefer to hear this out of His Holiness’ mouth.

For example, I would find it difficult to reconcile Bergoglio’s positions made in the past (both as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and as Pope) with support for some of the positions taken by the USCCB (particularly those taken by Bishops Pates and Blaire).

For example, the USCCB’s position (to include Cardinal Dolan) on immigration is well-known. They want the USA to welcome with open arms anybody who lives here without restriction and to immediately grant full citizenship rights to all. I have never read about any initiative by the USCCB to address economic problems and injustices in the countries of origin of any alien who has stepped foot on the US.

Yet, the Holy Father, just a month ago, made the following statement:

It must also be emphasized that such cooperation begins with the efforts of each country to create better economic and social conditions at home, so that emigration will not be the only option left for those who seek peace, justice, security and full respect of their human dignity. The creation of opportunities for employment in the local economies will also avoid the separation of families and ensure that individuals and groups enjoy conditions of stability and serenity.

Not a word from the USCCB on the bolded text above, yet the Holy Father states that this should be the beginning point. (Please provide links if I am wrong about my assertion about the USCCB)

Or for another example, I don’t think it would be incorrect to say the USCCB Office of Domestic Social Development, under the leadership of Bishop Blaire, has never seen a government social program they don’t like (except, obviously, those that support abortion). For example, see their recent letter imploring Members of Congress to maintain social assistance program funding in light of the recent government shutdown.

On the other hand, Cardinal Bergoglio has made the following statement in the past (and, to my knowledge, has not changed his position):

Cardinal Bergoglio said the challenge to eradicate poverty could not be truthfully met as long as the poor continue to be dependents of the State. The government and other organizations should instead work to create the social conditions that will promote and protect the rights of the poor and enable them to be the builders of their own future, he explained.

In other words, I don’t see how the two positions can be reconciled.
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I don’t see that any of this contrasts in anyway with what the American Bishops are saying about immigration. The Pope says to improve the home economies to prevent emigration. He does not say that this is the solution to the emigration that has already occurred. Neither are the American Bishops saying that the home economies of the immigrants should not be improved as a preventative measure. They are simply focussing on the problem as it already exists right now within their borders and well beyond prevention. The people are already there, how to treat them is the focus of the Bishops. The Pope being from one of the poorer countries in the global south understands the importance of helping these economies. It is the most natural thing for humans to emigrate in search of a better life. We have been doing so since creation. Better, more creative and comprehensive solutions will be the key.
 
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