Hypothetically....If a Bishop Persists in Grave Error, how Should we Respond?

[cknick]

Hypothetically, If a Bishop Persists in grave error, how should we respond, not only in remaining faithful to the magisterium, but faithfilled, to continue to grow and help others gorw in our Roman Catholic faith? Please re-post your specific ideas if they were part of another thread. Thank you!

 

[FrDavid96]

“Grave error” is a hairs-breadth from outright heresy.

If one thinks that a bishop is in “grave error” the proper response would be to refer the matter to either the Congregation for Bishops or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is their responsibility to handle such matters, and it is within their competence (and theirs alone, as representatives of the Supreme Pontiff) to make such a determination, and to decide the appropriate response.

 

[cknick]

“Grave error” is a hairs-breadth from outright heresy.

If one thinks that a bishop is in “grave error” the proper response would be to refer the matter to either the Congregation for Bishops or the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is their responsibility to handle such matters, and it is within their competence (and theirs alone, as representatives of the Supreme Pontiff) to make such a determination, and to decide the appropriate response.

Thank you. Good advice. Hypothetically if I knew several of the individuals with such claims, I would call them and tell them the proper channels to take. My feeling is, that if people have suffered so much, that they are crying for help, every faithful Catholic should asist them in the steps to get the Diocese back on course.

 

[benedictgal]

If the matter concerns liturgy, then, the appropriate congregation to address this matter would be the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Disicipline of the Sacraments since it is their purview.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would certainly apply in matters of grave error for anything theological, doctrinal or dogmatic.

In either instance, written correspondence needs to be addressed directly to the Prefects of the particular Congregation handling the issue.

 

[kage_ar]

Contact the St. Joseph Foundation

st-joseph-foundation.org/index.php?section=about_us

 

[cknick]

I was reading a Book called Mass Confusion. When you have serious or grave matters, whether they are at a parish level or at the diocesan level, the recommended course of action is to appeal to the level where the matter has occurred (respectful wording and citation with correct form is important) then to appeal to the next higher authority. However, I happen to notice that this is in direct contradiction to what it says for complaints regarding liturgical mattersin the code of cannon law 184 which states that the report complaint shoud first go to the Bishops office.

Cannon law seems to be very specific as to the nature and type of abuse.

If you suspect that your Bishop is committing more grievous errors than your pastor, should this cannon law be followed?

 

[Cluny]

[edited] The very title MASS CONFUSION suggests that the writer has an agenda, if not actually on a witch hunt.

[edited] the term is spelled “canon”, not “cannon.”

[edited]

 

[cknick]

[edited] The very title MASS CONFUSION suggests that the writer has an agenda, if not actually on a witch hunt.

[edited]the term is spelled “canon”, not “cannon.”

[edited]

FYI-
Mass confusion, written by James Akin is a good book about the crisis in Catholic liturgy today. The purpose of the book is to cut through the confusion caused by contradictory information. [edited]

 

[PhilotheaZ]

The very title MASS CONFUSION suggests that the writer has an agenda, if not actually on a witch hunt.

Sometimes editors/publishers stick a title on a book that would not be the author’s first choice. I don’t know whether that is the case here.

I think it is just a play on words, **confusing **things that happen at Mass. I would assume good intentions on the part of the author.

 

[benedictgal]

I was reading a Book called Mass Confusion. When you have serious or grave matters, whether they are at a parish level or at the diocesan level, the recommended course of action is to appeal to the level where the matter has occurred (respectful wording and citation with correct form is important) then to appeal to the next higher authority. However, I happen to notice that this is in direct contradiction to what it says for complaints regarding liturgical mattersin the code of cannon law 184 which states that the report complaint shoud first go to the Bishops office.

Cannon law seems to be very specific as to the nature and type of abuse.

If you suspect that your Bishop is committing more grievous errors than your pastor, should this cannon law be followed?

Actually, the best reference is Redemptionis Sacramentum, which has the appropriate course of action to take when encountering a matter of liturgical abuse:

1. Complaints Regarding Abuses in Liturgical Matters
   [183.] In an altogether particular manner, let everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence or distortion and that all abuses be thoroughly corrected. This is a most serious duty incumbent upon each and every one, and all are bound to carry it out without any favoritism.

[184.] Any Catholic, whether Priest or Deacon or lay member of Christ’s faithful, has the right to lodge a complaint regarding a liturgical abuse to the diocesan Bishop or the competent Ordinary equivalent to him in law, or to the Apostolic See on account of the primacy of the Roman Pontiff.290 It is fitting, however, insofar as possible, that the report or complaint be submitted first to the diocesan Bishop. This is naturally to be done in truth and charity.

I have first-hand experience with this as I am helping my father with an issue that has reached the level of the CDWDS.

 

[Cluny]

Actually, the best reference is Redemptionis Sacramentum, which has the appropriate course of action to take when encountering a matter of liturgical abuse:

I would be more inclined to take this to heart than a book with a sensationalist title.

[edited]