New US Bishop: Charleston, South Carolina

[davidc2]

This morning the Holy See announced the Pope’s decision to name Bishop-elect Robert E. Guglielmone as the new Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

The diocese had been vacant since Bishop Robert Joseph Baker was named Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama in August 2007.

Bishop-elect Guglielmone had been serving as a priest of Rockville Centre, New York.

 

[AquinasSouth]

Amen! We’ve been praying for a new bishop for a year & 1/2 now. I understand Bishop-elect Guglielmone is very good with children, and seriously involved in scouting.

We have a Bishop - thank You, Lord!

 

[kaygee]

cause for major rejoicing in all of South Carolina! The Feast of the Annunciation will mark a whole new era in the history of Charleston! Prayers for our new bishop! B-16 knows how to pick 'em !

 

[GodsGadfly]

I’m honestly worried.

The only articles I’ve seen on him emphasize his skills as an “administrator,” which indicates “money man,” “concerned more about bureaucracy than spirituality.”

With almost every US appointment the past 2 or 3 years, I’ve seen lots of stuff about how the Bishop-elect is pro-traditional mass, and/or how he prays in front of Planned Parenthood, and/or how he rankles the liberal old priests of his diocese.

Now, some of these reports have been immediate, based upon the bishop’s previous service, and some have been written after the bishop served a bit.

If the website at St. Agnes is any indication of its pastor’s influence, it seems like a fairly orthodox parish. It has lots of devotions, and uses the term “Extraordinary Minister of Communion.” The parish’s “social justice” causes are respect life and St. Vincent de Paul.

Hopefully, future bishop Guglielmone is all of this and more.

Hopefully, he will give Family Honor the kind of support that Bishop Baker gave it.

I’m going to try and get an interview with him in the next week.

But when I see “administrator” emphasized in the skills of a priest or bishop, that tends to scare me a bit.

 

[kaygee]

Don’t worry about him; pray for him. Trust the judgment of the Holy Father. From what little I’ve seen and read of him, he’s heavily into all aspects of the Pro-life movement and into pastoral youth work including Scouting. The diocese requires the skills of an able administorator and spiritual father to his clergy – small in numbers but widespread over a large area. He appears to be a straight arrow that will ruffle feathers that need ruffling, smooth feathers that need smoothing, and be an excellent pastor to this flock. I believe he will be an icon that attracts new priestly vocations. Pray for him! I hope he acquires a taste for shrimp and grits!

 

[GodsGadfly]

From what little I’ve seen and read of him, he’s heavily into all aspects of the Pro-life movement

Cool. Can you provide some links? because I haven’t been able to find that much.

 

[CapIV]

Happy to hear this. One thing I don’t quite understand though; Why is he called a Bishop-elect? He wasn’t elected, he was appointed.

By the way, being an good administrator is what keeps dioceses from going bankrupt. It would be a grave error for the Holy Father to ignore this aspect and just appoint a Bishop based on his “spirituality”. Do you have any idea how hard it is to run a successful business? Now multiply that by a thousand and you might begin to understand all a bishop has to deal with.

 

[GodsGadfly]

There is something inherently wrong in the idea of the Church as a business. That is the fundamental problem with the Church in America: bishops run their diocese as businesses, and worry more about money than they do about souls.

A bishop’s primary job is to be the shepherd of Christ’s flock, not the president of a corporation.

“Saying to them: It is written: My house is the house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves” (Lk 19:46).

 

[mark_a]

There is something inherently wrong in the idea of the Church as a business. That is the fundamental problem with the Church in America: bishops run their diocese as businesses, and worry more about money than they do about souls.

A bishop’s primary job is to be the shepherd of Christ’s flock, not the president of a corporation.

“Saying to them: It is written: My house is the house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves” (Lk 19:46).

We need good administrators too, especially in the southeast where the Catholic population is growing very fast due to immigration from Latin America and folks moving here from the rust belt.
After all, its really God’s money and we shouldn’t squander it.

 

[CapIV]

There is something inherently wrong in the idea of the Church as a business. That is the fundamental problem with the Church in America: bishops run their diocese as businesses, and worry more about money than they do about souls.

A bishop’s primary job is to be the shepherd of Christ’s flock, not the president of a corporation.

“Saying to them: It is written: My house is the house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves” (Lk 19:46).

Do you expect schools and churches just to run themselves? I suspect that you must not actually know any bishops and don’t understand what the vocation fully entails. Dioceses across the country are forced to close schools and churches by the dozens because of poor preparation by bishops in the past. It is absurd to criticize a bishop for properly running his diocese. A bishop’s primary job is indeed to shepherd the flock, but he cannot do so without fences, staffs, dogs, food, land, etc.

 

[GodsGadfly]

I’m afraid I’m not in the economic class that bishops normally schmooze with.

Bishops today have to close schools and parishes because there are no Catholics to fill them because so many bishops have refused to preach against artificial contraception or to have their priests preach against it, and because so many bishops have permitted liturgical experimentation that has driven the faithful away.

 

[GodsGadfly]

One thing I don’t quite understand though; Why is he called a Bishop-elect?

Because “elect” means “chose”

Like, when we speak of “the Elect”, it doesn’t mean people get into Heaven by democracy.

Also, let’s backtrack a bit in the discussion. My point was that when a priest or bishop is primarily praised for being an “admiinstrator,” I usually find he turns out to be the kind of priest or bishop who a) kowtows to rich, liberal laity, and b) refuses to take a stand on “controversial” issues that might offend said rich laity, like abortion or contraception.

I am so sick of hearing, “We can’t teach Catholicism at this school because the non-Catholic students will be offended.” “We can’t preach on sin because the congregation will leave and the collection will go down.”

It’s called trust in God’s providence.

Do what’s right, and God will provide the money.
If your primary concern as a Chistian is money, you will faill, because the Church is not about money.

I am sick of being told about what’s “practical” or what’s “prudent” (using the secular, rather than the Catholic, definition thereof).

The prudence of God is foolishness to the Gentiles. The whole point of everything in the Bible is that we’re supposed to go out on a limb for God.

Again, all this is purely speculative. I have confidence that Bishop-elect Guglielmone will be right in the mold of “Benedict bishops,” but, after moving to South Carolina for Bishop Baker, losing him, and then waiting for a year and a half for his replacement, I would just like to see some stuff in print that verifies it.

 

[Brendan]

Happy to hear this. One thing I don’t quite understand though; Why is he called a Bishop-elect? He wasn’t elected, he was appointed. .

Electere is Latin ‘to select’, and he was selected (elected);… by Pope Benedict.

 

[Navarre]

I hope he is very successful!

 

[Joannm]

I’m honestly worried.

The only articles I’ve seen on him emphasize his skills as an “administrator,” which indicates “money man,” “concerned more about bureaucracy than spirituality.”

With almost every US appointment the past 2 or 3 years, I’ve seen lots of stuff about how the Bishop-elect is pro-traditional mass, and/or how he prays in front of Planned Parenthood, and/or how he rankles the liberal old priests of his diocese.

Now, some of these reports have been immediate, based upon the bishop’s previous service, and some have been written after the bishop served a bit.

If the website at St. Agnes is any indication of its pastor’s influence, it seems like a fairly orthodox parish. It has lots of devotions, and uses the term “Extraordinary Minister of Communion.” The parish’s “social justice” causes are respect life and St. Vincent de Paul.

Hopefully, future bishop Guglielmone is all of this and more.

Hopefully, he will give Family Honor the kind of support that Bishop Baker gave it.

I’m going to try and get an interview with him in the next week.

But when I see “administrator” emphasized in the skills of a priest or bishop, that tends to scare me a bit.

While I do not know him personally, I do know many people who do and people who knew him as their pastor. I have never heard a negative remark about him. He is greatly loved in every parish he has served in. He was head of priest personnel and they loved him. The parishes he served in as pastor flourished. He will be greatly missed when he leaves Long Island. And yes, from what I hear, he is VERY spiritual. So rest your fears.