Springs' Bishop Apologizes For Protestant Comments

[hurst]

Gottle of Geer:

…
It is terribly dangerous to say of a bishop, “there are laity who are better Catholics than he is”; because that is doubtless true; yet it is irrelevant, because, however virtuous, wise, learned, chaste, temperate, orthodox, or obedient a layman may be, it is his bishop, not he, who has been chosen by Providence to govern the local church to which both belong. For nothing can come to pass outside the Wisdom of God, which “rules all things sweetly and mightily from end to end” - even the selection of a man for the priesthood or the episcopate. ##

This is an awesome statement, and so very true. We must accept the trials God sends us for our penance and sanctification, and we must bear them patiently and in good faith.

I am reminded of this scripture:

Judith 8:21 … be mindful how our fathers were tempted that they might be proved, whether they worshipped their God truly. 22 They must remember how our father Abraham was tempted, and being proved by many tribulations, was made the friend of God. 23 So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and all that have pleased God, passed through many tribulations, remaining faithful. 24 But they that did not receive the trials with the fear of the Lord, but uttered their impatience and the reproach of their murmuring against the Lord, 25 Were destroyed by the destroyer, and perished by serpents. 26 As for us therefore let us not revenge ourselves for these things which we suffer. 27 But esteeming these very punishments to be less than our sins deserve, let us believe that these scourges of the Lord, with which like servants we are chastised, have happened for our amendment, and not for our destruction.

Still, we must do what we can to contribute to the remedy of evil situations through prayer and “blood, sweat, and tears” if we find ourselves in a position to help.

hurst

 

[cathgal]

## Who is set over a diocese to govern & pasture it ? The bishop. And he does so because that is his office: so his personal defects are irrelevant: a bishop with a mistress or a rent-boy, or a bishop who is an alcoholic, is still the bishop (I have particular examples in mind). Even though there are laity who do not have rent-boys or mistresses, but are chaste.

He may well be less orthodox than some laity - that is equally irrelevant: the laity are not in the position of bishop; he is. So however much they dislike his policies, doctrine, or morals, they are stuck with him. There have been some vile Popes - the Church was stuck with them. That there were Saints who might in principle have been better Popes, was irrelevant. For the matter of that, there are some vile Catholics - but that is irrelevant; for God accepts us in His Church, vile as we may be.

It is terribly dangerous to say of a bishop, “there are laity who are better Catholics than he is”; because that is doubtless true; yet it is irrelevant, because, however virtuous, wise, learned, chaste, temperate, orthodox, or obedient a layman may be, it is his bishop, not he, who has been chosen by Providence to govern the local church to which both belong. For nothing can come to pass outside the Wisdom of God, which “rules all things sweetly and mightily from end to end” - even the selection of a man for the priesthood or the episcopate. ##

What’s your point?

My comment was in respond to :

“By the way the ordinary (who has a doctorate in sacred theology) clearly outranks Mr. Howard (who has an S.T.L.)”

Don’t you think this was a bit prideful?

 

[OriginalJS]

This may be off the thread a little bit, but I see a rift among Catholics that has been developing for years and promises to get worse. It is the wide gulf that separates what is now the minority faithful and the majority who display a congenial, tolerant attitude. Some posters here speak of getting a “cancer” out of the church.

Far, far too many who call themselves Catholics, for whatever reasons, don’t accept core teachings of the Magisterium. The strongest example of this is the widespread use of artificial contraception which was unequivocally disapproved in Humanae Vitae. And there are others. But, now that Catholics have been fully accepted as good Americans (following the election of JFK), they are in the mainstream and being Catholic has gone from a station of humility and sacrifice to being fun. The liturgy is beautiful, the fellowship is good, the Church is there to baptize, marry and bury, and for the most part difficult moral questions are resolved by each person’s own conscience. Nobody is leaving because of theological disagreement. I have even heard people say things like, “I’m not that Catholic” or “That’s too Catholic for me.”

While on the surface the great increases in membership look good, I fear they portend a watering down of doctrine to the point it won’t be recognizable in a few years.

There are any number of Catholics who attend Protestant services. Fifty years ago that was simply forbidden and Catholics just weren’t seen in Protestant churches. That’s over now. Everyone is being careful not to offend.

I believe one cause of the problem is that many who “convert” are not and never will be true believers. They may take the courses, go through the process, and answer the questions put to them, but deep down, they just don’t believe. I have had close friends tell me as much in confidence, of course. They say they joined because their wife wanted them to, that they go to Mass and take part, they send their kids to parochial schools, but they don’t really believe much of what they were taught.

Enmity between Catholics and Protestants is fading away. If Alito is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court there will be a majority of Catholics on it. And most people don’t care. Even in Northern Ireland there may be peace.

It may be true that the Church will have to become smaller, but how that will happen is certainly a huge question. Until now the success of any church has been measured by its size and economic strength. A lot of folks are going to have to do an about-face if that is going to change.

 

[cathgal]

I think ‘true’ convert made a better Catholic than a cradle Catholic. A sincere convert knows what he’s getting but a cradle is Catholic only because his parents are Catholic, and cradle catholics have been poorly catechized for decades. You’d be amazed at how many catholics can’t answer the question, ‘Why are you Catholic’. It’s pathetic.