Who has written their bishop to complain

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People often suggest writing the bishop to complain about liturgical abuses, poor homilies, questions about where the diocese is headed on a certain issue…

I’m just wondering if anybody actually has done that, and what the response was, if any.
 
I have written my bishop to “complain” about some things. And I got a phone call from the bishop and a written response and action was taken, actually very quickly which surprised me and tells me that I wasn’t the only communication he had from our parish on the matter.

I also believe if we want the right to complain when things aren’t going so well, we also have the obligation to compliment when things are going well. I have written to tell the Bishop what a great priest he had sent us and what a great job the priest was doing and what a great job the Bishop himself is doing. I have ALWAYS received a reply (email, which is how I sent in my ‘letters’ to the bishop) from the bishop and always within hours of my email. I have written more GOOD letters than bad letters.
 
You need another option,

No, I wanted to but felt like I was tattling.

Actually, I did call the Bishop once but sadly it had to do with finding inappropriate sites in my office computer’s cache that could only have been accessed by the seminarian who was spending some time in our parish – he had betrayed himself by erasing the history, otherwise I’d have never noticed. Since he was studying to be a religious priest the bishop referred me to his Provincial. Sadder still, nothing was done until he stole the bank deposit and forged the priest’s name on a cheque.
 
triumphguy said:
Ouch! That must have been distressing.
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It was very distressing particularly because I really liked the guy and had been rooting for him to succeed. To have my trust betrayed, first by the small thefts from the office (I kept replacing the money out of my pocket because I thought I’d messed up), then the computer thing, and then finally when he tried to blame me for the discrepancy in the bank deposit when he had made out a different deposit slip so that the theft wasn’t picked up until 4 weeks later, was quite disheartening.
 
I get to chat with him every so often so I don’t have to write.
 
I’ve never bothered writing my bishop, he doesn’t listen to his priests, why would he listen to me? However, I do post on a blog that has been organized for providing feedback for the bishop. Whether he listens or not is another story… :eek:
 
I have not felt the need to write about any liturgy or homilies that were not up to my standards. 😉

I have had nothing to complain about the priests assigned to my parish over the years. Our bishop is doing an excellent job.

I do agree with the common curtesy of letting people know when things are going well if you also want to complain when things don’t go well.
 
After a series of back and forth letters with a former pastor about the emptying of the Holy Water fonts during Lent, I send a letter to the bishop (then Cardinal Maida).

I cannot claim to be the responsible, but prior to the following Lent, Cardinal Maida sent out a letter to all parishes informing them of the inappropriateness of emptying the Holy Water fonts prior to the Tridium.
 
The bishop should not be contacted unless there is a very good reason for it. These would include physical or sexual abuse, illegal activity, the repeated teaching of heresy, serious and repeated liturgical abuse, et cetera. Too often the poor priest gets called on the carpet because of a complaint about a homily or some issue that isn’t a serious one. Priests have enough stress without having people going around his back to his bishop with frivolous complaints. Why not pass a compliment to the bishop about your pastor instead?
 
Borrowing my wife’s account.

I wrote a letter to our Bishop in January regarding long-standing liturgical abuses that had continued in the first year of a new priest being assigned to the parish. I received a very frank response asking for patience and faithfulness. I later found out that Bishop also wrote a letter to the priest/pastoral council telling them to knock it off. So, one response to me, calling me to holiness, and a separate response to the parish, calling them to obedience. Pretty hard to complain.
 
I wrote to our bishop once. No reply whatsoever. Very disappointed. I expected more from him.
 
My option was not in the poll.
I have not written my bishop about the many abuses because he knows about them already. I get the feeling that the Bishop would not change the issues and not one single issue is something I am willing to stake my reputation on. I do not want to be “just another of those cranky complainers.”
Our parish is the Cathedral and his seat. He has hand picked the 2 priests that are there.
 
melissa_b said:
Borrowing my wife’s account.

I wrote a letter to our Bishop in January regarding long-standing liturgical abuses that had continued in the first year of a new priest being assigned to the parish. I received a very frank response asking for patience and faithfulness. I later found out that Bishop also wrote a letter to the priest/pastoral council telling them to knock it off. So, one response to me, calling me to holiness, and a separate response to the parish, calling them to obedience. Pretty hard to complain.
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That is a great example. Sounds like many things were done right.
 
People often suggest writing the bishop to complain about liturgical abuses, poor homilies, questions about where the diocese is headed on a certain issue…
Click to expand...
I’m just wondering if anybody actually has done that, and what the response was, if any.
Click to expand...
No, I never have nor would I. I honestly do not feel that it is my place to do something like that - unless, of course, there was some type of sexual abuse going on in my parish. But for liturgical abuses or other things - no. In those cases, I just resort to prayer.
 
Haven’t had to to date.

It bothers me that (especially here in the ever-litigious US of A) so many folk’s initial thought on something that they don’t like about their parish is to write the Bishop. We had a great priest at our parish who was actually driven out by a flood of letters from some really bitter folks over things that he had changed (no liturgical violations or anything) from the previous administrator. A lot of their complaints were unfounded and some were even complete fabrications, but the Bishop eventually decided that it would be best for him to return to his order (he was a missionary priest).

Since then, we’ve had a new pastor installed…but a lot of folks don’t like him because he’s more conservative and has a big Marian devotion (moved the Sanctuary behind the altar, hung the red candle, says the “Hail Mary” and the “Memorare” at the end of each Mass, et c.) and is occasionally hard to understand because of his accent (he’s from India). So people wrote the Bishop and complained. Doesn’t anyone talk to their pastor anymore? I often wonder why it’s so hard to try to settle complaints with the person at whom they’re directed first.
 
You forgot to add an option to your poll:

No - Where I live it wouldn’t make any difference

😉

~Liza
 
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