Why Do Bishops Allow This?

[otjm]

Okay, but again, Archbishop Milingo’s excommunication didn’t happen because he was (frankly) heretical and disobedient.

Again, his excommunication only happened automatically when he essentially excommunicated himself by performing illicit ordinations, years after he began with his weirdo teachings.

The question still remains, then, why did the Holy Fathers John Paul II and Benedict XVI not excommunicate him for that disobedience?

To anyone who watches the Vatican, particularly anyone who has watched over the last 40 to 50 years, it should by now be obvious that the Vaticn does not go around excommunicating people on a regular basis. That is used in onloy very limited circumstances.

There has been a long stream of criticism, particularly from the more conservative elements of the Church to this fact.

It might be kept in mind that prior to Vatican 2, there were a number of theologians who were censured and/or silenced; the censures and silencing were later reversed. Much of that caused great pain to not only the theologians so treated, but also to many others. Among them were Hans Urs von Balthazar and Henri de Lubac (excuse my spelling). While there may be individuals who would now criticize them, and the Church for removing the censures, the Church sees otherwise.

It might also be noted that while Hans Kung was forbidden to hold himself out as a teaching theologian in a Catholic university, he has maintained a close contact with Benedict 16th and has had lunch with him on at least one occasion since the Cardinal became Pope. That, too, should speak volumes to those who want to see more and greater official sanctions.

And if one wants to know why Milingo was not sanctioned, one would have to ask those who do the sanctioning. I suspect that answer will not be forthcoming, at least in part because much of what is done up to the point of a formal public sanction is done privately.

 

[JesuXPIPassio]

And if one wants to know why Milingo was not sanctioned, one would have to ask those who do the sanctioning. I suspect that answer will not be forthcoming, at least in part because much of what is done up to the point of a formal public sanction is done privately.

So, in other words, you’re saying it’s just courtesy? I think I’d agree with that. The Vatican puts in a lot of work into keeping things private lest it embarrass people.

So maybe there’s the answer to the original post. If indeed the priest is doing things that are rather out of line, maybe it’s out of charity that the Bishop is going easy on him.

Also, the person who made the original post should know, bishops differ greatly in administrative style. I know of one diocese where a previous Bishop was supposedly really liberal. When he retired, the Vatican chose a new Bishop who was much more strict, and a lot of priests who he disciplined moved out of the diocese and apparently still bear a grudge against him. After that, this bishop was transfered to yet another diocese where the previous Bishop was also criticised for being a liberal, and he’s taking on a hard-lined approach there too.

So, Bishops differ in how they do things, although I don’t think we can view this as a flaw in the system. Even Popes differ greatly in personal style. While one pope might be very conciliar and dependent on his aides for administration, another pope might be the opposite. Pius XII once said that he didn’t want collaborators but just people to carry out his orders.

To the original poster, without going into specific names, would you like to tell us a bit more about what that insubordinate priest has done? We might be able to figure out why the Bishop hasn’t said or done anything about it from here if we know what exactly happened. Maybe we can still help. Otherwise, your only hope would probably be just to ask the Bishop himself, which isn’t easy to do unless if you’re a very close aide. Even if you see the Bishop on a regular basis, I’m betting he’s unlikely to really tell anything, again just out of charity for the priest in question.

 

[Marian_Carroll]

GENERAL REMINDER:

This thread was initiated by the question:

why they don’t “crack down” on priests who teach things that are contrary to the Church’s teachings, make up their own ways of celebrating Mass, etc. These are priests that are well known to the bishop and cardinal, not some quiet priests that no one is aware of. I think they hurt their parishioners terribly. Any help with an answer on this one?

Your cooperation in not using the thread to flog your “unfavorite prelate” or introduce material which doesn’t pertain to the thread topic will help keep it open.

 

[KatieD]

As the original poster, I do indeed understand that bishops have different administrative styles and that no single approach is always correct. That said, the priest to whom I refer is well known for publicly calling for the ordination of women, is a member of Call to Action, and is no fan of Pope Benedict, among other things. I’m sure this is a difficult situation for any bishop.

My concern is that so many parishioners are led down the wrong path and into wrong beliefs when they are taught in this way. We are already not very well informed about our Church, and priests (and parish staff) who “do their own thing” are making it worse.

 

[JesuXPIPassio]

I object to that. I wasn’t playing pin-the-tail-on-the-prelate, and I wasn’t introducing unecessary information.

What I was advising the original poster to do was to let us know exactly what the priest in question said, because it may just show us that the Bishop and priest weren’t at fault at all, but rather the media was to blame for inaccurate reporting and portrayals of the scenario.

I’m pretty sure that was clear from the context of what I wrote.

Note, I also advised the poster not to go into specific names.

I’d really appreciate getting the benefit of the doubt here, especially if it was clear in my posts that I wasn’t trying to play the blame game.

GENERAL REMINDER:

This thread was initiated by the question:

Your cooperation in not using the thread to flog your “unfavorite prelate” or introduce material which doesn’t pertain to the thread topic will help keep it open.