Let's Not Encourage the Crazies
Here it is, the beginning of the holy season of Lent, and the world seems to be getting more unholy right before our eyes. Earlier this week, a spokesman for the lay board of directors of St. Stanislaus Parish and Jamie Allman, spokesman for Archbishop Burke, appeared on a local radio show (not at the same time). Allman outlined all the assurances that the Archbishop has made, in writing, to the parishioners of St. Stans. As he pointed out, with the recent announcements of church and school closings and mergers, there are a lot of parishes in St. Louis who would love to have a written statement from the Archbishop that the parish will not be closed. This includes my own parish.
The response of the lay board spokesman to each question posed to him was "that's not true." His only argument was to repeatedly call the Archbishop a liar. When asked how he felt about being denied the sacraments, he said "what are they going to do, send out mug shots to all the parishes?" He clearly doesn't understand St. Paul's statement about those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily.
He stated that this situation is all about ego and control of the money. That's very true. But, it's not the Archbishop's ego that's getting in the way. Why would any Bishop put himself in this situation if he didn't have canon law on his side. In this case, he also has the Vatican on his side. St. Stans is an anomoly. In no other parish is the pastor under the control of a lay board. It just doesn't work that way.
As far as the money is concerned, any diocese is virtually a "money machine." If the Archbishop is so desparate for funds, all he has to do is put his fund raising machinery in gear and the faithful will respond. He doesn't have to "steal" the money from a single parish.
You can read the Archbishop's letter to the parishioners of St. Stanislaus parish here.
_______________________________________________
Yesterday, Archbishop Burke received a telephone death threat related to the St. Stanislaus situation. There is no reason to think that anyone associated with the parish had anything to do with it. In fact, police arrested the caller almost immediately, tracing the call to his home using caller ID. He is not a member of St. Stans and doesn't appear to be of Polish ancestry. He does have a history of mental problems.
What this shows is that there is no shortage of crazies out there. The media's constant attacks on the leaders of our church can't help but stir them up. In a recent interview, Archbishop Burke warned that all of us, Bishops, priests, and lay people can expect to be persecuted for speaking the truth.
Anti-Catholicism is nothing new. It began on the very night that Christ established the Church. It also has nothing to do with child abuse or Bishops "stealing" land and money from parishes. It has everything to do with two thousand years of speaking the truth, regardless of the consequences. We're under attack because of the Church's position on abortion and homosexual "marriage", sacred cows of the liberal media. Since these really aren't "hot button" topics with most people, the media has to find another way to stir things up.
Abusive priests and evil Bishops conspiring to cover up their crimes make good stories. Add greedy Bishops "stealing" money from the very people they are supposed to lead and you really sell some newspapers. That the stories may or may not be true really doesn't matter. When even Catholics learn everything they know about the Church from the daily paper and the 10:00 news, it's easy to fan the fire.
When even "faithful" Catholics begin attacking the Church, based on half-truths and rumors, it's easy for the bigots to have their way. We are God's family. Like any family, we have our black sheep and our internal problems . But, even members of the most disfunctional families don't attack one another in public.
Anti-Catholicism is the only prejudice that's not just permitted in this country, it's encouraged. We only make ourselves targets when we attack one another, especially when we're getting all of our information from the enemy.
The response of the lay board spokesman to each question posed to him was "that's not true." His only argument was to repeatedly call the Archbishop a liar. When asked how he felt about being denied the sacraments, he said "what are they going to do, send out mug shots to all the parishes?" He clearly doesn't understand St. Paul's statement about those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily.
He stated that this situation is all about ego and control of the money. That's very true. But, it's not the Archbishop's ego that's getting in the way. Why would any Bishop put himself in this situation if he didn't have canon law on his side. In this case, he also has the Vatican on his side. St. Stans is an anomoly. In no other parish is the pastor under the control of a lay board. It just doesn't work that way.
As far as the money is concerned, any diocese is virtually a "money machine." If the Archbishop is so desparate for funds, all he has to do is put his fund raising machinery in gear and the faithful will respond. He doesn't have to "steal" the money from a single parish.
You can read the Archbishop's letter to the parishioners of St. Stanislaus parish here.
_______________________________________________
Yesterday, Archbishop Burke received a telephone death threat related to the St. Stanislaus situation. There is no reason to think that anyone associated with the parish had anything to do with it. In fact, police arrested the caller almost immediately, tracing the call to his home using caller ID. He is not a member of St. Stans and doesn't appear to be of Polish ancestry. He does have a history of mental problems.
What this shows is that there is no shortage of crazies out there. The media's constant attacks on the leaders of our church can't help but stir them up. In a recent interview, Archbishop Burke warned that all of us, Bishops, priests, and lay people can expect to be persecuted for speaking the truth.
Anti-Catholicism is nothing new. It began on the very night that Christ established the Church. It also has nothing to do with child abuse or Bishops "stealing" land and money from parishes. It has everything to do with two thousand years of speaking the truth, regardless of the consequences. We're under attack because of the Church's position on abortion and homosexual "marriage", sacred cows of the liberal media. Since these really aren't "hot button" topics with most people, the media has to find another way to stir things up.
Abusive priests and evil Bishops conspiring to cover up their crimes make good stories. Add greedy Bishops "stealing" money from the very people they are supposed to lead and you really sell some newspapers. That the stories may or may not be true really doesn't matter. When even Catholics learn everything they know about the Church from the daily paper and the 10:00 news, it's easy to fan the fire.
When even "faithful" Catholics begin attacking the Church, based on half-truths and rumors, it's easy for the bigots to have their way. We are God's family. Like any family, we have our black sheep and our internal problems . But, even members of the most disfunctional families don't attack one another in public.
Anti-Catholicism is the only prejudice that's not just permitted in this country, it's encouraged. We only make ourselves targets when we attack one another, especially when we're getting all of our information from the enemy.
posted by Mike at 10:52 AM
1 Comments:
Thanks for the kind words. Tell your dad that it's not that difficult.
Archbishop is a kind, holy man. All he is doing is defending the faith, which is his job (ours, too).
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