Being resigned to resignation

Last night, during the annual Labor Day gathering for the priests of the Archdiocese of Washington, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick told them he had been notified that Pope Benedict XVI has decided the Cardinal should continue as Archbishop of Washington at this time. He was notified of the Pope’s decision by a letter from the Apostolic Nuncio. He likely will continue to serve as archbishop for another two or so years. As required under canon (Church) law, Cardinal McCarrick had offered his resignation to the Holy Father on his 75th birthday, July 7, 2005.

“I accept the Holy Father’s decision with gratitude and confidence,” Cardinal McCarrick said. “The confidence is based on the fact that I can count on the help of God for the grace to continue to serve the people of the Archdiocese whom the Lord loves so much. The gratitude comes from the privilege of working my brother bishops and priests, deacons and religious, whose generosity and zeal I have already experienced over the last four and a half years.” [Source]

I can’t exactly say I was pleased by the news, but then again my cathedra has wheels on it and sits front of a computer screen so who am I to say? Now I have had my fun with the Cardinal in the past, though I also took aim at mocking myself with my post on Episcopacy. I have been thinking that I don’t want to fall in the same trap that others have made at times. For example if you look at the extreme views and ridiculous stereotypes that so many held of then-Cardinal Ratzinger it made me wonder just how many of these same-style stereotypes that I held for some of our bishops and cardinals. This doesn’t mean that I will cease critiquing some of the decisions made, but I will at least try to do it without impugning anybody’s character. Now pardon me while I go get some tweezers to get some more of those annoying log out of my eye.

Tom has a favorable view of his Cardinal and maybe I can reduce his temptation to morose delectation at least in my case.