Canberra, May. 13, 2008 (CWNews.com) – The Australian Catholic bishops’ conference has issued a public statement warning of "doctrinal difficulties" in a book by the retired bishop.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who was an auxiliary bishop of the Sydney archdiocese for 20 years prior to his retirement in 2001, is the author of Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus. Bishop Robinson is currently on a promotional tour, speaking about the book to audiences in the United States.
At their May meeting, the Australian bishops warn that Confronting Power calls into question "the authority of the Catholic Church to teach the truth definitively." The book reflects "Bishop Robinson’s uncertainty about the knowledge and authority of Christ himself," the bishops report.
The bishops’ statement goes on to note problems with the bishop’s book on "among other things, the nature of Tradition, the inspiration of the Holy Scripture, the infallibility of the Councils and the Pope, the authority of the Creeds, the nature of the ministerial priesthood and central elements of the Church’s moral teaching."
The Australian bishops express their gratitude for the work Bishop Robinson did before his retirement, particularly his work with victims of sexual abuse. "However," their statement continues, "people have a right to know clearly what the Catholic Church believes and teaches."
I guess Bishop Robinson is the Australian version of Bishop Gumbleton. Bishop Gumbleton was also an auxiliary bishop for 20 plus years (around 27) and seems to have a similar attitude on church teaching and involvement with victims of sexual abuse.
3 comments
That’s timely news because he’s just started a tour of the US promoting this book, mostly at meetings hosted by Call to Action.
Seems I was prophetic then, in my post.
Re: Bishop Gumbleton. Not only does he have a similar attitude, he’s heavily involved in a group here in Detroit called The Elephants in the Living Room (along with Anthony Koznik) – they espouse attitudes that would qualify as having “doctrinal difficulties”. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bp Robinson ends up in Detroit on his talk circuit as well.
I believe Bishop Robinson opens the door to a new and aboundant spiritual richness that already dwells within the Church. He is very articulated in his faith and intellectually able to convey the liberating power of Christ through the doctrine, the tradition and the Scripture. His book is like a fresh breeze in a Catholic’s soul, he is what I would call a true conservative in our times without leaving aside doctrine, tradition nor Scripture.
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