Fr. Rob Johansen imagines a conversation between Cardinal Mahony and the Pope.
Make sure you read Fr. Rob’s article in This Rock magazine linked to at the end of his post , "Why Doesn’t the Pope Do Something About Bad Bishops?". I remember reading it and found it quite informative and that it changed my perspective on this issue.
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“No, in order to justify separating a father from his family, we require substantial evidence of actual abuse or neglect. The father of a family is so integral to its identity that before removing him we have to be sure he is actually causing harm to the family. “
Can someone tell me how
Cardinal Mahoney doesn’t fit this description?
Fr Rob may be right about excellent appointments made under JPII in the States. It certainly wasn’t the case in one country I know well.
I think Fr. Johansen’s article is a bit off base. Not that I’m defending Mahoney’s treatment of the abuse scandal, but it’s not unusual for civil litigation to go until the last minute before trial before reaching a settlement. Both sides essentially “play chicken” to get a better deal. I doubt that it was a exclusively a malicious ploy. The church doesn’t need the embarrassment of reliving this scandal, and the general public opinion isn’t going to make the distinction between Mahoney’s treatment of the issue and the church at large. Was Mahoney wrong? Yes. Will it help the church (or the victims, for that matter) to drag this out in court? No.
There was an earlier post reL Reiki. In Archbishop Mahoneys, weekly Tidings Magazine- they enter Reiki Workshops on the diocese calendar of events. They are given at LA Catholic retreat centers.
How come it is we see the highest rates of this &#%$ in liberal dioceses?
Hmmmmmmmm…..
Good info, but who’s asking that a bishop/cardinal be “fired”? Can’t his ministry be changed w/o cutting him from the Church?
Potatoes have ears! Isn’t there a kitchen somewhere where the veggies are in need of guidance? Maybe we can create a new smalllll diocese? KP can be a fruitful, respectable retreat.
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but does the Holy See not have the power to appoint a co-adjutor bishop, where necessary, without requiring the retirement/resignation of the incumbent bishop ?
Can someone tell me how
Cardinal Mahoney doesn’t fit this description?
Believe it or not, it could be worse. Even if a bishop / father does horrible things, forcibly removing them or even interfering with their authority can make matters much worse.
Even a dysfunctional family with a problematic father suffers greatly when the father gets removed or has his authority curtailed.
But getting back to the tale of two Cardinals, I do recall that Cardinal Bernard Law offered three times to resign over his obvious failures – and only on the third time did Pope John Paul II accept the resignation. Cardinal Law also opposed Cardinal Bernardin’s relativistic approach to truth as well.
While it is of course best not to make mistakes, the response of a man towards his mistakes says much about a man’s character. Thanks for pointing me to article though. Not that I need it – my bishop is wonderful.
Burnt,
Cdl. Bernadin was a bad administrator but what do you mean by relativistic approach to truth?
And you are correct about Cdl. Law, he kept trying to resign and the Pope would not accept. Meanwhile, everyone in the US kept urging him to resign and thinking he was bad for staying on. That must have been a very difficult position for the Cardinal.
Off topic..just noticed you are a former atheist! What a great site you have..& wonderful inspiration!
God bless
Jack,
Concerning Candinal Bernardin’s relativistic approach to truth, I am referring specifically to his common ground project (http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/COMGROUN.HTM) and Cardinal Bernard Law’s excellent response.
Despite his horrible failure, Cardinal Law promoted and publicly supported the unwavering truths of the gospel. Jeff has already pointed out that the media is being much kinder to Cardinal Mahony (whose approach resembles the nonsense which came from Bernardin) than they were to Cardinal Law.
Peter and Judas both betrayed Our Lord – but their track record other issues and their response to their failures was very different. This says much about their level of openness to God.
Cardinal Law and Cardinal Mahony both betrayed our trust – but their track record on other issues and their response to their failures was very different. This says much about their level of openness to God.
I still chuckle remembering Mother Angelica publicly saying that she hoped the level of obedience in Mahony’s Diocese was zero. Technically, she had gone too far. But I’m still glad she said it.
That’s a good article on bishops. I consider myself pretty conservative, maybe even a traditionalist (I attend the TLM frequently). But I don’t think that the Pope should “clean house” either. I wish more traditionalists understood the nature of the episcopacy. It can be frustrating to have “bad” leadership, but Christ calls us to submit to our leaders (except for participating in actual heresy. Some people don’t see a distinction, however, between bad liturgy and actual heresy.)
I’ve already written one stinging comment on Fr. Blake’s blog. But as far as fantasies go, I can say I do have one regards Roger, Cardinal Mahoney and God’s Rottweiler:
Rottweiler: “Mahoney, your brains or your signature on this letter of resignation.”
[What can I say, the first thing I thought of was the opening sequence of the Godfather where Michael explains to Kay how the singer got out of his contract with a band. ]
I can think of a few other bishops where the same might be said.
To me, all of this is just so sad! I was brought up in the 50’s and really believed that Priests deserved to be thought of as representatives of The Lord.
Do any of you think that Jesus didn’t mean what he said? Avoiding Scandal, “Whoever welcomes one such child for my sake welcomes me. On the other hand, it would be better for anyone who leads astray one of these little ones who believes in me, to be drowned by a millstone around his neck, in the depths of the sea.
These children should have been protected and God will be the judge in the final analysis. Do any of you think that by hiding these men and protecting them was the moral thing to do?
I am sure the Catholic Church would have suffered but I believe that “Christ” would have seen it through.
I don’t believe that the Cardinals and Bishops were protecting the Church, just themselves.
[B]It can be frustrating to have “bad” leadership, but Christ calls us to submit to our leaders (except for participating in actual heresy. Some people don’t see a distinction, however, between bad liturgy and actual heresy.[/B]
I was taught by the nuns that, we do what we are told by those in authority, however, if we know that the person in authority is telling us to do something we know to be a mortal sin, we had the obligation to refuse!!
Jesus is the Head of the Catholic Church and we are bound by HIS Commands.
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