Commentary on Bishops’ Fall Meeting “Have they gone mad?” Reader Asks
By Mary Ann Kreitzer
This article with minor changes first appeared as a November e-letter. Since the meeting, Bishop Skylstad has indeed filed for bankruptcy for his diocese and new scandals appear around the country regularly indicating business as usual. Ed
The United States
bishops' fall meeting ended November 18. In line with the unbroken tradition
of the Vice President rising to the post, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane,
Washington was elected to succeed Wilton Gregory as head of the USCCB.
An unprecedented election did take place, however, when Bishop Donald
Trautman of Erie, PA was nominated from the floor and won chairmanship
of the Liturgy Committee, a post he also held from 1992-95. The return
of Trautman, a champion of inclusive language and liturgical "reform"
in the “spirit” of Vatican II, sends a bad signal to those
hoping to see reverence restored to the liturgy. The bishops' embarrassing
opening Mass will likely be repeated often in the future. Participants
watched it degenerate to a silly spectacle with "Gimme that Old Time
Religion" and some shepherds clapping and swaying to the closing
hymn before processing down the aisle. Do our bishops have any dignity
left?
How should the sheep in the pew regard this meeting? Unhappily, it mirrored
the simultaneous secular battle in the Republican party over the nomination
of Arlen Specter to head the Judiciary Committee. As the Republicans circled
the wagons to defend protocol over principle and elect a radically pro-abortion
senator to screen Supreme Court and federal judgeship nominees, it was
also business as usual for the club of Church politicians the USCCB has
become. By electing Skylstad the bishops signaled they have no intention
of true reform. They will protect their man-made protocols including automatic
election of a bishop whose diocese is bankrupt and who shared his rectory
as pastor with a notorious abuser. "Without a vision, the people
perish," [Proverbs 29: 18] but it seems unlikely the vision will
be restored any time soon by the Bishops' Conference.
As one of my e-mail correspondents wrote, "I was watching some of the Bishops' meeting proceedings on EWTN two nights ago. I had never actually viewed one of their meetings before... [The bishops] went on and on and on about some language changes... they were talking about the use of pronouns — when to use 'he,' 'she,' etc. All I could think was, 'Babies are dying and children are being sodomized. We never see most of you in front of abortion clinics or making public statements condemning homosexuality, yet you have time for THIS?'...Our bishops have gone mad." It is hard to argue with this assessment.
Was it merely a coincidence that we heard at daily Mass immediately following the conference, St. Luke's gospel describing Jesus' purification of the temple? He said, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'" Who is the "you" in this accusation — the moneylenders and shopkeepers? Yes, but more than they. In the homily I heard this morning, Father called the Pharisees guardians of the Law. It was their role to see that unblemished animals were offered in the prescribed sacrifices. Instead, they allowed blemished animals to be sold in the temple precincts and accepted them as offerings. Jesus' actions were primarily an indictment of the Jewish shepherds of the day. He overthrew the moneylenders' tables and scattered the stall keepers' animals; but it was the unfaithful Jewish clergy who made the temple a "den of thieves." That explains why, as the gospel tells us, "The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death." The guardians imitated Cain's sacrifice rather than Abel's. Like Cain, they hated the one who exposed their hypocrisy. Ultimately they secured his death. Are not things similar today? Who is being persecuted in the Church? Isn't it faithful laity who speak out against abuse? Isn't it orthodox priests who are driven out or sent to St. Luke's? How many homosexual pastors who destroyed the vocations of young associates continue unhindered in their offices? Who are the ones blacklisted from diocesan newspapers and seen as enemies for shining light on public scandals, while so-called peace and justice groups with no room for the least of God's little ones, the unborn, take honored seats at the table?
The first
reading from today's Mass, Revelation 10, is instructive. The scroll being
offered to John "was sweet like honey, but when I had eaten it, my
stomach turned sour. Then someone said to me, 'You must prophesy again about
many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.'" The idea of doing God's
will is sweet, but when it requires preaching a hard truth that challenges
what the world wants, it churns the stomach. Who among us wants to be spurned,
called intolerant, self-righteous, or, God forbid, a relic of the middle
ages. Persecution in the New York Times and Washington Post is hard to stomach.
Hob-nobbing with senators and union presidents is much more pleasant. Consequently,
the faith of many called to prophesy has grown cold. Most of those in authority
prefer to sway and clap to the beat of political correctness than experience,
even metaphorically, the beheading of John the Baptist.
But there are signs that things are changing. The wall of the united
brotherhood has cracked. The laity rejoiced when several bold bishops
stepped away from the herd and publicly declared they would deny the Eucharist
to pro-abortion politicians. It is a beginning. Last year when a coalition
of faithful Catholic groups protested outside the bishops meeting with
signs calling for the bishops to withhold Communion from John Kerry, Ted
Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Mikulski, and others we were met with hostility
and grim silence. This year there were smiling faces among the bishops
as we called out, "Thank you, Archbishop Chaput, we're praying for
your election. Thank you, Bishop Sheridan, for your courageous words.
Thank you Archbishop Burke, you give us hope. Thank you...Thank you..."
It was only a handful, but there were only a handful of faithful at the
foot of the Cross.
I had the opportunity to speak briefly to Archbishop Burke in the lobby
of the Hyatt Regency on the opening day of the meeting. I told him how
grateful the laity are for his boldness in defending the Eucharist. I
said I was personally touched by his public statement that he regretted
not taking stronger action sooner. His humble reply was that he continues
to regret it. Opening my hand, I showed him the rosary blessed by the
pope that Bishop Thomas Welsh gave me many years ago when I was a young
mom. "We pray for you daily, Your Excellency."
Let us, indeed, pray for the true shepherds, few though they seem to be.
Fasting, daily Mass, frequent confession, Eucharistic holy hours, the
rosary, novenas, and a determination to fight for the faith will ultimately
bring about the victory – restoration of the Church in the United
States.