Over at Fishwrap (aka the National Schismatic Reporter), venomous writer Michael Sean Winters threw a spittle-flecked nutty about the appointment of Most Rev. Leonard Blair as the new Archbishop of Hartford.
I won’t go into the details of MSW’s spittle-flecks.
I’ll just observe that, under Pope Francis, bishops are not being penalized for involvement in the doctrinal assessment of the LCWR. They are being promoted.
The catholic left is working harder and harder to maintain their hopey changey patter about the most wonderfulest fluffiest pope ehvur.
They will eventually turn on Francis.
And former-Father Greg Reynolds is still excommunicated.
Loading ...
Thank goodness Cardinal Ouellet is still in charge of recommending Bishops.
In some sense, I am in agreement. I too, am disappointed with Bishop Blair’s new appointment, but that’s because I’m from Toledo and am sad to see such a great bishop leave this diocese. Hartford is very blessed to get Bishop Blair.
Sometimes it is hard to find out how orthodox a Bishop is. At least when we see Fishwrap say bad things about a Bishop, we can always tell that they must be an orthodox and holy man. So, unlike many, I do see some usefulness for the National Schismatic Reporter, other than for Fishwrap and starting fires in the fireplace.
Bishop Blair is very pastoral in caring about orthodoxy and Pope Francis is all about being pastoral.
I wonder why, as a religious, Pope Francis would be supportive of efforts to stop religious life from self-destructing.
Michael Sean Winters (why does he feel the need to use all three names, like an actor?) is a political liberal who wastes a great deal of energy trying to fit the Church into the Democratic Party parameters.
I hope the people who are determined not to like Pope Francis will eventually turn, too.
Forgotten in this news is that Bishop Richard Gagnon has been appointed Archbishop of Winnipeg Diocese to replace Archbishop Weisgerber. A google search shows that Bishop Gagnon is obviously a very orthodox Bishop. ( He made the news in his previous Diocese of Victoria). I think Cardinal Ouellet is doing a very good job!
I can inagine Father rejoicing everytime he writes about Mr. Reynolds. :)
ClavesCoelorum says: I can inagine Father rejoicing
I do NOT rejoice that that man is excommunicated. I would – by far – rather he had been faithful and not a contumacious heretic.
Liberals have to be reminded of the fact of this excommunication by Francis, the fluffiest Pope ehvur and surely the first Pope in the history of the world who ever smiled or kissed a baby.
Reynolds was excommunicated for openly advancing women’s ordination and same-sex “marriage”, both of which are patently impossible. The Church has made this clear.
Francis upholds the Church’s teachings. Liberals need to be reminded of this when they push women’s ordination, same-sex “marriage”, and their other pet projects.
This is encouraging news! I know very little so far about Bishop Blair, but after reading the above-linked Reporter article, I have HOPE! Does anyone from D. of Toldeo know if Bishop Blair is at least a little supportive of the TLM? There are a few TLM’s currently in the D. of Hartford, but only one of them (so far) is near me – and it’s 40 minutes away (1 way) in Enfield. I live in a neighboring Diocese that is so destitute of the TLM that I actually leave the state entirely to attend the TLM in a neighboring Diocese of a neighboring state. Now I have some hope that more priests in Hartford may feel supported in their desire to learn and offer the TLM.
Just in case His Excellency happens to read Fr. Z., if +Blair would like to consider changing one of the typical Catholic primary schools in the Hartford area into a classical Latin Catholic school, I’ll be the first in line to register my kids there! Heck, I’ll even do whatever I can to help get it up and running.
I like that he tries to wave away any responsibility the Pope has for the appointment by saying, “I am hesitant to criticize Pope Francis for this appointment. I doubt he knows personally any of the names on the terna that came to him.”
He thinks the Pope doesn’t bother to do his job?
Amazing that Winters’ article makes it seem as if the Abp Blair went from a desk job at the Vatican to leading an archdiocese, not mentioning 10 years in Toledo
It was not until reading this post that I realized that Bishop Blair is not Bishop Blaire. I couldn’t understand why the “NSR” would have been so opposed to Bishop Blaire… Well, now I know.
I live in the Diocese of Toledo, and I’m sad to be losing Bishop Blair. He is not exactly enthusiastic about the TLM, but he is tolerant and respectful of it, and to my knowledge, he has not tried to prevent any priests from celebrating it. Of course, there is very little demand for it here, and aside from a brief flurry of experimentation right after Summorum Pontificum, there have not been many TLMs outside of the one parish that has it every Sunday. To his credit, Bishop Blair has celebrated the traditional rite of Confirmation annually for a few years now, confirming around 6-8 kids each time. I suspect that his impression of traditional Catholics may be tainted by his experience with a small number of outspoken and uncharitable individuals. If you want his assistance in getting a TLM established, be polite, and be patient!
TLM issues aside, Bishop Blair is solidly orthodox and gives wonderful homilies. He is supportive of traditional sacred music, chant, organ, etc. even if he doesn’t actively push for these things. He has required parishes to move the tabernacle back to the center of the sanctuary when doing renovations. Finally, he has a weekly radio show on which he answers questions submitted by listeners. There’s a podcast archive of the show at annunciationradio.com.
I do NOT rejoice that that man is excommunicated. I would – by far – rather he had been faithful and not a contumacious heretic.
Precisely. The sense of satisfaction (more accurate than rejoicing) is not that a priest goes heretic and gets excommunicated, but rather that our shepherds acted in a just manner and the sheep know that they will be protected.
Ohio Organist,
Thanks for the info. Sounds promising! Deo Gratias!!
Ohio Organist,
Thanks for the info. Sounds promising! Deo Gratias!!
A real test comes tomorrow when uber progressive Bishop Howard Hubbard of the RC Diocese of Albany NY turns 75 and submits his letter of retirement. When his fellow “uber progressive” bishop from the neighboring Diocese of Rochester, Matthew Clark, submitted his letter last year, the Vatican told him to step down and turned administration of the diocese over to the bishop of Syracuse. Clark has yet to be replaced. Hubbard was appointed in 1977, at age 38. Both leave behind a legacy of “wreckovated” churches, liturgical abuse, clergy abuse lawsuits, closed parishes and schools. Many catholics have either fled the church to non-denominational churches or simply stopped attending mass entirely. God willing, Pope Francis will send a bishop to heal the wounds and restore some modicum of orthodoxy to both of these dioceses.
Pingback: This is my Pope! Axios! | F(ide)C(ogit)A(ctio) : omnis per gratiam. C.S.S.M.L. + N.D.S.M.D. + V.R.S. N.S.M.V. S.M.Q.L. I.V.B.
I am also from the Toledo diocese and have had the blessing of getting to know Bishop Blair during my time in seminary and work with the diocese. He is a very kind man and pastoral bishop, willing to listen and consider opinions of others, but caring enough that he does not compromise the faith for he knows doing so is not in anyone’s best interests. It saddens me that he is leaving, but I rejoice for his new flock and pray Toledo gets another bishop like him.
Pingback: PopeWatch: Archbishop Leonard Blair |