Bishops in the USA are going to have to decide what to do about Catholic politicians who are openly causing scandal by taking a position against the natural law and the Church’s teachings either by public acts or by private choices which are nevertheless quite public.
Can. 915.
I learned this today from the Cardinal Newman Society which keeps an eye on Catholic schools.
Scranton’s Bishop Joseph Bambera issued an important statement today. Following The Cardinal Newman Society’s report that Jesuit University of Scranton’s intended lecturer for an event has been very active supporting abortion rights, Bishop Bambera contacted the University and issued a statement of disapproval. [The person in question is former Rep. Marjorie Margolies (D-PA), Jewish, not Catholic.]
Bishop Bambera expressed his “concern regarding the University’s evolving relationship with me as Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton.” See his full quote here: http://www.timesleader.com/news/Bishop-.html
WDTPRS kudos to Bp. Bambera.
Former Rep. Margolies is not Catholic, but there are plenty of pro-abortion Catholic politicians who are given free rein. That has to stop.
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Bishop Bambera is my bishop, and I can personally testify to his being absolutely solid.
What is it with the Jesuits lately? Several personal encounters I’ve had with Jesuits over the past couple of years have left me wondering just what they are about.
Let’s see…Jesuit university? Check. Disobedient and counter-church? Check. Gets slap-down from bishop? Check. Ignores same with some pudding-textured statement? Check (to come). Nothing more happens? Check (since Fr. frowns upon wagering on his blog, I’ll forgo the gentleman’s wager here…:)).
For references, see Fordham University, Boston College, Fairfield University, Georgetown, Gonzaga, et al…the list is long and luciferious….
Just a question…
Have any of the open dialogue expressions of being ‘concerned’ and ‘disappointment’ and ‘disapproval’ borne any fruit over these years?
You know why the world wins? Because it threatens penal action against us and puts its money where its mouth is.
What do we do? Well… just this…
What can we do? Pray and fast, sure… but might as well add preparing to be persecuted by losing our jobs, becoming pariahs, lose our children, and get used to it because there’s nothing we can do.
Oh wait… maybe we can re approach our entire attitude towards all this that involves excommunications, harsher language and other threatening penalties that are then acted upon.
It makes me wonder if Noah bothered pleading with anyone in his day to get on board the ark using words like “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t, concerned that you are not, and disapprove that you don’t.” It was probably more like, “Either hop aboard and be saved, or die. God has given you time to do so. But eventually the door is going to shut and the rain is going to come down.”
This is why the Lord marvels at how the children of darkness are more cunning and effective than the children of light. You’ve got to give them credit. All the ills that flourish around us didn’t just get here overnight. The people that brought them worked really hard to make it so. We sat around assuming everything was going to turn out alright and being gentle… After all God will fix everything, right? Well according to prophecy, not even God declares this to be so… We’re here because He saw in advance our ineptitude to protect what we had.
We can also put our money where out mouth is… or rather take it out of their mouths by refusing to attend their universities and spreading information about what they’re really up to and bring their reputation down. These people worship money as one of their many gods. Well, given the current economic climate, God seems primed to do to their god what He did to the Egyptian ones.
Add Bishop Bambera to the list of courageous shepherds.
Slight nitpick: Bishops in the USA are going to have to decide what to do about Catholic politicians who are openly causing scandal…
Agreed, though in this case the issue isn’t with a Catholic politician – Margolies is Jewish – but with whether or not a Catholic institution should be inviting her to speak.
Here is the complete diocesan statement:
http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/2012/01/13/statement-of-the-diocese-of-scranton-about-the-university-of-scranton%e2%80%99s-decision-to-host-a-pro-abortion-speaker/
The person in question is former Rep. Marjorie Margolies (D-PA).
aka Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law.
Personally, I’d be happy if the Bishops would start sending competent people into these universities and studying the teaching materials of professors, and their words in books, online, etc., and just start declaring them unfit to teach in any Catholic institution.
It would be great if the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine would do a review of his 2009 book, “The Church: Evolution of the Catholicism”. Is it fit for use in seminaries? Can it mislead ordinary Catholics and non-Catholics who purchase it unwittingly, thinking it is faithful to the Church’s teachings?
His book, “Catholicism” (several editions) were the subject of US Bishops Conference notifications. What more do they need to get this guy out of the classroom?
I say let these univeristies keep their Catholic status, but first try getting rid of the people openly promoting dissent. Let them go teach at a non-Catholic insititution which is where they belong.
My mistake – I was referring to Richard McBrien and his books in my post above.
By the looks of it, there’s a longish list of Jesuit or otherwise catholic universities that aren’t worthy of the name. So be it; there’s absolutely no point in trying to get them back into the fold, it would take decades and even then we probably cannot afford to sent so many solid priests and religious into academia. (cause we’d need them to fill a substantial part of the faculty, and that would amout to hunderds of people – mostly priests – in the US alone, and thousands worldwide. The priest shortage is a bit too massive for that, IMHO)
My 2c for dealing with these institutions would be simply making sure they drop the title ‘Catholic’ by giving them deserved bad publicity every time they do something that tarnishes the name, and reassigning any and all remaining priests and religious. Especially the jesuits; send them all to China (Taiwan if the commies won’t have them). We don’t need nearly as many Catholic universities as currently bear the name, so let’s limit it to those universities and colleges worthy of the term.
The university declined the bishop’s request, insisting that the personal views of the former
congresswoman have nothing to do with her presentation at the Jesuit school.
I cannot help but wonder if the university would be so complacent if their speaker were found
to have personal views on something less PC than her pro-abortion beliefs. What if the school
brought in a speaker and discovered she was a holocaust denier, a global warming doubter, or
just an old-fashioned racist? Somehow, I think those Jesuits would see the need to disassociate
the U of S from such a person, even if her speech had nothing to do with those personal views.
Being viciously pro-abortion is not a grievous offense to this university.
Did not said Bp. Bambera refuse to allow Michael Voris & Co. to speak at one of the dioceses’ churches last year???
I, too, live in the diocese of Scranton, but have to wonder.
What if the school
brought in a speaker and discovered she was a holocaust denier, a global warming doubter, or
just an old-fashioned racist? Somehow, I think those Jesuits would see the need to disassociate
Bingo!
Thanks, Bryan Boyle, right on! Courage will be observed when the general leadership of the Catholic Church USA (it is the USCCB, right? where are they?) act and stop simply talking and expressing dismay. Essentially the Church is weak because its leaders have little to no courage…never wanting to rock any boat anywhere, anytime, regarding anybody (yes, mild exaggeration – shrug – but perhaps need to light a fire!). Have we not been obliterated by PolCor?Acquiescence to it has only served to confuse the laity and weaken the hierarchy. The end result will eventually be a huge confrontation, while it could have been a minor one, if actions had been taken earlier. Our culture at large is engaged in the same process – parents giving in to tantrums of their children, government engaging in bailouts, citizenry putting up with all of it. What a mess. Pray, not just for mercy but also for courage.
philologus,
Sadly, Jesuits for years have, mostly, been off the rails. This is not new, as I came across this at Notre Dame in the early eighties. And, it is not just an American phenomenon. Most Jesuits in Europe fall into the modernist, or at least, liberal categories and all whom I have met hate the TLM. So, do not be surprised. If one looks at the seminary training, one can see it starts there. As to pro-abortion speakers being touted at so-called Catholic schools, I can only hold my head down in shame at my own Alma Mater, Notre Dame, with many teachers of another order of mixed orthodoxy, as that institution in infamous for pro-abortion politicians presenting their views.
The bishops must stop playing footsie with these people, whether they are Catholic or not, and recognize that the youth are being scandalized by this so-called academic freedom, which is really, academic anarchy.
To be fair to the Society of Jesus NOT ALL of them are off the rails, perhaps all that’s needed is a directive from the Holy Father, telling them to clean up thier act and actually take their 4th vow seriously.
I grew up in a Jesuit parish, and I hate to see the good guys’ reputation tarred by the activists among them. It’s always the people seeking attention that get it, not the ones quietly and honorably doing their jobs. The Jesuits I knew were dedicated pastors and gifted homilists.
When people think “Jesuit,” I’d rather they think of the likes of Fr. John Hardon:
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/an-interview-with-a-saint
No Tambourines-speaking of ‘good Jesuits’, how about Father Joseph Fessio (Ignatius Press) and Father Mitch Pacwa (EWTN)? They’re good sons of St. Ignatius Loyola….I sure wish that St. Ignatius would lean down from heaven and give a good solid Basque SLAP to his errant sons, though!
Slap ’em alongside the head, I warrant…..!
Yes there are good Jesuits. But the order as a whole, rather obviously rotten.
As for Scranton U’s stance of “not approving the person, just hosting their specific address….” how many decades do we need to prove how futile and false such a posture is? How about a speaker on how hard it is to be a successful female politician who is pro-life? Now that would be helpful.
@Irishgirl LOL!!! I agree! :D
Thank you, Jack Hughes and NoTambourines, for your words.