By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
The U.S. bishops’ conference is a leadership disaster. Joe Biden presiding over the marital simulation ceremony of two men who work in the Obama administration was the latest unanswered provocation to assail the American portion of the Body of Christ.
Vice President Biden has completely sold-out on Church teaching. He enthusiastically promoted the rainbow revolution by speaking out in violation of God’s plan for marriage, in effect pushing the whole administration over into the “marriage equality” lobby. He sported a multicolored flag over his shoulders at the White House, symbolic of his enthusiastic celebration of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision.
And Biden is totally in bed with Planned Parenthood, the national federally funded abortion-mill chain and black genocide juggernaut.
Some years ago a new bishop began to act independently to snuff out the evil of dissent from Church teaching on such matters as God’s will for marriage and family life, sexuality, and Church ministries. He showed up at least at one parish-level meeting to bust it up and to discourage the serious rejection of God and sinful disobedience that was taking place on church property. This did not continue long before he resigned, perhaps under pressure from fellow bishops.
Cardinal Burke attempted to fulfill the Church’s vision for the teaching office of each bishop in his own diocese by speaking out forthrightly about the issues that affected his people. This course of action led him to act independently of the “old boys’ club” headquartered at the USCCB. As a result, he too was expelled, kicked upstairs to Rome where he ended up at the helm of the Apostolic Penitentiary, dispensing punishment for serious infractions reserved to the decision of the Holy See.
Cardinal Burke eventually found himself also unwelcome at this Roman post under Pope Francis, where he had continued to travel and encourage the growth of Tradition by presiding at solemn pontifical ceremonies. Now he has been “demoted” to a less prestigious role as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, placed there in part because, as Pope Francis once remarked, he appears to like traveling.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, a fine bishop and deeply Christian and loving man, now speaks de facto for the American episcopacy as the elected president of the USCCB. He is orthodox but also a company man, avoiding strong language or sanctions in an effort to be more compassionate than punitive. This has been the favored tack of our bishops for many years and the logic behind the recent kid-glove treatment of Joe Biden.
But is it working as intended? Has it now been sufficiently tried and found lacking?
In reaction to Biden’s very public and outrageous mockery of the Immaculate Bride of Christ and her sacraments, Archbishop Kurtz was joined by Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, N.Y., and Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski in publishing the following statement:
“When a prominent Catholic politician publicly and voluntarily officiates at a ceremony to solemnize the relationship of two people of the same-sex, confusion arises regarding Catholic teaching on marriage and the corresponding moral obligations of Catholics.”
This comes off sounding weak. Are bishops responsible for doing more than pointing out the obvious? In a situation of rampant moral confusion among the Catholic people whom they are charged by Christ Himself with leading to salvation, are they bound to do more than describe the current malaise in milquetoast and clinical statements?
The redefinition of compassion in the “Church of Mercy” which largely excludes the use of the sanction of excommunication is only deepening the state of confusion and scandal afflicting the flock. Church leaders do not care deeply enough for the salvation of Joe Biden if they refuse to consider publicly correcting his public rejection of God.
They cannot claim to have exhausted the fullness of God’s mercy which is willing to go to any length necessary by leaving the ninety-nine sheep in search of the one lost if the worst sanction is a wrist-slapping. If our Church is to reflect the mercy of our heavenly Father, then bishops must be willing to question their instinct to keep using the same techniques of kid-glove treatment while expecting to achieve at some point a different and more effective result.
At the root of this state of confusion lies a rejection of our Tradition resulting from the ruptured application of Vatican II teaching. Many approached the documents of Vatican II as if the Church had completely sundered herself from her roots going back to apostolic foundations established by Christ.
There may be a way out. As reported by OnePeterFive, a papal offer of a personal prelature as an ecclesial status would administratively reincorporate the members of the Society of St. Pius X into the Church. The traditional group which is currently held to be in a canonically irregular status could thus gain an acceptable status.
Archbishop Guido Pozzo, head of Ecclesia Dei, is the credible source of this offer by Pope Francis, which includes the concession that certain of the documents of Vatican II are not doctrinal, as the SSPX has long insisted. As part of an enlarged beachhead for Tradition in the Church, the SSPX — provided that it accepts the authority of the Church and the Pope — could help to present a more forthright approach to evangelizing the culture and stemming the tidal wave of scandal that is hampering the conversion of many to Jesus Christ through His Church.
Perhaps the integral approach to teaching and Tradition as embraced by the SSPX might encourage more of our bishops to do the same, once the group is acknowledged to also be in the “barque of Peter.” In this Year of Mercy we can pray that all of the Church’s riches might be more gainfully and effectively employed to strengthen the weak, correct the erring, and build up the Body of Christ.
@MCITLFrAphorism
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