Some Thoughts On This Mother's Day

In Benedict's Holy Mother Church the Angels play Mozart and mom doesn't drive an SUV.

Today is Mother's Day. It's a day we celebrate the relationship we have with our mothers. Good, bad or indifferent, that maternal relationship is pretty critical in setting the course for the adult child and by extension that adults ability to create their own family and navigate in the world.

Catholics call the Church their spiritual mother, but right now there is a huge disconnect between the Institutional Church's concept of mothering and that of the more recent generations real life experience of mothering. Or to put it differently, I am nothing like Pope Benedict's mother. I can't be because the world I was born into is vastly different from the Bavarian world of the 1880's.

I am becoming more and more convinced that the old guard in the Vatican is patently incapable of acknowledging this very simple fact. They continue to defend a concept of mother which is totally out of step with Western current reality.

Jamie Manson hits on some of this in her latest article for the National Catholic Reporter. I like Jamie's work a great deal, and think she is a voice that needs to be heard. Her articles generally nudge my thinking and make me question some of my assumptions. The following is an excerpt from that article.

In his April 30 online column, “American Catholic Demographics and the Future of Ministry,” John Allen projects that the next generation of clergy and lay leadership in the Catholic church will emerge from an “inner core of practicing and faithful young Catholics.” Allen writes, “these younger Catholics are attracted to traditional spiritual practices such as Eucharistic adoration and Marian piety; they have a generally positive attitude towards authority, especially the papacy; and they’re less inclined to be critical of church teaching.” Their devotion to the Church, says Allen, is a response to their coming of age in a “secular, rootless world.” (They might be traditional practices for my generation, but the reality is they are novel practices for younger generations.)

I believe Allen’s assessment is on target. My concern is that this inner core of faithful young people will be a very small, insular group. The Catholic church in the West will begin to shrink into a sect of strictly observant believers.

That’s all well and good for them. But what happens to the other baptized Catholics whose faith isn’t nourished by centuries-old devotions, the Latin Mass, and absolute subservience to an all male, celibate hierarchy and clergy? (That seems to me to be their whole 'orientation'. First Catholicism has be be good for them personally, and secondarily only those who share the 'same orientation' are welcome. This is why the gay issue is so symbolically critical in underlining this emphasis on Catholic identity--which like official Catholic sexual morality is all about spiritual/ritual ACTS and not relationship.)

Where will they find their spiritual home? Where will they find community in a time when face-to-face socialization is quickly disappearing? Where will they find guidance that will help them make meaning during times of sorrow and loss? Where will their values and ethics be challenged and molded so that they can find resources to help them make their marriages work and raise their children? Will they, too, like the other 30 million baptized Catholics in this country who do not attend church, be relegated to the pop spirituality, wellness seminars, life coaching, and new age therapeutics touted on "Oprah"?

Unlike the generations of progressive Catholics who came of age in the 1950s and 1960s, young Catholics are not willing to fight for the soul of the church. The church has lost its influence over the consciences of new generations. Our imaginations were not formed by its rituals and our morality was not created by its figures of authority. We were not raised by a church that held absolute authority over the state of our souls -- both in this life and the next. (Or to put it in different terms, Mother Church has lost any meaningful relationship with her children.)

As a result, many of the symbols of the Catholic church, most especially the priesthood, the parish, and the Mass, have lost their power for many young Catholics. Though these symbols are dying out, the need for the meaning, ethical guidance, and spiritual development embodied in the symbols is stronger than ever. (Gen X'rs demand a different kind of spiritual relationship. One which respects their independence and their individual path. That means they are seeking a relationship which emphasises mentoring, not parenting.)

One of my closest friends has been teaching a course in the theology of marriage for more than twenty years at a Jesuit university. From his conversations with students, it is very clear that the church no longer has influence over the consciences and spiritual lives of most of his students. However, the theology of marriage course continues to be among the most popular and sought out in the university. The reason is obvious. The students have few resources to turn to that will help them navigate through the treacherous land of intimate relationships and the increasingly murky world of life commitment.

If these young adults have children, perhaps they will see a need for church community, for a sense of meaning, for a system of values and beliefs with which to raise their children. But there is a good chance that they will not think to seek this from the Church, which has lost much of its moral authority with young Catholics.

Call me crazy, but I don’t think this is all bad. By being free of the trappings of the institutionalized church, younger generations have a real and unprecedented potential to realize the kind of church that Jesus’ earliest disciples brought to life.

New generations have an extraordinary commitment to social service and to creating a just society, whether through the field of social work, non-profit development, green jobs, or documentary filmmaking. In many ways, they are already doing the work of the church. But what is lacking is a real sense of how to build and sustain community, which is essential to their spiritual health and support. (Again this is a matter of establishing a meaningful relationship.)

This, I believe, is where older progressive Catholics can be an extraordinary resource. These reformers spend a lot of time and energy worrying, analyzing, writing about, and arguing with the institutional church. I believe they would do well to take some of the energy behind their righteous anger, and engage those who are struggling to find meaning and spiritual development in a rootless world. This might be a better -- and certainly more life-giving -- use of their time than simply fighting a self-destructive institution. (I think it's very important to do both. The witness of defending what you care about demonstrates there really is something important to care about.)

Together we need to explore the ways in which we are already church, and to enhance the opportunities to become more fully church. We need to discover what sacred experiences we are hungering for and what brings us the more abundant life that Jesus taught us to seek. The more the institutional church starves us, the greater the call should be for us to feed one another by breaking bread together -- literally and symbolically.

Younger generations need this support to help them find roots. Older generations need strength and new life from the roots that they planted decades ago. If we begin to think creatively outside of the institutional church and imagine smaller, more intimate ways of sharing community, we all might begin to realize the church as it was in its beginnings. (Smaller more intimate settings foster relationship and the communication meaningful relationship requires.)

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I wish a very happy Mother's day for all mothers who may be reading this blog and for all the mothers of children who may be reading this blog. Happy Mother's Day one and all.

Is Austria's Cardinal Schonborn Really A Ray Of Hope?

Schönborn attacks Sodano and urges reform

Christa Pongratz-Lippitt - The Tablet - 8 May 2010

The head of the Austrian Church has launched an attack of one of the most senior cardinals in the Vatican, saying that Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, “deeply wronged” the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy when he dismissed media reports of the scandal. (There is also the little matter of 'paid lobbying' for the Legion.)

In a meeting with editors of the main Austrian daily newspapers last week, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, also said the Roman Curia was “urgently in need of reform”, and that lasting gay relationships deserved respect.

He reiterated his view that the Church needs to reconsider its position on re-married divorcees.

On Easter Day, Cardinal Sodano called the mounting reports of clerical sex abuse “petty gossip”.

This had “deeply wronged the victims”, Cardinal Schönborn said, and he recalled that it was Cardinal Sodano who had prevented Joseph Ratzinger, then a cardinal, from investigating allegations of abuse made against Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, the previous Archbishop of Vienna, who resigned in disgrace in 1995. (Somehow I don't think Sodano and Schonborn will be sharing any Papal brunches in the near future.)

Cardinal Schönborn said that Pope Benedict was “gently” working on reforming the Curia but he had the whole world on his desk, as the cardinal put it, and his way of working and his style of communication did not make it easy to advise him quickly from outside. (Here's another person imtimating it's hard to get past Benedict's gatekeeper, Msgr Ganswein.)

Cardinal Schönborn studied under Joseph Ratzinger at Regensburg University and is known to be close to him. (Not close enough to get past Georg.)

Questioned on the Church’s attitude to homosexuals, the cardinal said: “We should give more consideration to the quality of homosexual relationships,” adding: “A stable relationship is certainly better than if someone chooses to be promiscuous.” (It is sad that I find myself in the position of cheering on a Cardinal for promoting the obvious. However, this is quite an admission from a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.)

The cardinal also said the Church needed to reconsider its view of re-married divorcees “as many people don’t even marry at all any longer”. (Here's another admission that I never thought to hear.)

The primary thing to consider should not be the sin, but people’s striving to live according to the commandments, he said. Instead of a morality based on duty, we should work towards a morality based on happiness, he continued. (This is a truly spiritual statement. It could revolutionize the Church's sexual morality. This is not a call for a morality based on secular relativism and me first thinking. It's a call for mature loving relationships.)

Cardinal Schönborn said clergy had often primarily protected perpetrators of abuse instead of the victims. “It was said in the Church that we must be able to forgive, but that was a false understanding of compassion,” the cardinal insisted. Since the Groer affair 15 years ago, however, the Austrian Church had appointed an ever-increasing number of lay people, especially women, to investigate abuse cases. (It was the confusion of forgiveness with enabling behavior.)

However this new openness on the part of the Church was not shared by everyone in the Vatican, he said. (I'm sure this statement is one hundred percent true.)

Asked if he thought celibacy was one of the causes of clerical sex abuse, Cardinal Schönborn said he had no answer and psychotherapists were divided on the issue. (Here's some humility too.)

Asked how he would rate the Church’s loss of credibility due to the abuse “tsunami” on a scale of 1 to 5, the cardinal said, “In Ireland the situation is catastrophic – almost a 5. In Austria it is dramatic – I’d say a 3.” (And honesty.)

The Vatican press spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi, praised the Austrian Church for its openness in dealing with the clerical abuse crisis and told the Austrian daily Kurier on Monday that Cardinal Sodano’s words at Easter were “certainly not the wisest”.

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I really really want to believe that Cardinal Schonborn represents a voice of reason, and faith, and compassion in the Vatican hierarchy. I want to believe that at least one Cardinal is listening and understands changes in how the system operates have to be made before Catholicism loses 90% of it's European and North American Catholics.

Instead I find myself thinking: "until he walks his talk I reserve judgement". I don't particularly like myself for my attitude because I want to believe him so badly, but I don't need another betrayal by great talkers who aren't great walkers. I don't need another well meaning talker whose chain is yanked by the Vatican and turns into just another chastised lock step walker. Another Cardinal who was misquoted or misinterpreted or taken out of context. Another Cardinal who didn't really mean what he said -- a la Cardinal Rino Fisicella in the Brazilian nine year old rape case.

Worse case scenario, I don't need to hear talk from a designated spinner of disinformation whose purpose is to stop the pew bleeding while covering for the fact there will be no substantial changes because Benedict's way of working is slow and gentle and no one can get to him.

I can't forget that this is the same Cardinal who blamed his predecessors for failing to back Humanae Vitae , stating that was the reason European whites were not replacing themselves. I can't forget that this is the same Cardinal who caved into to ecclesiastical pressure concerning his recent trip to Medjugorge. So I have one request of Cardinal Schonborn: Walk your talk.

I wonder if Cardinal Newman lived today if the above wouldn't also include his adopted Church.

Church factions in theological battle for soul of Cardinal Newman

Ruth Gledhill, Times UK - 5/7/2010

On the surface, all is Christian love and fellowship. But beneath the surface rages a theological battle for the soul of Cardinal John Henry Newman and of the Roman Catholic Church itself.
At the high point of his four-day state visit to Britain in September, the Pope will preside at the beatification of Newman, putting him on course to become England’s first non-martyr saint since the Reformation.

On one side of the pulpit are modernising liberals. On the other are the Ultramontane-style conservatives who reject any compromise with modern society. Newman is considered a personal hero of Pope Benedict, who has studied his writings. He is also revered by many Anglicans: he was, after all, a convert to Catholicism.

Jack Valero, of the conservative Opus Dei group, who is in charge of publicity for the beatification, said that Newman was the “hero” of all types of Catholics and many Anglicans.
Roman Catholic conservatives hail Newman as one of them because of what they see as his attachment to dogma and tradition and his criticisms of liberalism and relativism. They are passionate about the Tridentine Latin Mass; they endorse papal infallibility and resist any latitude on issues such as celibacy and contraception.

Yet liberals say that Newman is one of them because he gave primacy to conscience, even saying famously that he would drink a toast “to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards”.

The gay community also claim Newman as one of their own because he was buried with his lifelong companion Father Ambrose St John. Of Father Ambrose, Newman wrote: “From the first he loved me with an intensity of love, which was unaccountable.” He later added: “As far as this world was concerned, I was his first and last . . . he was my earthly light.’” Peter Tatchell, the gay rights campaigner, has criticised attempts to portray Newman as a celibate heterosexual.

Tatchell said: “Many of these platonic relationships were, in fact, expressions of latent homosexuality which never found physical expression because the men concerned lived in a homophobic culture where they either had no conception of the possibility of same-sex love or, for religious reasons, dared not express this love sexually.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has been invited to attend the beatification ceremony at Coventry airport in September to elevate the Church of England’s most famous convert to Roman Catholicism.

Dr Williams has not yet decided whether he will go, and his office said yesterday that he may send a representative. The Archbishop is faced with his own Newman-style troubles. As the General Synod prepares to debate legislation in July to allow women bishops, he is facing contemporary conversions to Rome by three Anglo-Catholic bishops and their retinues of clergy and laity under the new ordinariate structure begun by the Pope for disaffected Anglicans.

Next week, the Pope will be accused by the author John Cornwell of attempting to hijack the legacy of Cardinal Newman to prop up the conservative Catholic cause. Cornwell is a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, and a former seminarian who wrote Hitler’s Pope, a critique of the leadership of Pope Pius XII during the Nazi era, In a new book, Newman’s Unquiet Grave, Cornwell argues that the “Catholic pin-up boy” would have regarded his sainthood an “ossifying tragedy”. (Especially since this whole campaign has literally ripped him out of the earth from his "earthly light".)

Cornwell also accuses the Pope of “distorting” Newman. “He is trying to draw people towards his vision of a magisterial Church dominated by the Vatican and the papacy. He is turning Newman on his head, as if Newman really meant loyalty to the Pope came first and conscience second.”

But Mr Valero said: “This is really a picture of what the Church is like today. It is a battle about what the Church is and how it should work. The Pope is trying to bring all these people together under Newman. The Pope is supposed to be the man who unites the Church.” (Technically Benedict is trying to unite the Church under his understanding (spin) of Cardinal Newman's writings.)

After beatification, but before Newman can be canonised, evidence is required of another miracle through his intercession. If the factions scrapping over his legacy make peace, that might just be the miracle required. (That would be a heck of a miracle and would qualify in my book.)

Life and tracts for the times

• Born in 1801 Cardinal Newman made an enduring mark on the Church of England by helping to establish the Oxford Movement, an attempt to restore it to its Catholic roots

• He attended Great Ealing School in London, where he preferred the Bible to sport. The titular King of France, Louis-Philippe, taught maths and geography there while in exile in the early 19th century

• Newman became a Calvinist after his father’s bank went under in the financial crash of 1816

• He went to Trinity, Oxford, became a Fellow of Oriel and was ordained into the Church of England in 1824

• He wrote a series of influential essays, Tracts for the Times. Members of his movement were known as Tractarians

• Newman was received into the Catholic Church in 1845 and ordained a priest in Rome

• He wrote thousands of letters, reams of sermons, essays, books and poetry, and an autobiographical novel. Idea of a University is studied by educators today. His autobiography, Apologia Pro Vita Sua, published in 1864, is still regarded as a spiritual classic

•Newman wrote: “I have no tendency to be a saint — it is a sad thing to say so. Saints are not literary men” (Apparently Benedict disagrees.)

• It is said to be impossible to understand 19th-century Britain, or indeed the Church of England or Catholic Church as it was then or is in England today, without some knowledge of Newman

• He died in 1890 and was declared “venerable” in 1991, the first step towards sainthood

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I suppose the truth is that in today's Church Cardinal Newman would be in some serious trouble over his relationship with Fr. Ambrose--platonic or not. I often wonder if Newman lived today how he would respond to the Church's current stance on same sex partnerships. What ever anyone believes about the sexual nature of his relationship with Ambrose, it does most definitely qualify as a life long passionate same sex partnership. Would Newman agree that his relationship was the greatest threat to the cultural stability of mankind? Would his individual conscience, in it's recognition of his love for Ambrose, compel him to be an outspoken critic of the official teaching?

Somewhat as England's Thomas More is the layman for all seasons, Cardinal Newman is becoming the theologian for all reasons. Perhaps if he lived today he would have been that hybrid of all hybrids--a Latin Mass liberal. Catholicism actually use to have those before liturgy got all mixed up with politics, amongst other things.

I am not the least bit surprised that Opus Dei is in charge of the 'publicity' surrounding Cardinal Newman's beatification. Spinning Newman's views on personal conscience, and papal infallibility is critical if Newman is to have any real use in attracting dissenting Anglicans to Benedict's church or defusing the theological bomb of a man who placed the sensus fidelium equal to or ahead of the magesterium in developing doctrine.

But wait, could that be part of OD's strategy, making it appear that a small minority of the sensus fidelium is the majority, and that Newman's theology actually supports their notion of an infallible papacy and magesterium? This kind of thing seems to be working for the tea partiers, at least in the Republican party. Hopefully it won't work in Catholicism.

A Very Very Disturbing And Sad Story About Spirituality Gone Wrong

Fr. Amorth and his half trained disciples may wreak far more havoc in Catholicism than they ever cure.

Is it just coincidence that on the day the story breaks about Cardinal Pell becoming the Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops, this story also comes out of Australia?


Priest conducts 'bizarre' faith healing
Kim Macdonald, The West Australian - May 5, 2010, 2:35 am


A bizarre faith-healing ritual has prompted the Catholic Church to warn that an influx of foreign priests had created "difficulties" because they tended to have a more spiritual outlook than Westerners.

A horrified congregation watched a foreign-trained Catholic priest lay a mentally and physically disabled girl on an altar during mass at the weekend and order her to walk.

The priest was later escorted to a mental health clinic by police. The congregation is being counselled over the event, which left children and adults in tears.

Vicar-General of Perth's Catholic Archdiocese Brian O'Loughlin said while the "bizarre and unusual service" was largely due to the priest's mental condition, it highlighted that foreign-trained priests had a more spiritual approach.

Monsignor O'Loughlin said Westerners had a more logical outlook and tended to turn to the spiritual when they could not understand concepts in other ways.

He said the approach by African, Asian and Eastern European-trained priests was sometimes a "difficulty" but while it required adjustment, it was not a problem because overseas priests were an important addition and were welcomed by multicultural congregations.

Catherine Roatch, who saw the faith-healing service, said it appeared to be an attempted exorcism.

"He prayed in some gibberish and then started to demand that this girl speak as well as stand up," she said.

"The girl would not have even been able to comprehend, let alone follow instructions. It was very undignified for the young lady and she was just crying, howling at the altar.

"Then the priest just left her there and went back to the microphone and the wailing went on for at least 15 minutes.

"People were getting up and leaving. People were crying and they were angry. The children were terrified."

Ms Roatch claimed the girl's parents had put her on the altar but their support for the ritual was uncertain. They were later seen crying.

Monsignor O'Loughlin said exorcisms were a legitimate part of the Catholic religion but were not allowed in regular services and could only be performed by appointed priests.

While the Church did not condone the bizarre service, he said it was standing by the priest in his time of need, though he would not be allowed to give mass until he was better.


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My heart breaks for this poor child, her parents, this congregation and this priest. Whether this was an exorcism or not, it was a clearly abusive of an unwilling individual child, a sand bagged congregation and Catholicism's most sacred ritual.

Welcome to Benedict's and Pell's church, both of whom are promoting an army of exorcists. There will be more of this. Maybe not this egregious, but there will be more. The energy unleashed will harm more naive priests and more unsuspecting laity. Exorcism is not a game. It's not a spectator sport. It should never ever be used in this fashion.

Catholicism must not take it's spirituality on the path of the Evangelicals. It is truly dangerous for the unsuspecting, the untrained, and the mentally unstable or emotionally immature. In the hands of the untrained, it harms far more than it heals.

In spite of Msgr O'Loughlin's minimising assessment, this story is a major warning for other bishops in other dioceses. One they had best heed. Abuse of power doesn't only come in sexual forms.

Benedict's Not So Subtle Answer To Hans Kung's Call For Reform: Australia's Cardinal George Pell

Cardinal Pell in cappa magna. Jesus weeps.

The Bull in the "Bishops Shop"

Rocco Palma - Whispers in the Loggia - 0/5/2010

"He's a quintessential Australian," a friend of George Pell's once observed. "He loves to shock."Over the years, the Sydney cardinal's launched his unique, prolific brand of broadside on environmentalists, Islam, and the ecclesial and political Left... to name but a few. Yet soon, barring the unforeseen, a new target -- for "Big George," the biggest one yet -- appears set to present itself....The Global Bench, all 5,000 members of it.

Sure, the formal word might've been absent from this morning's dispatches. Lest anyone wasn't banking it before, however, you can bank it now -- early today, the leading Italian "court scribe," Il Giornale's Andrea Tornielli, blogged the following, here translated from the original:

In the last few days Benedict XVI again received in audience Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, making official his appointment as Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Pell subsequently had a long conversation with his predecessor, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. The announcement of the move will be given over the coming weeks, but before the first of summer.

Pell would be installed at the helm of the "bishop factory" for its return to full rhythm of its activity after the summer holidays. With the arrival of an Australian in the lead post of the key dicastery of the Roman Curia, that which deals which choosing bishops, Benedict XVI has completed one of the most important choices of his pontificate, one destined to shape the life of the global church for the next twenty years. It's true, in fact, that Pell isn't very young -- he'll be 70 years old in June 2011, and so has ahead of him no more than seven years -- but it's likewise true that the episcopal appointments that pass his sign-off before being placed before the pontiff will impact the life of the church for at least two decades. Papa Ratzinger yet again chooses from among the non-Italians for a key post of Curial governance, and from among the non-Italians who have no experience in the Curia (in the last 35 years, the Congregation for Bishops alternated between Italian and non-Italian heads -- from Baggio to Moreira Neves, from Gantin to Re -- but all had Curial experience). A choice certainly destined to renew and internationalize the Curia, and likewise to reinforce the hand of the Secretariat of State.

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If I had any doubts about whether the abuse crisis has impacted Benedict's reform of the reform agenda, I don't anymore. He is bound and determined to sail the Catholic Barque on his own personal (Opus Dei) theological course, and it doesn't matter if that course ends in it's sinking. In all likely hood he won't be around to go down with his barque.

Pell is up to his ears in Opus Dei and most other of Opus Dei's ancillary groups. Pell's impact on the Church in Australia has been like a bull and has left the Australian Church a trashed china shop. Attendance at Mass is less than 15% of Australia's Catholic population. The Church keeps on running in Australia because it is heavily subsidized by the government. It's revenue hardly reflects actual participation. This state of affiars, which is not unique to Australia, is one of the primary revenue sources the Vatican counts on to keep itself afloat as Catholics in developed countries leave the pews in record numbers. These government generated revenue sources are the wind which propels the Vatican barque. It's not the collection plate.

Pell was also the chairman of the Vox Clara commission which was responsible for the translation of the Mass which will soon be foisted on Catholic laity in English speaking countries. When asked in a recent interview if this translation was shoved down people's throat, Pell opined that it was passed by all English speaking national bishop synods, and was not a top down decision. This exemplifies Pell's notions of collegiality. Collegiality does not extend to the laity--unless those laity are uber conservative supporters of ecclesiastical and papal authority. He has demonstrated a perfect willingness to act on complaints of the "Temple police" because in Pell's mind laity make fine spies but that's the extent of lay input as far as the Church goes. In true Opus Dei fashion laity are most useful agitating for social engineering on conservative lines and making sure the government tax trough stays flowing to Church coffers. Those large donations from wealthy conservatives are nice, as are their insider stock trading secrets.

Any body who seriously thought Benedict cared about restoring church credibility to any other laity besides those who belong to Opus Dei, the Legionaires, the Neo Cats, or Communion and Liberation can now rest assured he doesn't. His agenda is now and always has been the promotion of theological fascism. He is interested in Catholic souls only if he can control Catholic minds. Pell will see to it that no bishop is given a mitre whose thinking isn't in line with Vatican control.

This may be the one decision Benedict will make which truly has the potential of provoking a schism. Opus Dei used to be described as a 'parallel Church'. Benedict is purposely turning it and it's clones into the Church. He is the one in schism.

On Cinco De Mayo One Uniform Approach Is About Solidarity With The Entire Hispanic Community

The Phoenix Suns are making one uniform statement, and a Catholic Hispanic group is opting for another uniform statement---and getting a great deal of Vatican support for their uniformity. In the first of two articles the formation of the Hispanic Catholic leadership group CALL is described. The second deals with it's open armed acceptance by the Vatican.

Catholic Latino leaders launch CALL in response to need for dialogue with bishops

Denver, Colo., Sep 10, 2007 / 03:18 pm (CNA).-

More that 30 Catholic Latino businessmen and professionals from around the country gathered this past weekend at the Archdiocese of Denver to announce the creation of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL.) The group was created after some of the US bishops identified the need for ongoing dialogue with Catholic Latino leaders.

Members of the new association gathered at Saint Malo retreat house at the invitation of Most Reverend José Gomez, Archbishop of San Antonio and with Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap, as their host.

The participants at the 3rd Catholic Latino Leadership Conference explained that the creation of CALL came as a response to some of the bishops asking for a dialogue with Catholic laity who are in the business and professional sectors. (I think I can name two of those bishops. I guess that equals 'some bishops'.

“Driven by our love for the Church and her mission, within the context of our culture, and in communion with the bishops,” the members of CALL committed themselves to being a national voice for Catholic, Latino business and professional leaders in the United States.

During the Conference, Archbishop Chaput spoke about the way that the American Catholic population is changing, saying, “the American landscape has changed.” “Demography is destiny. In the future, Hispanic Catholics will have a very serious influence on the direction of American society. And this is why I believe it’s time for Hispanics in general, and Hispanic leadership in particular, to take up the role that they deserve, and which they’ve earned, in the mission of the Church.” (This is in the mission of the Opus Dei Church.)

The mission of the new organization will be to impact the national dialogue and contribute to the mission of the Church by identifying initiatives important to the building up of the Catholic community and if appropriate, support them in accordance with the bishops. (Their mission is to support OD group think and take advantage of the available business opportunities. This was not a meeting for poor Hispanics or illegal immigrants.)

CALL will also support the implementation of the five priorities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Pastoral Plan for the next decade; namely, to restore and promote the sanctity of marriage and family; to educate and form people in the faith and the faithful celebration of the sacraments; to promote priestly and religious vocations; to promote the life and dignity of the human person; and to promote cultural diversity and Hispanic ministry. (If anyone wondered why the USCCB felt they could threaten Hispanic immigration reform over gay immigration, you now have the answer. Gays do not qualify as cultural diversity in the OD church.)

Archbishop Gomez said during his remarks that “we might be tempted on some level to feel that somehow we must prove that we are real Americans. We might feel subtle pressures to blend in, to assimilate, to downplay our heritage and our distinctive identities as Catholics and Hispanics.”

“I believe that in God’s plan –he added-, the new Hispanic presence is for the purpose of our country’s spiritual renewal. To restore the promise of America’s youth. The noble ideals of our country’s beginnings. In this renewed encounter with Hispanic faith and culture, I believe God wants America to rediscover values it has lost sight of—the importance of religion, family, friendship, community, and the culture of life.” (In this view, restoring the noble ideas of America's beginning means taking away the constitutional rights from targeted groups, or establishing a faux Catholic Hispanic identity on the backs of others. This is neither the Christian Ideal nor the American Ideal, but it closely parallels the largest group of Hispanic Evangelicals led by Rev. Samuel Rodriquez, who is the self anointed leader of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.)

“So I urge you friends: Do not forget where you came from or who you are! Do not forget Jesus. Do not forget the Church,” Archbishop Gomez concluded.

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The above article is from September 2007. Two and one half years late CALL has achieved a remarkable level of success. So much so in fact, they are the first lay group ever to have this kind of Vatican access:

US Catholic Latino leaders meet with Vatican officials, discuss ‘Hispanic reality’

Vatican City, May 5, 2010 / 04:12 am (CNA/EWTN News).-

During the week after Easter, members of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) held a series of meetings at the Vatican with various officials of the Roman Curia. The effort was intended to start a discussion about Hispanic Catholic influence in the United States and in the U.S. Church.

Reporting on the event in a May 1 newsletter, CALL described itself as the only national lay Catholic Hispanic leadership organization in the country. The organization was founded by Archbishop José Gomez, who was recently appointed co-adjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

CALL explained that its “Vatican Forum” involved meetings with seven pontifical councils. Its 24-member delegation met with representatives from the Secretariat of State and from the Pontifical Councils for the Laity, for Justice and Peace, for Immigration and for Communications. They also met with members of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the Bishops' Synod and the Congregation of Bishops.

Mario Paredes, CALL chairman, said the purpose of the meetings was “to bring the Hispanic reality to the table in Rome.”

According to the group, there are an estimated 47 million Hispanics in the U.S. and another 12 million who are undocumented. Thirty-five percent of Catholics in the U.S. are of Latino heritage.

Board members Dr. Christine Johnson and Tom Espinoza served as spokespersons for the delegation. During their meetings Johnson presented statistics and demographic presentations about the growing Latino influence in the U.S., its economy, and the Catholic Church.

Espinoza discussed how the Church should translate that data into a relevant pastoral response including Church leadership appointments. (In this 2008 CNA article, Archbishop Chaput lays out the Irish strategy in a speech to the CALL convention. Sort of a take back your Church and country from the Irish strategy---beat them at their own game. I didn't know games and political strategies were part of Jesus's Way. I guess Chaput want's me to believe they are though.)

The delegation also met with the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr. Miguel Diaz. He shared his perspectives as a theologian and as a U.S. government representative. After the meeting, CALL hosted a special dinner in honor of the Ambassador, with invited members of the Roman Curia in attendance.

During their visit the delegation stayed at the Cardinals’ House of the Conclave, known as Domus Sanctae Marthae (St. Martha’s House), which is immediately adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica.
CALL said its message for the meetings included an affirmation of support for the Church and her bishops. The delegation did not meet with Pope Benedict XVI, but it delivered a personal message to him of gratitude and support.

“The visit to the Worldwide Headquarters of the Catholic Church has been a rewarding spiritual experience,” Paredes commented. “With our high level of contact and dialogues, we have been able to learn first-hand the work that the Church is doing around the world, and specifically, in the United States.” (Which Church? The universal Catholic one, or the global OD one?)

Vatican officials reportedly reacted to the meetings by saying they were encouraged and impressed that a lay group would travel to Rome to deliver their message on behalf of the Catholic Church in the U.S. They complimented the group for “taking ownership” of the life of the Church, in service to the realization that the laity are the Church.

Officials also encouraged members of the CALL delegation to contact their respective bishops to express their support and fidelity.

CALL claimed the meetings were “historic” on several levels, noting that the leadership of important Vatican dicasteries traditionally only meets with bishops.

Archbishop Gomez, who serves as CALL’s episcopal moderator, had planned to join the group at the Vatican, but the event conflicted with the announcement of his appointment to Los Angeles.

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It's so disheartening to me to understand that our radically conservative Opus Dei influenced bishops are willing to use a divide and conquer strategy with in the Hispanic community itself. If anyone wondered why the Legion was allowed to continue, and that that continuance was based on it's contacts with money--especially Hispanic money--the formation of CALL should serve as evidence. CALL is not a lay association of illegal immigrants, single parent families, or poor Hispanics. I'm sure these business and professional leaders made many fruitful contacts in Rome, and I'm also sure they received marching orders concerning gay marriage and abortion rights.

The Vatican is sending all kinds of signals that under this Pope there will be no dialogue with progressive Catholics of any nationality or culture. Benedict will only do so much filth cleaning. He will throw some Armor All at the most egregious surface spots, but leave the core of the filth untouched. Kind of like waxing over a completely rusted out, burned out, old car. Don't be surprised if the delegate to the Legion is a member or associate of Opus Dei or a Legionaire raised to the episcopacy.

I really hope and pray that CALL isn't willing to let the USCCB undercut immigration reform for millions of Hispanics because the legislation might make room for 30,000 or so gay families, some of whom are Hispanic. I think however, that this is exactly one reason this group has enjoyed such success with the Vatican in such a short space of time.

On a more positive Cinco De Mayo note, the Phoenix Suns NBA team will be making a uniform statement of solidarity with the Arizona Hispanic population during tonight's NBA play off game with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs too, would have made the same uniform statement, but they couldn't get the logo work done in time.

TAC Bishops Are Beginning To Think The Grass May Not Be GREENER On The Other Side Of The Tiber

It maybe the thought of giving up the 'Old Vicarage' is too much for Traditional Anglican clergy.

Thousands of Anglican churchgoers could cross over to Rome with Bishops.

By Martin Beckford - Telegraph .co.uk - 05/03/2010

Thousands of Anglican parishioners could convert to Catholicism after three leading traditionalist bishops told the Vatican they were ready to cross over to Rome.

Churchgoers in almost 300 parishes that disapprove of women priests may take advantage of Pope Benedict XVI’s offer to change denomination if their “flying bishops” lead the way.
However the Church of England is expected to make a last-ditch attempt to stop the disillusioned groups leaving, by offering them concessions over the introduction of female bishops. (Given today's climate in Catholicism this is kind of funny. The one thing we can say with certainty about sexually abusing priests is they were all male.)

As The Sunday Telegraph disclosed, the bishops of Fulham, Richborough and Ebbsfleet held a secret meeting with papal advisers last week to discuss plans for Anglicans to convert to the Roman Catholic Church en masse. (Secret meetings seem to be the one thing the Vatican does most. I would say does best, except they never stay secret and the Vatican never learns.)

At least one key member of the English Catholic church’s commission on the Anglican Ordinariate – the Pope’s move to allow Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Holy See while retaining some of their spiritual heritage – was in Rome at the same time.

The Church of England clergy who held talks with members of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are “flying bishops”, who provide “episcopal oversight” to parishes that cannot accept women priests.

If they cross the Tiber and the move is seen as successful, their parishioners are expected to follow suit eventually as it is not clear that the "flying bishops" would be replaced. There are 268 parishes under the care of the three bishops, with an average 50 lay members in each as well as hundreds of priests.

A leading Anglo-Catholic said: “If it all comes off, it will start off small but grow. On day one 30 or 40 priests will leave with some of their people. They’re the brave ones who set off into the unknown.” (It's more likely that these priests are the ones who are most assured they will take enough of their parish to support them in their accustomed manner. Hardly bravery.)

Anglican clergy who resign their priestly orders, even those who are married, could become Catholic priests under the terms of the unprecedented “poaching” offer made last year. (No, officially this is a generous ecumenical move.)

However not all of the traditionalists in the Church of England will cross over, as some will feel unable to accept the more rigid structure of the Catholic church or the power of the Pope.
In addition, many may be persuaded to stay in July when the General Synod, the Church of England’s governing body, holds a critical meeting to decide how to make the historic step of ordaining women bishops.

Detailed plans – due to be published this month – are unlikely to include substantial provisions for traditionalists who oppose female leadership in the church but Synod could alter the plans in order to prevent an exodus of Anglo-Catholics. (What the Synod has to decide is who is really using who in this situation in order to score points.)

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Here's an excerpt from an article on the Times Online which truthfully states where the rubber will meet the road on the issue of Anglican clergy transferring to Rome:

The number who leave is not expected to be as great as had been feared. A recent conference at Pusey House, Oxford, on the Pope’s offer, regarded as “sheep-stealing” by some Anglicans, was told that traditionalists who sought communion with Rome were as likely to choose the usual route of full conversion as go to the Ordinariate.

The Rev Philip North, Team Rector of Old St Pancras, London, told the conference that the opportunities for mission would be reduced in the Ordinariate because “we have the furniture of the Church of England”, which occupied a legal and cultural role. (literally)

This was part of the nation’s self-understanding, responsible for whole communities.
According to the Church Times, clergy in the Ordinariate would have to be in secular employment because the Roman Catholic Church could not raise the money — £64,000 in the case of Father North in London — to keep them in a house and stipend. Father North said that the Ordinariate could become irrelevant: “If we reach a point where staying is not an option, then traditional conversion is far more likely to offer the kind of enrichment and ministry that we know now.” (Which means they will then be able to take over existing Catholic parishes with their rectories rather than rely on Traditional Anglicans to foot their bill.)

The success of the Ordinariate will depend on what happens as the legislation is debated and amended. Key to the process will be the code of practice to cater for opponents to women bishops. It will be voluntary but will have considerable “moral” force. (I suspect the key will be where the real estate option is better.)

Although it will not go as far as many want, a code of practice is likely to keep most Anglo-Catholics within the Church of England, given that if they left they would have to find secular employment to give them an income, as well as find a home for themselves, and their family if married.

Many Anglo-Catholics minister in areas of London such as Fulham and Kensington where property prices are high. At present they enjoy large vicarages and rectories, courtesy of the established Church. (so much for giving up all to follow their Lord and defend their version of the Apostolic tradition.)

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I wish Rowan Williams would come out and say these so called Traditional Anglican bishops are as morally bankrupt as he said of their Irish Catholic counterparts. He could also point out the Vatican has been as morally bankrupt in their ecumenical opportunism, but of course he won't.

That's the nice thing about blogging from the margins with no real power. I have the freedom to call a spade a spade. This is starting to look more like a bunch of spiritually stagnant misogynists throwing a temper tantrum. When it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, compromise will be the better option than moral certitude. I'm sure we will be made to understand it's about supporting their dependent wives and children and that's the greater moral good.

My retort to that bit of moral reasoning is if your theology didn't make your wives so damn dependent you wouldn't have to compromise your 'moral' stance. OR.....is this really as much about losing your episcopal independence to Rome as it is your housing?

Celibacy, Elitism, And The Hoover FBI

In spite of his own PR, Hoover was not the reincarnation of St. Michael. In truth, he was much more in line with Marcial Maciel. This is a very good obituary giving a balanced over view of Hoover's style. I'm sure Legionaire's will see parallels. Since this was written in 1972, Hoover's relationship with Clyde Tolson is given a generous and deceptive spin.

The following short excerpt from an article by Angela Bonavoglia on Huffington Post, perfectly describes what is truly corrupt about the actual implementation of the doctrine of celibacy. Any system which mandates immoral behavior by it's practitioners to justify and protect the legitimacy of a doctrine is manifestly an illegitimate doctrine.

In other words, by forbidding priests who choose to be sexual in mature ways that include commitment, responsibility and respect, and by protecting them from the costs of their sexual exploits, the church has effectively condoned a clerical sexual free-for-all. That heterosexual and homosexual behavior may thrive in the Catholic priesthood does not reflect anything inherent about homosexuality or heterosexuality but is rather an indictment of the hypocrisy and duplicity of an elite, closed, all-male system, that condones, indeed, demands, lying about the reality of one's sexual life at all costs.

Off hand I can't think of another institution that has allowed it's male members to get away with the amount of sexual exploitation the Roman Catholic Church has in order to maintain the ideal of it's celibate priesthood and protect the laity from scandal. It's pretty obvious to me at least, that if there wasn't this ideal, there wouldn't be any scandal from which to protect the laity. There also wouldn't be any open door for extortion and black mail and no reason to cover up for sociopathic monsters like Marcial Maciel.

I often wonder if the illusion of celibacy is so vigorously maintained because there are other forces at work in insisting it be maintained. This is kind of along the lines of those who maintain there used to be a preferential option in Intelligence circles for gay men because blackmail or the threat of exposure could keep them in line.

J. Edgar Hoover made a career out of keeping files on people and threatening them with exposure for exactly these reasons. He took great power from this knowledge and used it with a vengeance to get his way. Like Maciel with the Legion of Christ, Hoover took advantage of many well meaning, good foot soldiers who had no idea of what exactly they were enabling in their cultic leader. Additionally, Hoover was another cultic leader who had his own hidden secret double life and who managed to last in the heart of American democracy as long as Maciel lasted in the heart of Roman Catholicism.

The sexual revolution changed the parameters not so much of actual sexual behavior, but of it's transparency and acceptance. When society is no longer appalled by the exposure of sexual activity and more importantly, feels much freer in exposing it's abuses, sex no longer serves as a reliable avenue for exploitation and blackmail, or as a titillating reward. Hoover's version of the FBI, and the power he derived from it fell partly because it's power was castrated by the openness of the sexual revolution. His secrets files no longer held much real value.

The Vatican might derive some insight from studying the rise and fall of J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI. In promoting the leaner and meaner version of Catholic identity, coupled with it's insistence on maintaining the fiction of an entirely celibate priesthood, the Vatican is also promoting spiritual arrogance/elitism while leaving itself wide open to the kind of exploitation Maciel was so successful at. Hoover promoted the same notions of elitism in the FBI and American democracy paid for it.

I know that spiritual elitism sells well to the financially and culturally elite. So did Maciel. Opus Dei's St. Escriva wasn't satisfied with campaigning for his own sainthood. He also had to procure his own Spanish title of nobility which he then passed on to his younger brother, but his creds as Spanish nobility had been established. He was one of the real elite of European elite. For some reason this mattered a great deal to him, but for the rank and file he presented himself as the lowly donkey for Christ----right, and Hoover was the reincarnation of St. Michael.

I have a somewhat cynical friend who maintains the bogus sexual purity of the Catholic priesthood sells because it guarantees the Vatican can't compete on familial lines with the money it generates. Important donors know they are not supporting a competing family interest, unlike that which happened during the delightful reigns of the Medici and Borgia papacies. Now the wealthy know they are supporting an enabling institution in which their own family members can heavily influence the Vatican either by their largess, or by their sons active participation. This might not be a true hypothesis, but it's certainly a possible hypothesis.

In the meantime, the sexual activities of supposed celibate clerics offer fruit for the picking for those whose intent is hardly the salvation of Catholic souls. There's a reason the Legion felt it was necessary to have an exorcist in the room when Maciel died. The Vatican has not dealt with this particular manifestation of the smoke of Satan and they won't until they stop enabling secretive conservative cults who preach a form of Catholic elitism and rescind the doctrine of mandatory celibacy which promotes the fallacy of sexual elitism.

The Legion Survives

COMMUNIQUE OF THE HOLY SEE CONCERNING THE LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST

National Catholic Reporter - John Allen - 05/01/2010

1. From April 30 to May 1, the Cardinal Secretary of State presided over a meeting in the Vatican with the five bishops who had been charged with carrying out the Apostolic Visitation of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ (Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Valladolid, Spain; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, Colorado; Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Concepción, Chile; Bishop Giuseppe Versaldi of Alessandria, Italy; and Bishop Ricardo Watty Urquidi of Tepic, Mexico). The prefects of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and the substitute for General Affairs of the Secretary of State, also took part in the meeting. (These would be Cardinals Levada, Rode, and Bertone.)

One of the sessions took place in the presence of the Holy Father, to whom the Visitors presented a synthesis of their presentations, which had already been sent in.

In the course of those visits, more than 1,000 Legionaries were met, and hundreds of written testimonies were evaluated. The Visitors went to virtually all the religious houses and many of the apostolic works directed by the congregation. They listened, either in person or in written form, to the judgments of many diocesan bishops in countries in which the congregation works. The Visitors also met numerous members of the “Regnum Christi” movement, even though it was not the object of the visit, in particular consecrated men and women. They also received considerable correspondence from laity involved in the movement and from the families of members.

The five Visitors testified to the sincere welcome they received, and the spirit of active cooperation demonstrated by the congregation and by the individual religious. Although the Visitors acted independently, they arrived at an amply convergent evaluation and a shared judgment. They attested that they had met a great number of exemplary, honest religious, full of talent, many of them young, who seek Christ with authentic zeal and who offer the whole of their existence for the diffusion of the Kingdom of God.

2. The Apostolic Visit was able to determine that the conduct of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado has caused serious consequences in the life and the structure of the Legion, which requires a path of profound revision. (but not suppression or disbanding)

The extremely grave and objectively immoral behavior of Fr. Maciel, which has been confirmed by irrefutable testimony, takes the form of true crimes and demonstrates a private life without scruples or authentic religious sentiment. That life was hidden from the great majority of Legionaries, above all because of a system of relationships constructed by Fr. Maciel, who was adept at creating alibis for himself and winning the trust, confidence and silence of those around him, reinforcing his role as a charismatic founder. (He was pretty good at greasing palms too.)

By discrediting and pushing away those who doubted the correctness of his behavior, as well as through a mistaken desire not to undercut the good the Legion was doing, they created a mechanism of defense around [Maciel] that made him immune to attack for a long time, consequently making an awareness of his real life extremely difficult. (One would hope something will be done with whom ever 'they' turn out to be.)

3. The sincere zeal of the majority of the Legionaries, which also emerged during the visits to the houses of the congregation and their many works, which are widely appreciated, caused many in the past to believe that the accusations – which gradually became more insistent, surfacing here and there – could only be calumnies. (This is an interesting sentence, since the allegations went on for over forty years, but then so did the hush money.)

For that reason, the discovery and realization of the truth about the founder has provoked among the members of the Legion surprise, upset, and profound sorrow, which were distinctly manifested to the Visitors.

4. From the results of the Apostolic Visit, the following points, among others, have emerged with clarity:

a) The necessity to redefine the charism of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, preserving the true nucleus, that of being a “Militia Christi,” which distinguishes the apostolic and missionary action of the Church, and which is not identified with efficiency at any cost. (Which I guess means they can still go full bore bilking people of money. They just have to be less frenetic about it.)

b) The necessity to review the exercise of authority, which must be connected to truth, in order to respect conscience and to develop it in light of the Gospel as authentic ecclesial service; (Which I guess means they can still go full bore bilking people of money, they just can't lie as much. Also, they can keep sending 'gifts' to Cardinals but maybe now they have to be checks.)

c) The necessity to preserve the enthusiasm of the faith of the young, the missionary zeal, the apostolic dynamism, through an adequate formation. In fact, delusion about the founder could call into question the vocation, and that nucleus of a charism, which belongs to the Legionaries of Christ and is rightfully theirs. (I guess this means they can continue to recruit new cult members, they just can't be quite as cultic about it.)

5. The Holy Father wants to reassure all the Legionaries and the members of the “Regnum Christi” movement that they will not be left alone: The Church has a firm determination to accompany them, and to help them in the path of purification which awaits them. This path also implies a sincere encounter with all those, inside and outside of the Legion, who have been victims of sexual abuse and of the system of power put in place by the founder. The thoughts and prayers of the Holy Father are with these victims right now, together with gratitude for all those who, despite great difficulties, had the courage and the steadfastness to insist upon the truth. (And some of those accompanying you will still have their hand out and still accept your envelopes, and we will just ignore the fact the vicitms needed great steadfastness because the Legion spent years vilifieing them and Ratzinger caved into JPII and the Sodano et al, there by making that villification last another eight years.)

6. The Holy Father, in thanking the Visitors for the delicate work they performed with competence, generosity and deep pastoral sensitivity, has taken it upon himself to indicate very soon the form this “accompanying” will take, beginning with the appointment of a Delegate and a commission of study of the order’s constitution.

For the consecrated members of the “Regnum Christi” movement, who insistently asked for it, the Holy Father will send a Visitor.

7. Finally, the Holy Father renews his encouragement for all the Legionaries of Christ, their families, and the laity involved in the “Regnum Christi” movement, in this difficult moment for the Congregation and for each of them. He exhorts them to not lose sight that their vocation – which comes from the call of Christ, and which is animated by the ideal of giving witness of his love to the world – is an authentic gift of God, a richness for the Church, and is the indestructible foundation upon which to build their personal future and that of the Legion. (And we will ignore the fact that this vocation doesn't need to be lived out through the Legion.)

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I admit it. My cynicism meter is pegged. No mention of financial hanky panky, gift giving, or bribery. No mention of certain highly placed members of the Vatican who were actively complicit in Maciel's little schemes. No suppression, no disbanding, just BUSINESS as usual with some tweaks. Like Goldman Sachs, the Legion is too big to fail. Probably for the same reasons.

They do get their constitution studied, which might imply changes, but doesn't have to mean that. They get a Papal delegate for an indeterminate amount of time. The RC gets a Visitor because they asked for it, and the Legion has to apologize to all the victims they treated like traitorous dirt---but the show goes on.

The LCWR should be so lucky, but then their problem is their thinking, not their criminal behavior. They will not be so lucky.

THe USCCB Is At It Again--This Time It's Gays And Immigration Reform

According to the USCCB immigration reform must not include gay families

Catholic bishops strongly oppose 'marriage-like' immigration benefits prop

Washington D.C., Apr 30, 2010 / 09:03 pm (CNA).-

The U.S. Senate’s introduction of a proposed framework on immigration reform is “an important first step” towards a comprehensive measure, the U.S. bishops have said. They urged bipartisan legislation which “affirms the rule of law and basic human rights,” but also said they “strongly oppose” the idea of extending “marriage-like” immigration benefits to same-sex relationships. (In my mind, these guys are so bought and so compromised.)

The framework, developed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York), has been endorsed by the Senate leadership, a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports.

Bishop of Salt Lake City John C. Wester, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, spoke on behalf of the bishops with a Thursday statement endorsing the effort. (This choice of speaker has to be a message to the Mormon bros.)

He explained that the bishops support the “general direction” of the framework, including a legalization of the undocumented and improvements to the United States’ employment and family-based immigration systems.

However, he said the bishops “strongly oppose” the proposal to extend “marriage-like” immigration benefits to same-sex relationships. The proposal threatens to undermine the chance to create a “common solution” to immigration reform. (The price for the common solution is gay bashing. Hopefully Hispanics can see they are the new 'gay' for political gain in 2010 and not be diverted by the 'ostensible' support of the USCCB.)

The bishop also voiced concerns about the increases in law enforcement resources. He claimed that the U.S. has poured “billions of dollars” into immigration enforcement over recent years, arguing that this has not solved the problem but has led to the abuse of immigrants in some cases. (It's also led to the abuses of American citizens.)

Bishop Wester pledged support for the inclusion of provisions that address the factors that compel migrants to come to the United States, such as a lack of economic development. This would help prospective migrants “remain in their countries and support their families in dignity.” (Why don't you advocate for white Catholics and Mormons to pick tomatoes as an efficacious penitential practice which would serve the common good?)

“We call for a robust but civil debate. This issue can no longer wait and should not be politicized or held hostage to ideology. Our immigration system is badly broken and is in need of immediate repair,” his statement concluded. (I guess it's OK when the USCCB does it, it's not OK for anyone else.)

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I'll give the USCCB this much credit, they are so totally predictable. It's hard for me imagine Hispanic Catholics would work against their own dignity in order to stop the 'potential' for gays to bring their partners into the US. I certainly think Hispanics are astute enough to see that this is strictly a political move to shore up the Republican (cultural conservatives) party at their expense. This is exactly the same strategy the USCCB used in it's attempt to block universal health care because of the 'potential' for federal tax support of abortion.

It's amazing how those two cultural issues of gay marriage and abortion can be stretched to block important Democratic legislative initiatives. Where was all this USCCB advocacy when Bush was in office signing executive legislation to use embryonic stem cells or extolling the virtues of torture or committing US troops to a war of aggression? A war which prompted the military to ask Congress for a bill that would grant citizenship to illegals if they joined the Army--as long as they weren't gay I guess. Perhaps joining the military and fighting in US wars is the preferred strategy for becoming citizens. The article in the link states that recruitment of illegals could fill all yearly military recruitment needs. Of course those 'potential' numbers would be severely impacted if illegals were given other ways of becoming US citizens.

Yesterday I wrote about the control of thinking as being the fundamental issue for the Roman Catholic hierarchy. The USCCB is betting that their control of Hispanic thinking will propel Hispanics into voting against their own interests, their own families, to defend those defenseless families from gay immigrants. Somehow I don't think Hispanics are that thought controlled.