This July 4, 2005 column by Fr. Richard McBrien ran in the Catholic Herald of July 7th. His subject is how to properly determine who is on the right, center and left in the Church. Summing up, he says
Catholics of the center-left and the center-right differ only on the pace of change and the details of implementation. The center-left, for example, favors a much quicker time-line for a change in the discipline of clerical celibacy and in the Church's official stance on the ordination of women.
When Fr. David Cooper, pastor of St. Matthias Church, allowed a prayer service for women's ordination there, Archbishop Dolan was reportedly upset. His spokesman said,
"The archbishop expressed his surprise and disappointment that an organization in direct opposition to the defined teaching of the church would be welcome at one of our parishes. He (later) noted his disapproval of what was reported to have gone on at the service."
Fr. Cooper was forced to apologize.
As I noted, Fr. Cooper still publicly supports the ordination of women. He says he apologized only to keep his job. So it appears Archbishop Dolan does not demand religious assent to Church teaching of our priests, or even the outward appearance of such assent. All that is required is that their support for dissent be kept out of the papers.
It does seem inconsistent for him to require even that of our priests and yet also publish Fr. McBrien's support for dissent in the Catholic Herald.
This inconsistency is actually consistent, in its own way.
ReplyDelete"Keep it out of the papers" has been a VERY consistent tactic of US Bishops for a long, long time.
Keating's very public resignation from the "Homo Problem" committee is related to this, too.
The old fogies in this archdiocese would have a fit if the Mc Brien column wasn't in the Herald. Archbishop Dolan is not in the position to alienate them, especially when so many are so poorly educated in the Catholic faith. Too many people have been tricked.
ReplyDeleteLike as not, Archbioshop Dolan is constantly peeved by the presence of the notorious Mc Brien in his archdiocesian paper, but has his hands full with the silly antics of his hippie priests.
A friend of mine told a solicitor for the Catholic Herald that she would be willing to subscribe the minute the Mc Brien column is removed for good. The solicitor sighed and says she hears that all the time...
On the other hand, my mother in law, a parishoner at St Martin of Tours, says all her buddies (aged 70 plus)love Mc Brien and hate Weigel. She doesn't know what to think.
I am one of the younger fogies when I visit a VOTF meeting.
ReplyDelete