Under Pope Francis, Cardinal Cupich took it upon himself to be the Cardinal-face of the American Hierarchy touting all that Pope Francis wanted and more.
I could be wrong, so please correct me, but I think Cardinal Cupich went directly to the pope, bypassing the then Prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, Robert Cardinal Prevost, to get the Bishop of San Diego, also a Cardinal, not his Metropolitan, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, named the Cardinal-Archbishop of Washington, DC.
Just as Pope Francis caused polarization in the Universal Church, Cardinal Cupich, backed by Pope Francis, caused polarization in the American Hierarchy.
Well, Cardinal Cupich is still causing polarization in the American Hierarchy, but it appears that bishops are quite willing to speak out against what Cardinal Cupich is doing, which may not have happened under Pope Francis.
There’s a new sheriff in town, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and other bishops, not aligned with Cardinal Cupich, are speaking up boldly, with Parrhesia.
Here is a list of bishops now opposing Cardinal Cupich’s Twlight Zonish, or is it, Cupich Zonish, honoring of pro-abortion “Catholic” Senator Durbin:
Archbishop Salvatore Cordilione of San Francisco, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, IL, Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico, and Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, as well as Bishop Joseph Strickland of no diocese, have also joined the pushback against Cupich’s plan to award the radically pro-abortion senator.
18 comments:
With Father McDonald's permission:
In regard to Blase Cardinal Cupich’s decision to honor Senator Dick Durbin with a lifetime achievement award: In charitable, thoughtful fashion, Mike Lewis has disagreed with Cardinal Cupich.
https://wherepeteris.com/a-consistent-ethic-of-life-must-be-consistent/
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Excerpts:
"When Cardinal Joseph Bernardin first articulated the “consistent ethic of life” nearly forty years ago, he was trying to help Catholics see the interconnectedness of the Church’s defense of the human dignity of all persons.
"Whether confronting abortion, euthanasia, unjust war, or mistreatment of immigrants and refugees, the consistent ethic of life (also known as the seamless garment) holds all life issues together under the conviction that every person is created in the image of God.
"For such a vision to have moral credibility, however, consistency is not optional.
"This is why Cardinal Blase Cupich’s decision to honor Senator Dick Durbin in November with a lifetime achievement award...is imprudent."
"Durbin has been a leading defender of the rights of migrants...But by recognizing him in such a public way, the cardinal risks undermining the very consistency that the seamless garment requires."
"Durbin began his political career as a strong defender of unborn life. For example, in 1982, Durbin served as master of ceremonies at a Right to Life event at the Capital Rotunda in Springfield, Illinois.
"In a 2005 interview with Tim Russert on Meet the Press, Durbin said that the issue of abortion was “a struggle for me. It still is. I’m opposed to abortion."
"If any woman in my family said she was seeking abortion, I’d go out of my way to try to dissuade them from making that decision.”
"But he added, “I finally came to the conclusion that we really have to try to honor the Roe vs. Wade thinking, that there are certain times in the life of a woman that she needs to make that decision with her doctor, with her family and with her conscience and that the government shouldn’t be intruding.”
"In 2023, he tweeted, “Abortion is a fundamental right.”
"This doesn’t erase the good Senator Durbin has done on behalf of migrants, but it does create a jarring dissonance: the very figure being celebrated for defending life in one area has consistently worked against life in another.
"The optics alone hand ammunition to critics who have long claimed that “consistent ethic” Catholics treat abortion as negotiable, as though it were just one item on a long menu of social concerns.
"To present him with a lifetime achievement award from the Archdiocese of Chicago, no matter how narrowly framed, risks sending the message that the Church is willing to minimize the moral weight of abortion when political allies excel on other life issues."
"I want to state clearly that I believe Cardinal Cupich truly does uphold the sanctity of unborn life. His record demonstrates this clearly."
"Many are using Durbin’s award as an opportunity to attack Cardinal Cupich as a bishop and as a person. These attacks are unjustified, and many of his critics don’t have a leg to stand on, frankly."
"Yet his decision to honor Senator Durbin creates the appearance of partisanship, an impression that the consistent ethic of life is only a rhetorical shield for one side of the political aisle.
"Critics have been quick to pounce. It should be noted that some of the loudest voices — such as Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco — are hardly models of consistency themselves.
"Both have been appointed as advisors in the administration of President Donald Trump, a man whose policies and rhetoric trample the dignity of migrants, the poor, and his political opponents.
"The selective outrage expressed by Cupich’s critics betrays a partisan double standard. Yet their hypocrisy does not nullify Cupich’s error in judgement."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
This may answer your question, Father.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LfaVbDugs8
Oh my, MT! Now you are accusing the bishops confronting Cardinal Cupich with Pope Francis’ encouraged parrashia, to be attacking him and thus you attack Pope Francis’ concept of parrashia! YIKES! Good for you. But, but, but, Cardinal Cupich must be called on the carpet by his American brother bishops and God willing the papal nuncio and even Pope Leo. He, Cardinal Cupich, has undermined the seamless garment of his predecessor Cardinal Bernadine and confirmed the fears of those who disagreed with parrahia Bernadine’s seamless garment for watering down the foundation of all pro-life teachings and making all equal.
Next, you will complement Mussolini for all the good things he did for Italians, not the least, getting trains to run on time. We’ll just ignore his fascism and alignment with Hitler and give him an award for concern for the poor. He helped my mother too, when Mussolini assisted in evacuating Livorno of all civilians due to its heavy bombing. That deserves an award from Cupich!
Certain folks have long defamed Blase Cardinal Cupich. Said folks have portrayed Cardinal Cupich as a modernist...a vile anti-Catholic who has delighted in having trampled Church teachings.
Conversely, Pope Leo XIV has honored, via the following wonderful letter, Cardinal Cupich as a holy man of God:
https://x.com/mfjlewis/status/1971400403507110100/photo/1
Pax.
Mark Thomas
In regard to the Cardinal Cupich/Senator Durbin award "controversy":
Mike Lewis has in charitable, thoughtful fashion, joined the microscopic amount of bishops who have opposed publicly Blase Cardinal Cupich's decision in question.
Perhaps additional bishops will oppose publicly Cardinal Cupich's plan to honor via an award Senator Durbin's work on behalf of immigrants.
But I believe that the best way to call upon Cardinal Cupich to change his mind is via Mike Lewis' charitable, thoughtful approach.
Whether Mike Lewis is correct that it is "imprudent" to bestow an award upon Senator Durbin constitutes a different matter.
But in regard to Cardinal Cupich: Even if one should oppose him, let us recall that the Cardinal is a child of God. Cardinal Cupich is our brother in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, any attempt to offer fraternal correction to Cardinal Cupich should be tendered in charitable, rational fashion.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father McDonald, I appreciate, as well as thank you, for having replied to my comments in question.
Father, you said..."He, Cardinal Cupich, has undermined the seamless garment of his predecessor Cardinal Bernadine..."
You, as well as Mike Lewis, agree in regard to the above.
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Father McDonald said..."But, but, but, Cardinal Cupich must be called on the carpet by his American brother bishops and God willing the papal nuncio and even Pope Leo."
There is a way to call Cardinal Cupich "on the carpet" in the charitable sense.
In regard to error, Pope Saint John XXIII declared that in the past, the Church has "condemned them with the greatest severity. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity."
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What if Pope Leo XIV does not call Cardinal Cupich "on the carpet"? Would His Holiness then share in Cardinal Cupich's supposed disgraceful decision to honor Senator Durbin via the award in question?
Pax.
Mark Thomas
https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/lakeland-popes-term-limits-francis-benedict-sex-abuse-Shenon
The case for term limits for popes. The author argues that such would allow election of younger popes and that the mistakes of the ast seven popes would have been avoided. Interesting but ain’t going to happen!
Sophia here: I hardly think so Fr. McDonald ! Not so far anyway! However despite all the evidence, I continue to pray most fervently and hope most committedly that Pope Leo XlV will respond to the phenomenal Graces which accompany the Office of the Papacy and respond to the Office as a different person than he was even as Cardinal when he was so aligned with Pope Francis’ and a plurality of prelates’ way of thinking but rather as the Vicar of Christ on earth! Cardinal Cupich himself was interviewed by America’s ( the publication) Vatican correspondent ( Gerard O’Connell ) because he was from Chicago! He stated that he had known Cardinal Prevost for 6 years when he was named to the Dicastery of Bishops, and they worked closely together because Cardinal Cupich was already a member and then even more closely in the last 2 years after Cardinal Prevost was named Prefect. When he was asked why Cardinal Prevost was elected Pope, Cardinal Cupich mentioned a few other qualities then added “ But it was also very clear that we wanted somebody who was going to continue the work of Pope Francis. There was no interest at all in diverting attention away from that or moving in a different direction. There was a real fondness for Pope Francis ( my response - no kidding, he had promoted the majority of them! ) that people carried into our discussions.”
Pope Leo, Pope Francis ( RIP ) and Cardinal Cupich all “sing from the same sheet of music”, they just have different personalities- with Pope Francis being the crudest of the 3!
Sophia here: In his World Over episode on 9/25, Raymond Arroyo interviewed Bishop Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois where Senator Durbin has his home, about his objection to Senator Durbin’s receiving this prestigious award, which Cardinal Cupich is adamantly insisting on giving him despite his public, blatantly extreme abortion stance, and despite the fact that the majority of the USCCB has declared it to be the the preeminent life issue! Obviously this is also supported by Logic, Theology and Natural Law! Cardinal Cupich -as so many others in the Clergy including at the highest levels and a multitude of the laity -insidiously misuses Cardinal Bernadin’s “ consistent ethic of life” / “ seamless garment” analogy to justify doing this, because Senator Durbin has supported and promoted causes which he likes! As Bishop Paprocki points out, even Cardinal Bernardin himself strongly repudiated the disingenuous, patently absurd ( my descriptors) notion that he could have meant that! That didn’t prevent those who wanted to support the “ party of death “ - as Cardinal Burke for obvious reasons, so aptly named the Democrat Party - from continuing to use it to do so! The USCCB met to decide whether to deny Holy Communion to President Joe Biden, Speaker Pelosi and the many other pro- abortion Catholic Democrats because to allow this to continue was to not only contradict Canon Law 915, but also to jeopardize the politicians’ souls as St Paul so vehemently declares ( 1 Corinthians 11:29) and to give public scandal! Unfortunately they punted and agreed to leave the matter up to their individual Bishops !This of course led to chaos- with Archbishop Cordeleone refusing Pelosi Communion in his Diocese but her being allowed to receive in the Washington Diocese, and Durbin who had been denied in the Springfield Diocese for many years, receiving Holy Communion in Cardinal Cupich’s Chicago Diocese, and obviously in Washington DC! Ditto for President Biden in both Washington DC and the Wilmington Diocese!
This problem will continue to rear it’s ugly head until it is appropriately- not cowardly - settled at the highest level in the U. S. but better yet at the Papal level since we have just One, Holy , Catholic and Apostolic Church in which one set of Canon Laws ought to apply wherever we find the Church in the world!
https://theconversation.com/controversy-over-communion-in-the-catholic-church-goes-back-some-2-000-years-163147
The interpretation of canon 915 you advocate is controversial and contested. The Vatican counselled it should not be applied narrowly to focus solely on abortion or appearing overtly political. From an outsider’s viewpoint it seems that right leaning bishops have used it as a penalty on democrat politicians.
Where denial of communion is imposed it should be agreed at the bishop conference level precisely to avoid the farce of an individual (usually a politician) being refused communion in one diocese but allowed to do so in another.
If the Vatican felt it appropriate to give communion to Mugabe at JP2’s canonisation mass then I don’t see that any litmus test has been reached for US politicians.
A man who is so obviously educated and holy holy holy, as judged by MT on surely something more than vibes, could make such a clear error of judgment? My pearls, fetch the smelling salts... where's that couch?!
Nick
This application of canon 915 to Senator Durbin has been in place for over two decades, and Rome has not intervened in any way. Doesn't seem all that "controversial and contested" except to the hopelessly sophisticated, and Cardinal Cupich.
Nick
Defamation requires falsehood. For example, when you defamed me by making vile, hateful attacks on the pope, a statement you continue to neither support with evidence nor retracted.
Nick
This "microscopic amount of bishops" is as numerous as the number of bishops at the founding of the Church.
In any event, I'm shocked you don't find it noteworthy that so many bishops have spoken out on such a significant topic in such a public way.
It should also be noted that you slithered in the assumption that public redress of public scandal is not "charitable" or "rational." But when a high churchman gives blatant public scandal, it is both uncharitable and irrational not to speak out in correction of that scandal publicly.
Nick
Pope John's declaration was over sixty years ago. Times have changed... that was the refrain of that time, was it not?
Pope John also inveighed against "prophets of doom," yet their prophecies have been more on target than the hopeless optimism of opening the windows of the Church. After all, Pope Saint Paul VI declared that the smoke of Satan then entered the Church. Whoops! Gotta close the windows when the air quality is bad outside!
Nick
I think it more likely Francis went directly to Cupich not the other way round since it was obvious that the leadership of the USCCB were actively undermining his papacy and agenda.
Yes, because most of the USCCB Bishops are Catholic
All the USCCB are Catholic but some are too closely aligned with MAGA!
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