THE NATIONAL cATHOLIC REPORTER ASKS A GOOD QUESTION, BUT IN THE MOST HYPOCRITICAL, SELF-SERVING WAY—THE KETTLE CALLING THE POT BLACK IF THERE EVER WAS ONE!

The National catholic Reporter rightly asks how a Pontifical Secret concerning the naming of a bishop by the pope was broken.

In this case, it concerns the naming of the new Archbishop of New York which was reported by a Spanish blog well before it was made public by the Vatican. 

Who broke the pontifical secret, which, by the way, is so serious that the one doing it is subject to canonical punishments? Would someone call either Maxwell Smart or James Bond to find out?

But these are some hypocritical money bytes from the NcR opinion piece. Keep in mind that the NcR since the late 60’s has been fomenting heresy and schism, demanding the ordination of woman, same sex and multi-sex marriages, the collapse of Humanae Vitae and a hatred for St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI while they were reigning. Their hatred for the papacy and orthodoxy was put to the side when Pope Francis came into power and the NcR saw they could instrumentalize his less than clear preachings, his ambiguities and heterodox processes that some of his words began. They then became ultra-Montane! 

Why the news leak about New York's change in archbishops should trouble Catholics

Earlier this fall, several U.S. bishops made a bold move to embarrass Cupich after he announced he would honor Sen. Dick Durbin, who is Catholic, for his lifetime of work on U.S. immigration policy. The bishops who objected pointed out that Durbin is also pro-choice, and that honoring him would send the wrong message. Leo intervened personally, seeming to take Cupich's side, but by that time Durbin had declined the honor.

Were Cupich's opponents at it again, leaking word of the New York appointment?

Some more history may be helpful. In their 2010 vote for president of their conference, the U.S. bishops broke with tradition and skipped over their vice president, the moderate Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Arizona, instead electing Dolan, who was seen as more conservative. This ugly flex of brute power set the bishops on their 15-year-long campaign to stand athwart the broader American culture, and, as it turned out, the coming direction of the church. Francis was elected pope barely two years later, and most of the U.S. bishops remained out of step with him until he died.

Playing havoc with Leo's appointment to replace Dolan — the last active cardinal archbishop created by Pope Benedict XVI — looks like a disruptive move by those who realize that the U.S. church is at last aligning with Francis' and Leo's priorities.

In an interview with NBC News after Hicks' appointment, Cupich said his former auxiliary bishop would bring a different style to New York, predicting Hicks will prioritize being a pastor, not a media figure, in line with Francis' vision of ministry. Without saying it, Cupich was declaring the end of an era, a time characterized by culture wars and confrontation.

Hardly the worst of the culture warrior bishops, Dolan was nevertheless a consistent one. From Obama-era religious liberty struggles and the Fortnight for Freedom campaign begun under Dolan's leadership of the USCCB to his obsequious flattery of President Donald Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic and his membership on Trump's religious liberty commission to his panegyric on Charlie Kirk, Dolan can't be said to have soothed division or promoted peace, even as Francis specifically asked the U.S. bishops to seek "unity," "reconcil[e] differences" and promote a church "in which no division dwells."