tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post8106045533908864633..comments2024-03-28T20:30:10.681-04:00Comments on southern orders: THE PREFECT FOR THE CONGREGATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH OFFERS KEEN AND POSITIVE INSIGHTS INTO POPE FRANCISFr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-58465507369541551022013-10-05T07:40:56.393-04:002013-10-05T07:40:56.393-04:00I tremble when the USCCB or the Supreme Court conv...I tremble when the USCCB or the Supreme Court convene...Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-9412150558909713352013-10-04T11:13:06.715-04:002013-10-04T11:13:06.715-04:00I, too, cannot speak for Henry (and I surely was h...I, too, cannot speak for Henry (and I surely was hoping he would respond to the direct query). However, before this post disappears, I have to comment. <br />I lived through the heady, life-altering days of the "Bernardin Machine" of the NCCB/USCC, and can speak very personally about the damage wrought in this family and in many Catholic families around me--the American Church began an insidious descent into dissent. Not going to bore you with the personal, but instead, I refer you to the following excellent article: http://www.firstthings.com/article/2011/01/the-end-of-the-bernardin-eraAnon friendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-27564620986520677482013-10-03T08:59:33.532-04:002013-10-03T08:59:33.532-04:00Pater Ignotus
I can't speak for Henry, or off...Pater Ignotus<br /><br />I can't speak for Henry, or offer any informed comment on the USCCB, but a look at the track record of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is informative, and since its responsibility covers a far smaller geographical area, its influence is probably greater than that of its American counterpart.<br /><br />Under the leadership of Cardinal Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster 1976-1999 and his successor Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor 2000-2009 the Catholic Church in England and Wales became more-or-less autonomous. Despite his monastic background and half-French ancestry, Hume aimed to ally the Church with the British Establishment. He was a member of the Athenaeum and a frequent guest of the Queen, who once referred to him as "my cardinal". He got on better with the Established Church of England than he did with Rome. Indeed, a meeting with John Paul II in 1980 seems to have convinced him that the Pope was leading the Church in the wrong direction, i.e. a more conservative one, and the English Church needed a strategy to counter this.<br /><br />The CBCEW with its centralized bureaucracy was crucial to this project. Since episcopal appointments were within its gift (the nuncio was in effect a member of what became known as "the Magic Circle") it became a self-perpetuating oligarchy. Catholic education, once the responsibility of the diocesan bishop, was taken over by the Catholic Education Service, with offices in London; although a bishop was nominally in charge, it was run for years by Oona Stannard, a liberal whose main aim was to ensure that Catholic education conformed as far as possible to the secular agenda. When Bishop O'Donoghue (formerly of Lancaster) wrote his critical pamphlet "Schools - Fit for Mission?" some of his colleagues evinced surprise that he should consider it any of his business.<br /><br />The present nuncio, Archbishop Mennini, is not simply a mouthpiece of the CBCEW, and the three most recent episcopal appointments have reflected this. However, it is no secret that the "Magic Circle" would like to see him replaced, so that "business as usual" can be resumed. <br /><br /> John Nolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09027156691859606002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-21276972776574474662013-10-02T17:33:19.411-04:002013-10-02T17:33:19.411-04:00What "damage" might that be, Henry?What "damage" might that be, Henry?Pater Ignotusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-12261971661263809202013-10-02T12:38:38.630-04:002013-10-02T12:38:38.630-04:00Yes, indeed, Henry!Yes, indeed, Henry!Anon friendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-599195339202390632013-10-02T10:28:44.663-04:002013-10-02T10:28:44.663-04:00"The papal and the episcopal office are legit..."The papal and the episcopal office are legitimised by divine law. That is something that bishops' conferences are not. They are work groups but do not have a competence to teach of their own over and above that of an individual bishop's mandate. So they are not a third authority between the Pope and bishops."<br /><br />Let's hope our USCCB gets this message. Much of the damage in this country has come from the bishops conference not only usurping individual bishops authority, but (worse) shielding them from responsibility for what they have done and not done.Henrynoreply@blogger.com