what can a bishop do?

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Nov 10, 2007

Having given fair warning to the women who are planning an "ordination" ceremony this weekend, Archbishop Burke is now doing his best to preserve the faithful of the St. Louis archdiocese from the confusion that event will cause.

Maybe a deft editor could improve on the archbishop's statement, but it wouldn't be easy. He hits all the main points-- hard-- and yet he writes with charity; his genuine pastoral concern is unmistakable.

Archbishop Burke makes it clear that he cannot fail to speak out, because his silence would be dereliction of his duty as spiritual leader. He feels the weight of responsibility, for the salvation of the women involved in the fraud and for the distress that the ceremony will cause among ordinary faithful Catholics, who will undoubtedly read about the "ordination" in blazing headline stories.

A bishop who does his duty: that's not a small blessing-- nor, these days, a common one.

Read the column, say a prayer for Archbishop Burke, and then say another that your own bishop, when the time comes (if it hasn't passed already), will answer the call of pastoral duty as diligently.