Bishop-bashing, selectively denounced
By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - send a comment) | March 21, 2012 5:11 PM
First Father Tom Reese announced that conservative clerics are too free with their opinions:
These days, arch-conservative priests feel much more comfortable attacking their bishops than do liberals because they feel they’ll get support from conservative Catholic blogs and maybe some in the Vatican.
Leave aside the question of how conservative bloggers can protect priests from the wrath of their bishops. Leave aside the question of how many bloggers there are in the Vatican. What fascinates me is that this statement comes from the same Father Tom Reese, who has been criticizing the hierarchy for decades. Suddenly he’s worried about attacks on bishops?
Then Michael Sean Winters professed his shock that “most of the truly vile, nasty attacks on the hierarchy come not from the left but from the right.” Winters writes regularly for the National Catholic Reporter, which offers a hearty dose of vitriol against bishops every week.
The lesson, I suppose, is that when I find fault with bishops it’s reasoned criticism, and when you do it it’s a nasty attack.
|
An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus: Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you! |
Easter Campaign: Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($20,109 to go):
$80,000.00
$59,891.45
25%
75%
|
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
