Here's Richness!

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jun 22, 2003

When the Stalin-era agrarian economy was at its nadir the economic propaganda of the Soviet régime, not coincidentally, was its most extravagant in celebrating prosperity. A sardonic proverb ran: if you want milk, fill your pail from the radio.

Last week's meeting of bishops ended as it began with prolix self-congratulation (for public consumption, at any rate) on the advances made in dealing with the child-abuse crisis. There was even a undertone of impatience at the less effusive enthusiasm voiced in other quarters.

The problem is not idleness or inattention -- at least not of the bureaucratic variety. The bishops can point to an abundance of new policies enacted. What bothers the skeptics is the bishops' continued inability to demand a reckoning of their brother bishops. A few heads have been bared of their miters in the past two years, but always because the media or the law enforcement heavies did the bishops' work for them.

Or look at it another way. As a consequence of their criminal negligence, Bishops McCormack of Manchester and O'Brien of Phoenix were forced by the DA's office to relinquish some of their ecclesial authority. If this is a bad thing, why did their brother bishops permit it? If it is a good thing, why didn't they do it themselves?

If we take our pails to the radio, we can quickly fill them with policies. Is it a reproach to us if we're hungry for something more?