Bishop McHugh Urges Flock To Combat the Real Anti-Catholicism
Rockville Centre, N.Y. — With the left-wing media ready to tar and feather defenders of Catholicism, it's no wonder bishops seldom contradict errant elites in America.
But one bishop did just that recently, and his remarks came as a refreshing surprise to many, and as a shock to those of the political left, including not a few decidedly liberal priests and religious in his own diocese.
Bishop James McHugh, newly installed ordinary of New York's large, suburban Diocese of Rockville Centre, spoke candidly about "The Catholic Problem" in terms of the Bob Jones University saga, the positions of the presidential candidates in general, and those leadership elites which trivialize and distort Catholicism.
Sounding off this month in his new, regular column in The Long Island Catholic, the diocese's weekly, Bishop McHugh branded as insulting the "information avalanche" ignited by the media's daily drilling of George W. Bush, nervousness on the part of some Republican leaders, and the efforts, he said, of political opportunists in and beyond the Republican Party to discredit Bush.
It resulted in Bush's letter, the bishop recounted, to John Cardinal O' Connor in which he professed his high regard for the Catholic Church and apologized for not having separated himself from some views at Bob Jones University.
"But what about Catholics? Were they insulted, were they disturbed?" Bishop McHugh asked. "Not in my view or experience. Most Catholics didn't know anything about Bob Jones University and paid little attention to the campaign schedule. Further, Catholics like most Americans, do not focus on every primary… For me, the repeated focus on anti-Catholicism was unwarranted and distracting. In fact, I considered it insulting."
The 67-year-old bishop who came to Rockville Centre from the Diocese of Camden, N.J., proceeded to explain:
"I believe Catholics are more interested in the overall views of candidates and how they develop through the campaign process. A misstep is generally glossed over and forgiven. Bush, McCain, and Keyes are consistently supportive on the major issues of concern to Catholics: protection of the life of the unborn and elderly, support for aid to parents of children who attend Catholic schools, and assistance to the poor and disadvantaged.
"Catholics may not feel fully satisfied on every issue, but there are no grounds for accusing any of the Republican candidates of rejecting or ignoring Catholics.
"The Democratic candidates, on the other hand, have outdone themselves in their claims to support all pro-abortion measures, including partial-birth abortion, and in their absolute rejection of vouchers and any type of aid that would benefit students in Catholic schools."
Bishop McHugh, who succeeded Bishop John McGann as spiritual head of Rockville Centre's 1.3 million Catholics on January 7, urged his flock to "keep eyes and ears open to the real anti-Catholics." In this, he quoted The Wall Street Journal's William McGurn who recently said that although politicians, TV anchors, and law professors are troubled by possible anti-Catholicism, "the dominant media emotion surrounding l'affaire Bob Jones is not 'outrage' but barely disguised glee."
In another segment, Bishop McHugh pointed out that Peter Steinfels, the New York Times political editor, pinpoints today's anti-Catholicism as corrosive:
"The constant pitter-patter of gibes, jokes, and sneers about Catholicism on television, in films, in celebrity interviews, in university alternative newspapers, Steinfels says, makes it harder for some impressionable adolescents and young adults to avow their beliefs and ultimately to maintain them."
Concerning the November presidential election, Bishop McHugh voiced the view that Catholics would decide to vote after a careful analysis of candidates' positions on issues, coupled with a consideration of each one's truthfulness, personal integrity, philosophy, and performance.
"But the most important lesson for Catholics," Bishop McHugh stressed, "is not Bob Jones University or the religious right. Rather, it is prevailing attitudes among those who consider themselves 'the leadership elites' in our country, who trivialize Catholicism, distort the Church's teaching, and treat Catholics as ignorant, narrow-minded, and unthinking individuals who can easily be cowed and dismissed from the public forum."
This item 2806 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
