Thursday 14 February 2013

The Sin Of Anger...

I know I shouldn't do it.

I know I should resist temptation, but I am fallible.

Every time the Church hits the news, I promise to avoid all occasions of sin - namely reading or watching anything in the mainstream media. I can guarantee that the Church's teachings and the Holy Father will be misrepresented, scorned and ridiculed... If I could persuade Paddy Power to take my bet, I would make a fortune... except that even they might notice that it's a dead cert.

One can almost understand an atheist or non-Catholic article to get things wrong - I say "almost" because responsible journalism used to involve checking one's facts before publication. But what makes me really angry is when the rubbish being spouted is given credibility because it is from a Catholic.

Ex-nuns and laicised priests are particular favourites for the MSM. People who write for that dreadful rag, The Bitter Pill (which ought to be prosecuted under the Trades Description Act) are also seen and heard from quite frequently. And any Catholic who has declared publicly that the Church is "wrong" on this or that doctrine is bound to come crawling out of the woodwork sooner or later (most probably sooner!)

With the Holy Father's abdication (or resignation, or renunciation, or whatever the correct term should be) on Monday, I had done quite well. I stuck to The Catholic Herald, the occasional piece in The Telegraph (only if the title seemed fairly positive) and the Catholic blogosphere.

I had done quite well, that is, until this afternoon, when a friend posted a link onto my timeline on Facebook.


The Bishop in question is Bishop Kieran Conry. I know that he is no fan of the Holy Father (his comments about the implementation of Summorum Pontificum make that clear), but one does expect a sort of statesmanlike attitude towards the Papacy from one's bishops. A degree of respect and diplomacy when speaking of the decisions of the Pope... you know, the sort of stuff which was actually demanded of the faithful by Lumen Gentium:
"...In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking." (LG n. 25)
I was under the impression that Lumen Gentium was one of the documents actually produced by the Second Vatican Council. Obviously the good bishop has only read those bits which count as "reforming ideals."

Fortunately for my blood pressure, the majority of the article is behind a subscription paywall. Therefore I can't read the hatchet-job he has probably done on the Holy Father.

13 comments:

ORA PRO NOBIS said...

Bishop Conry is 'yesterdays man'. He has invariably has made me reel at numerous times in the past.

However, (as I always say) there are more Catholics reading the faithful Catholic blogosphere than have access to Bishop Conry's, at times, un-joined up version of Catholicism.

Unfortunately he hasn't worked out yet that the younger generation (and by that I mean 'the lost generation' that could include anyone under the age of 55) want to see ultimate faithfulness in their clergy now.

Delia said...

Couldn't agree more, Mac. Can't face the media - the ignorant, the mischievous and the malicious are having a field day!

Pastor in Monte said...

I find this very puzzling, Mac: like you, I could get no further than the block on the Times article. But I have never heard Bishop Conry express these opinions, even in private, and (as one of his priests) I have discussed them with him. In fact, he was quite supportive of the new translation in private and in public to his priests. I wonder whether this is simply the old story of the Press seeking to create division wherever it can.

Mulier Fortis said...

I'll take your word for it that he was in favour of the corrected translation, Father... (and have amended my post slightly) but his attitude towards the Extraordinary Form has definitely been extremely negative. If he said what is reported in the title and first paragraphs about the the Holy Father, then that is rather bad form.

Recusant said...

What is a "leading bishop" anyway? One who governs? Oh, wait...

Genty said...

Unfortunately for us in A&B "yesterday's man" is still comparatively young and likely to have quite a few more years in post - unless he follows the Holy Father's example.
I've always had the impression that CMOC's protege had to be dragged to toe Benedict's line. Now he doesn't have to pretend.
Yes, The Times is being mischievous, if not malicious. It is, quite simply, anti-Catholic. But Conry is media trained.
Given some of his past pronouncements this mean little interjection is par for the course, along with the calculation that there's not much to fear from the Nuncio at this juncture.

Anonymous said...

I have never expected much from Kieran or his predecessor Cormac and I have never been disappointed.

Mater mari said...

Good to see a priest from A&B defending his bishop; no less than I would expect from Pastor Valle. But I have to say that, based on 8 years living in that diocese, my thoughts accord with those of EF pastor emeritus and Mulier Fortis. It was an important factor in our choice to move from Sussex in 2010 in spite of many excellent clergy serving there.

Mulier Fortis said...

Oh dear. I've just read the Times article in full. If it's true (journalists will always spin things) then I was spot on.

As one of my friends said, we really do need to pray for the Dead See...

Mulier Fortis said...

BTW I forgot to say that the article has been posted in the comments section...

Sitsio said...

This made me so mad, I was absolutely disgusting by the bishops remarks— he should be ashamed of himself if they are true. If not, then he should issue a statement in support of the Holy Father to set the record straight!

Dom said...

Cormac+'s comments explain exactly why he would be a bad pope.

Mulier Fortis said...

Actually, Dom, it was Bishop Conry...

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