"... and it is not on account of their own dignity." - from the editorial of the March-April issue of Faith Magazine, all the content of which is now available (free) online. For a paper copy, here is the subscription page (there is a special offer on for new subscribers from the USA.)The quotation above is from the editorial article Assault Upon the Sexes: Fostering the Papal Defence which looks at the Holy Father's comments on the question of gender, the Church's teaching on marriage and the male priesthood. There is also a meditation on Mary, Creation and the Church, and an appreciation of Fr Richard John Neuhaus RIP, as well as other articles of interest.
Here is the context of the quotation from the editorial:
Indeed, there has been little attempt even in Catholic circles to give a public and sustained support of Pope Benedict throughout these difficulties. The fact that even Bishops and Cardinals have not just criticised the Pope but have also kept silence, giving him little support, speaks volumes about those august bodies. Many have sat back and watched; others have made statements reaffirming the Church's commitment to working with the other religions and with the Jews; but few have stood up and robustly supported the Pope at a time when he needed them. In Gethsemane too the Apostles ran away and hid, or at best looked on, when the Lord was taken prisoner. We are all weak - but it is a weakness and their silence has not been a virtue. There is a reason why Cardinals sport the colour of red and it is not on account of their own dignity.Just one quibble: many Catholic blogs have given "public and sustained support" to Pope Benedict. As the Holy Father himself says, we should "pay greater attention to that source of news." ;-)
10 comments:
What was it Gregory Dix used to say about the symbol of a bishop being a crook and that of an Archbishop a double cross?
The silence from the hierarchy is shameful. Even those bishops one normally associates with support for HH have been absent from the public discussion. Truly sad.
Courage in truth and conviction is contageous, as is physical courage. It takes but a few with courage to inspire others. Serving my country has taught me that small lesson. The crown of martyrdom is being earned even today in places like India and China.
I think much less is being demanded of 1st world metropolitan bishops... and yet they are mostly silent when Peter is attacked.
"The church of God which sojourns at Rome to the church of God which sojourns at Corinth ... But if any disobey the words spoken by him through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and in no small danger."
Clement of Rome, Pope, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, 1,59:1 (c. A.D. 96).
A very justified quibble, Father: somebody obviously hasn't been paying attention to the various petitions in support of the Holy Father that we have been signing in the last few months!
Not all Bishops have been silent:
http://www.paisleydiocese.org.uk/index.html
Extraordinary lack of support for the Holy Father; excellent editorial too.
A bit of a tangent but ... is there any real reason why lay people should not be cardinals? After, all, wasn't the office an early medieval development, something to do with the temporal realm of the pope? And if so, why not women cardinals? Then we could run a 'Scarlet Women' campaign! What a magnificent cardinal Mulier Fortis would make! She'd certainly stick up for the Holy Father.
The lack of visible and audible support from the hierarchy for the Holy Father in recent events has been scandalous – and more scandalous has been the active opposition of some Cardinals, Episcopal Conferences and individual bishops. Shades of 1968 and Humanae Vitae!
Too many in the hierarchy have been concerned with secular opinion, political correctness and the ‘acclaim of the crowd’. They have forgotten that their primary responsibility is not to this world and its institutions, but to the Gospel.
It shouldn’t be ‘news’ when individual bishops and Cardinals do support and defend Pope Benedict. That should be the rule and not the exception. Unfortunately, today it has become the latter.
Delia - easy on the sherry now. Lay cardinals, Scarlet Pimpernels, whatever next! :-) Hahahaaaaaaa...
Pope Benedict XVI is no populist, and he is no appeaser. He says and does what needs to be said and done, thankfully - even in the occasional unfortunate cases where backtracking or admitting mistakes may be required.
The Cardinals, as well as the Pope, rose to their exalted positions through political processes; therefore, many if not most are, perhaps, overly concerned with popular opinion.
George: I've given up sherry for Lent, but I do have a partiality for that tomato drink whose name might push up Father's Cussometer a bit...
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