It is important for us pesky Catholic bloggers to give credit where it is due. Today I would like to highlight the excellent witness given by Bishop Morlino of the Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin USA. Bishop Morlino has been outspoken in his defence of human life and of the family. For this and for his support of Pope Benedict, he has been attacked in the press by non-Catholics and, as so often today, some of his most bitter opponents have been liberal Catholics. "Call to Action" even took out a newspaper advert to attack him.One firestorm has been his appointment of priests of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest to the parish of St Mary's in Platteville. A group of parishioners presented a petition to the Bishop asking him to remove the priests. Bishop Morlino sent back a cracking response to the whingeing complaints, offering a point-by-point answer to the petition. Here is point 1:
Allegation: Introduction of faith doctrine that is pre-Vatican II in format and content – Response: First of all, it is necessary for us to appreciate the eloquent teaching of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI regarding the false dichotomy between the pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II Church. While the Council introduced much renewal, this dichotomy is not healthy in the Church. It is what the Holy Father described as the “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture.” We must rather adopt the “hermeneutic of reform,” which recognizes continuity in the Church’s life from before the Council to the present day. The hermeneutic of reform rejoices in the renewed presentation of the Church’s self-understanding without attempting to divorce itself from our rich Catholic heritage. The Holy Father taught this in his Christmas Greeting to the Roman Curia (December 22, 2005); I earnestly recommend that all the faithful prayerfully study this speech.
13 comments:
Bravo Bishop Morlino!
As one of his seminarians, I can truly attest to how lucky we are to have that man as our shepherd.
Being from the Diocese of Madison, I can say that His Excellency Bishop Robert Morlino is a true man of God - one who leads with the truth in love. I believe that his pastoral letter is masterpiece of love and teaching. May God bless him in abundance!
I am proud to call Bishop Morlino my Bishop. He is dearly loved by many in our diocese. He continues to inspire his priests with his bravery. The liberal Catholics and anti-Catholic elements are fairly well entrenched in this area, so our poor bishop takes a lot of lick'ns, but he just keeps on tick'n. Please join us in praying for him.
Gosh. A bishop who believes in
sin
grave sin
in his own diocese, of all places
and Catholic Doctrine
and discipline, of all things
Do they have any more like that in the US of A, and if so, could we borrow them?
They could sort out all the trendies over here who have also rejected "faith doctrine that is pre-Vat11"
And they could teach the confused post-Vat 11 generations about reform in continuity, something so many of our bishops, (but not all, thanks be to God), seem unable or unwilling to do.
I have a friend in the Diocese of Madison--all the liberals there hate the man, and the local press is on their side.
They say he doesn't care about the poor, and is turning the clock back.
But for the first time in years they are not in a vocation desert.
it's one of the Diocese in the US where the Modernist Schism will become formal, instead of just material.
Is there somewhere where we can send messages of support?
Hear, hear!
Yes Father, Bishop Morlino is the real deal and has much to contend with in the most liberal city in Wisconsin.
On Fr. Simon Henry’s blog (Offerimus tibi Domine) he has a 10-minute clip of a sermon Bishop Morlino gave on the Feast of Corpus Christi, about reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. It demonstrates the kind of pastor the bishop is: gentle, fatherly, humorous and down-to-earth.
And he gets his point across in a very Benedictine kind of way!
Bishop Morlino is an inspiration! I put together a blog in support of the SJCP, which has contact information and links to their parishes. They are wonderful men and devout priests! http://sjcpfans.blogspot.com/
Can't we entice him over the Pond?
Or failing that, kidnap him?
We need Bishops like this!
We love our Bishop! He is truly a blessing!
You can show your support for Bishop Morlino several ways:
Sign up to pray a monthly rosary for him at Rosary for the Bishop.
Sign your name to a list of supporters at Support Bishop Morlino.com.
Send him a personal letter of support and thanks at the Diocese.
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