Newark bishop's legacy is mixed

Bergen Record ^ | 09/02/2001 | Charles Austin

[ELS]

The main "criticisms" of Bishop Myers seem like good credentials to me.

[ELS]

An attempt at balanced coverage?

[Arthur McGowan]

He opposes chopping babies to pieces! Such lack of compassion!

[ELS]

More coverage of Myers.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Heck, he'll probably even allow the Indult Mass! What a pre-Vatican II reactionary!

Maybe I need to move east to Newark. These criticisms to me read as a litany of the highest order of praise for an American bishop. I pray when my current bishop leaves, is removed or retires (how much longer, Lord?), we get one like Myers.

[ELS]

LOL! If you do move eastward, you don't have to move to Newark. There are many nice suburbs in the area of the archdiocese.

[ELS]

An update on Myers.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

I lived in the Camden diocese while in med school in Philly. We had a superb priest there who taught my wife's RCIA program. I attended them too, learned the faith there, having been taught post-Vatican II gibberish in 12 years of Catholic schools here. The priest that taught us now runs the Indult Latin Mass community in diocese of Camden. Great priest.

Oh, despite my own diocese's shortcomings, I love my mountains here in west central PA, and couldn't wait to return here from Philly/NJ. I couldn't go east again. Too scared of tsunamis.

[Valin]

An attempt at balanced coverage?

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? Maybe just a tiny bit of sarcasm?
Imagine the nerve of a Chatholic bishop standing up for Chatholic doctrine, of all the nerve.

[ELS]

I found an independent, traditional parish within the geographical area of the Newark archdiocese (it's in one of those suburbs I mentioned). A week or two ago my pastor was out of town and the priest who celebrated Sunday Mass in his place said Myers would be providing a much needed cleaning of house. I certainly hope so. Newark hasn't had a conservative, orthodox Archbishop in a long time.

[ELS]

It seemed the author was trying to provide a positive comment for each negative comment, BUT I got an overall negative impression from the author.

[Aristophanes]

Yeah, me too. Sounds like a great bishop. The loyal Catholics of Newark are in for a treat. Given their past, I think they deserve it.

Sinkspur, NB: Myers has ordained more than 90 priests in the past decade, an unusually high number for a diocese the size of Peoria.

[Aristophanes]

Supporting the Cardinal Newman Society, whose bishops are among the most conservative in the United States. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., one of its stalwarts, has threatened to excommunicate Catholics who belong to liberal church organizations such as Call to Action.

Bruskewitz didn't just "threaten" to excommunicate CTA. He did it. Would that we had a couple dozen Bruskewitz's -- the AmChurch would die out in a hurry and we'd have a Catholic Renaissance right here in the New World.

[sinkspur]

If I lived in Newark, worrying about who my archbishop was would be the LEAST of my concerns!

Some of these guys were kicked out of other dioceses. It's good that they've found a home in Peoria unless, of course, the next bishop isn't a John Myers.

[ELS]

From your keyboard to God's eyes...

[jrherreid]

Yeah! High-five to Bishop Myers!

[ELS]

If I lived in Newark,

LOL! The archdiocese spans four counties, two of which are among the most affluent in the country. The city of Newark is only part of the archdiocese. However, it does have a beautiful basilica (go on a virtual tour) that is near public transportation.

[patent]

The thing the newspapers can't ever get straight about Bishop Bruskewitz is that he didn't just excommunicate the liberal dissenters, he also excommunicated the Traditionalist dissenters. He excommunicated both the call to action types and the SSPX and other "independant" types.

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[Aristophanes]

Ditto your comment about living in Newark. But I gotta comment on another thing you said: Some of these guys were kicked out of other dioceses.

Well no, not quite. They weren't exactly kicked out -- they were rejected as suitable priest candidates for their particular diocese. This is another reason why the heterodox bishops have a priest shortage: because the screen out those candidates with "unacceptable" views. Like what, you ask?

According to what I've read, men who believe in an overly "conservative" view of the Pope, Mary, the Saints, the magisterium, the Real Presence, etc. I've heard of men who were screened out simply because they subscribed to Latin Mass magazine. Any stuff like that will often result in being screened out by the wiccan "religious" who serve in these capacities.

I believe the so-called priest shortage is manufactured by people whose agenda is served by the lack of good priests.

[patent]

The main "criticisms" of Bishop Myers seem like good credentials to me.

Usual type of newspaper article on the arrival of a new "conservative" Bishop. They go to his old diocese, he's had some luck there (actually has ordained priests and people are returning to the pews, the whole point of the thing) but he's been horribly divisive and marginalized people (read non-Catholics who like to claim to be Catholic), etc., etc. All these articles start with a "many praise" type statement, though its usually longer then this one, and then immediately go into the "controversy." They find a few tired old liberal, at least one priest and one woman, and quote them about how the Bishop wouldn't listen to them (give in) etc. Same type of article when Egan went to New York, Pell in Australia, etc.

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