Chicago on Top: Windy City Sweeps Bishops' Posts

the vote to watch Posted by: Diogenes - Nov. 11, 2007 8:14 AM ET USA

The US bishops hold their annual meeting in Baltimore this coming week, with a few interesting items on the agenda. There will be an open discussion about the bishop's role in political debates; that promises to be lively and revealing. There will be a new report from John Jay researchers on the causes of the sex-abuse crisis. (In preparing this report, the researchers asked members of Voice of the Faithful to answer an opinion survey. Did they ask for your opinion, too? No, I didn't think so. Do you see where this is going?) And then there are the elections.

Cardinal George will become president of the USCCB. That's a foregone conclusion; the vice-president is always tapped to succeed a president ending his 3-year term. More interesting is the choice of a new vice-president, who will step into the limelight in 2010. Still more interesting will be the vote for chairman of the relatively obscure Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance.

The candidates are Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis and a Chicago auxiliary, Bishop Thomas Paprocki.

Yes, you have seen those two names before-- in this column, in fact. In the last few weeks, each prelate has taken a strong public stance Archbishop Burke took controversial disciplinary action, and then explained that he was morally obligated to do so-- implicitly suggesting that other bishops are obligated to take the same sort of action. Bishop Paprocki argued that legal attacks on the American hierarchy are unjust and perhaps diabolical. If everyone listened to Burke, life would be more difficult for a typical American bishop. If everyone listened to Paprocki, life would be much easier. It's a very interesting contrast, making for a very interesting vote.

The candidates are Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis and a Chicago auxiliary, Bishop Thomas Paprocki.

Bishop "Tom" won. What does that say?

Paprocki’s Science of Right
Posted by: Diogenes - Nov. 10, 2007 2:10 PM ET USA

The Chicago Tribune reports on a Red Mass sermon by Chicago Bishop Thomas Paprocki concerning the legal attacks leveled at the Church since the Boston massacre was reported in 2002. Bishop Tom sees the recent legal attacks as two-pronged:

“The settlement or award of civil damages (for clerical sexual abuse) is punishing the wrong people, namely the average parishioner or donor whose financial contributions support the church but who have no role in the supervision of clergy...”

And its inspiration:

“This attack is particularly directed against bishops and priests, since the most effective way to scatter the flock is to attack the shepherd... We must also use our religious discernment to recognize that the principal force behind these attacks is none other than the devil... I’m not saying the plaintiffs in that case or the lawyer were acting demonically... I’m saying it is in a sense a diabolical consequence when you can no longer provide a charitable service.

Bishop Tom’s remedy, as reported by Tribune:

...reviving some of the safeguards of charitable immunity, a judicial doctrine that fell out of favor in the middle of the 20th Century because it shielded non-profits from suits for negligence and abuse.

Uncle Bob will have none of it:

“Many of the bishops basically abandoned their responsibilities to their flock, and why should we now have confidence in them that they will not do so in the future?” said Robert (Uncle Bob) Bennett, a Washington lawyer and former head of the bishops’ National Review Board. “Enough time has not gone by yet. And I believe that being exposed to legal remedies will keep them honest in the future.”

Something to contemplate.

But there are two larger points to observe about Bishop Tom’s meditation on equity and the near occasions of sin. He asks us to contemplate that the principle of trickle-down punishment—in play since the fall of Adam—is either no longer operative, or at least can be mitigated when it comes to monetary damages leveled against the chanceries. Alas, this meditation ignores the fact that the father’s offspring suffering punishment for the sins of the father has not yet been a sufficient condition for pulling the father’s fiscal chestnuts out of the fire. Furthermore, recognition of Satan’s touch in the matter would be an otherwise positive development, (forgetting for the moment that it comes roughly 40 years too late) except that when it comes to sex abuse in the Church, the devils started most of their work with the clergy and not with the plaintiffs; it does seem more than a tad off-target to notice just now demonic inspiration, and it stretches the imagination to think that a bishop in such circumstances is serious about the devil. After all, his audience was not his fellow bishops and priests who have some spiritual authority and were known in history to exercise it, but attorneys, who have been called to clean up the bishops’ mess that the psychotherapists and sex therapists were unable to exorcise.

**Of particular note, Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie is closing out his term at the helm of the Bishops’ Committee for the Liturgy; as of Thursday, the body transforms into the committee for Divine Worship, with its (yet to be announced) new membership said to be an “all-star” lineup.

Trautman will be succeeded by Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, who’s spent the past year transitioning in as chair-elect. A Scripturalist by training, Serratelli is also the US bishops’ representative to ICEL, the body overseeing English-language liturgical translations.**

Good-bye Trautman. Not to sure on Serratelli, but I have heard good rumors.

Any feedback on him anyone?

http://dzehnle.blogspot.com/2007/06/kudos-to-bishop-seratelli.html

President -- Francis Cardinal George -- Chicago
Vice-President -- Bishop Gerald Kicanas -- Tuscon
Treasurer -- Archbishop Joseph Kurtz -- Louisville

Cultural Diversity in Life of the Church -- Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio
Clergy, Consecrated Life and Religious -- Cardinal Sean O'Malley OFM Cap. of Boston
Catholic Education -- Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry of Los Angeles
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs -- Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta
Evangelization and Catechesis -- Bishop Richard Malone of Portland in Maine
International Justice and Peace -- Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany
Canonical Affairs and Church Governance -- Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Chicago
Protection of Children and Young People -- Bishop Blase Cupich of Rapid City.
Committee for Divine Worship -- Bishop Arthur Serratelli -- Paterson

OK, feedback on all of these now!

Rating scale

Excellent
Good
OK
Poor

**International Justice and Peace — Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany **

Poor — needs to retire.

**President — Francis Cardinal George — Chicago**

Excellent

“The settlement or award of civil damages (for clerical sexual abuse) is punishing the wrong people,

He has a point here -- but it's waaaay too self-serving coming from a bishop!

I don't think I've heard his name in connection with the scandal. Is he only recently a bishop -- or has he been one and done a decent job?

International Justice and Peace -- Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany

Gag, puke, choke, barf ... Hubba Hubbard didn't exactly acquit himself well in the pederasty scandal ... and his diocese isn't exactly a shining star in attracting vocations.

Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs -- Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta

Consummate bureaucrat.

Vice-President -- Bishop Gerald Kicanas

served as auxiliary bishop and rector of Mundelein seminary under Cardinals Joseph Bernardin and George ... be afraid. Be very afraid.

Are any of the listed committees actually worth what it costs to print their stationary? “International Peace and Justice” especially sounds like a prize sinecure! If anyone should take to heart the gospel message to “sell what you have and give the proceeds to the poor,” it’s the USCCB (and probably all the other bishops’ conferences!).

Clergy, Consecrated Life and Religious -- Cardinal Sean O'Malley OFM Cap. of Boston

Worse than useless IMHO! Boston's seminary graduating classes are in the mid single digits. I guess the USCCB sees this as where they want the country to go!

Is the USCCB worth what it costs to print their stationery?

+Joseph Kurtz for #3 man:Very Good.*

He's our former Bishop of Knoxville. He's holy; and he made Knoxville #1 in the nation for number of seminarians per the size of the diocese. It's a tiny Dioccese (east Tennessee is only about 2 - 3% Catholic, or 50,000) but he recruited lots of seminarians as well as lots of deacons.

Recently got promoted to Archbishop of Louisville. Our loss. Knoxville's now sede vacante.

* The only reason I'm not giving him Excellent (yet) is because I reserve that category for the guys like Burke and Bruskewitz who are actually enforcing Canon 915.

International Justice and Peace -- Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany

Gag!

"International Justice and Peace -- Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany

Gag!"

Not familiar with him.

No way Burke would win, he’s too old school, and won’t make excuses for his colleagues who shirk their duties.

Are any of the listed committees actually worth what it costs to print their stationary? “International Peace and Justice” especially sounds like a prize sinecure! If anyone should take to heart the gospel message to “sell what you have and give the proceeds to the poor,” it’s the USCCB (and probably all the other bishops’ conferences!).

The meeting of the International Committee on Migrants and Auto Workers is called to Order!
Is there any Old Business?
Hearing none, is there any New Business
Yes, Bishop D.!
When and where are we having lunch?

;-o)

LOL! Undoubtedly -- but don't you think the committee name needs a little more, well, pomposity and self-importance? ;-)