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.
Bishop "Tom" won. What does that say?
**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?
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!).
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.
Gag!
Vice-President — Bishop Gerald Kicanas — Tuscon
Bishop Kicanas has some curious views regarding celibacy:
http://www.richardsipe.com/Articles/2005-10-05-Celibate_Myth.html
“The dimensions of the celibate myth are being explored under the microscope of legal investigations and the process of bishops facing depositions. Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson, said under oath that sexual activity like masturbation and sex with others (even presumably with minors) were not violations of celibacy, but merely sins against chastity. He, too, defended the myth that celibacy means, “not being married.” (In 1986 24 percent of the active priests in the diocese of Tucson were sexual abusers of minors.) Such a gross misunderstanding of the ideal, law, and even the history of religious celibacy is astounding from a prelate who had been Rector of one of the largest seminaries in the country—Mundelein of Chicago.”
San Antonio (Mexican) for “diversity” ...
Boston (gay clergy cover-ups) for “clergy ...
I don’t think the bishops learned their lesson.