He a very bright man . . . and has a backbone of steel.
BTW, he's a convert. He was an Episocpalian minister and became a Catholic priest when he converted. He's married and was the first to enter the seminary in the US (although the second to be ordained) when the Vatican OK'd married converts becoming priests. He's a solid advocate of celibacy and has a very good tape of a talk he gave about it. You can search the Web to find it.
He told me a story about a time when he attended the installation of an Episcopal bishop. One of his sons was with him and was constantly asking "What are they doing now?" A patient man, Fr. Ray would lean over and tell the boy what was going on. At one point the new bishop was surrounded by the other bishops. The boy asked his usual question, "What are they doing now?" Fr. Ray thought for a second and then told the boy, "They're removing his backbone!"
You now know why he never made bishop.