On Criticizing Bishops
When I converted, I was overjoyed to be part of the One Body, but soon after discovering Catholic media, I was shocked by the criticisms — even condemnations — of some of the bishops. To a newcomer, that looks about as smart as poking your finger in your eye. Usually the justifications are that we need to keep the bishops in line, and I admit that in my kitchen I’ve expressed concern over some decisions.
With time, however, things started to make more sense, and without fail I sensed that the cause of my concern was the shallowness of my own knowledge, not the bishop’s. That’s the whole point of obeying and respecting an authority. Bishops are hierarchical authorities.
Lumen Gentium, among documents referenced therein, explains that if a bishop is “teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff,” he is “to be respected as a witness to divine and Catholic truth.” (25) The bishop speaks in the name of Christ, and in matters of faith and morals we are to accept his teaching and “adhere to it with a religious assent.”
But what about difficult or controversial public decisions in an individual diocese? Well, the way I see it, it is impossible for a lay person to know all that goes into his decision-making process, and it just seems backwards to mistrust a man who authoritatively speaks in the name of Christ. Why would we, the faithful, have so little faith in a man of God? It seems better to withhold public criticism and instead offer prayers, trusting him as a loving father who only wants what is best for his family.
As many wives know, public questioning of a man’s familial and fatherly aptitude only hinders him from fulfilling his duties with effectiveness and dignity; he needs his family’s praise and loving support. If there is disagreement, we know too that within families, private discussions held in charity can go far to solving misunderstandings. Publicly broadcasted criticisms only make things worse.
Remember that saying? “If you point a finger, there are three pointing back at you.” It’s a good saying to remember before making any public criticism of any other person, ever. Truly, life is much easier when we free ourselves to focus on our own faults, for we have the power to change those. We also have the obligation to fulfill our own role in the Church. After all, even fingers can play a vital role in the functioning of the body, but not if they are stuck in the eye.
Category: Catholic Free Press, Ecumenism
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“If you point a finger, there are three pointing back at you.” It’s a good saying to remember before making any public criticism of any another person, ever.”
Does this include atheists and homosexuals?
Can you cherry pick Catholicism? If I like Pope Leo, but don’t like Vatican 2, For example, can I choose to only follow, or appreciate “Golden Age Eras” of the Catholic Church? If you think the last 100 years of the Catholic Church has deviated from the true message, can you still keep the faith as a true Catholic?
“A child can credit an authority for teaching him something he wouldn’t have found on his own, while still, on applying that knowledge later, appreciate that what he was taught was true and good.”
What about children of abuse? Religious abuse (control), Emotional abuse (no love), etc. If a child is taught a confusing role of what is true and good, how does that person grow up to make the right choices? (based on the “lab” metaphor)
Well said. I totally agree with you. We must support our Bishops even when we have reservations about their decisions.
Agree entirely with Stacy… the official teaching authority of the Catholic Church (all the bishops in union with the pope) sets the standard for how to “interpret reality” (or how Catholics need to be guided in their thinking about all things related to faith and morals).
I’ve written a book (from the perspective of science, not faith) about how the human species has such an enormous amount of difficulty differentiating between “perception” and “reality” (most people have no idea how to tell the difference between perception and reality because it requires some postgraduate studies in areas such as neurobiology and cognitive science). The bottom line is this: humans need an objective standard for “measuring truth,” and the best standard available (to all people all across the globe, regardless of religion, culture or geographic area) is the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Not to shamelessly promote my book, but it has “all of the science” behind how to tell the difference between “perception” and “reality” in the chapter titled “God.” You can read a large chunk of that chapter at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble by visiting the link below. I wrote the book to be funny and comical because i know general audiences wouldn’t be interested in a “scientific treatise,” but you can check it out via the website http://www.know7things.com/god.html
By the way, I LOVE this Accepting Abundance blog, thank you!
Stacy, I have several snippets of paper and notes taped around my computer desk. I was just cleaning this mess up to keep only the important ones when I reread this quote from Cardinal Francis George. It is of course one I will keep.
“The bishops of the Church make no attempt to speak for all Catholics; they never have. The bishops speak for the Catholic and apostolic faith, and those that hold that faith gather around them. Others disperse.”