Letters to the Editor
I probably received more letters, emails and
phone calls after the last edition of The Defender than for any other
issue. All were almost all from priests. To remind everyone, the last issue
contained a discussion on the sinfulness of criticizing a Priest, a letter to
the editor supporting the previous Millstone Award of a bishop, the hypocrisy
of Notre Dame University and some other comments regarding the bishops from
Michael Voris of Realcatholictv Vortex.
Most communications from the priests suggest
we were disrespectful, undermining the authority of the bishops in the eyes of
the faithful and risk doing incalculable harm to the faith and to the Church.
This is a good argument if we were criticizing a priest or bishop regarding moral
failings; however, when the clergy by their action, or inaction, are the
ones doing incalculable harm to the faith and to the Church, then it is not
only our right but our obligation to correct this error. The Catechism of
the Catholic Church, Item 907, says this, "In accord with the knowledge,
competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and
even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters
which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their
opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity
of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration
for the common good and the dignity of persons."
St. Thomas stated: "It must be observed,
however, that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his
prelate even publicly."
Reverend Thomas G. Morrow, whom I know and
respect, wrote an article in the March 2007 Homiletic & Pastoral Review entitled
The Danger of Criticizing Bishops and Priests. According
to Rev. Morrow, in the thirteenth century many priests led immoral lives, and
as a result a group called the Waldensians took their case to the Pope. The
Pope supported them, and eventually the Waldensians corrected the moral errors,
but not having proper theological training, in the end were excommunicated
because of their false teaching. We are in complete agreement on correcting the
clergy for moral indiscretions. However, a priest or bishop teaching or
demonstrating errors in the faith must be corrected.
Father Morrow goes on to say, "It is not up
to us to decide what is apt in the Mass, but the bishops. Surely, we should
avoid doing something immoral, but besides that unlikely case, we should
obediently follow the liturgy given to us by those chosen to do so. Whether we
like a translation or not (and some seem to be lacking at times), we should
accept and use what our superiors have given us. Far better to write a humble
letter to the bishops than to change things on our own authority. And far
better to pray for better translations." We agree to this and encourage
others to do the same.
Father Morrow also states, "Clearly, the Lord
wants prayers, not judgment for his priests." Our long time readers know that we
have had a prayer for priests in every issue almost
from the very beginning of our 14 years of publication. We urge all of you to
pray for our priests and bishops, and if possible, to do penance for them.
A
Letter from a non-Priest
When
reading your piece, "Discussion on the Sinfulness of Criticizing a
Priest/Bishop", I couldn't help but think that, in doing so, you were
practicing the Spiritual Works of Mercy to Instruct the Ignorant (those
priests/bishops unaware of or unwilling to preach the Truth, as well as poorly
catechized Catholics) and to Counsel the Doubtful (those Catholics who may be
wavering in their Faith because of the preaching without substance that they
have grown accustomed to).
Patricia
Johnson