MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Catholic Insider
The Gospel today is a favorite of BCI and also has particular applicability to the Boston Archdiocese. This passage from Luke 3: 1-6 is the one that has always been powerful for BCI.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”
During this season of Advent, in what ways in our own lives do we prepare the way of the Lord and make straight His paths? What things in our lives need to be straightened out? What mountains and hills should be lowered? What “winding roads” should be made straight? What rough ways made smooth?
Then there is the Boston Archdiocese. As discussed in “Is Boston Archdiocese Violating ‘Motu Proprio’ on Charity?” as of Monday, December 10, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, will be in violation of the new Motu Proprio issued by Pope Benedict XVI for paying salaries to 17 lay executives which are nowhere near “in due proportion to analogous expenses of his diocesan Curia.” As we know from “Bloated Payroll” and numerous other posts, seventeen people at the Pastoral Center are paid salaries ranging from $150K to $325K today–about 4X-8X more per person than clergy are paid. In aggregate, they are paid somewhere close to $3.5M a year in salaries alone. This is about 6 times more than was paid in 2006 in $150K+ salaries.
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