UNITED STATES
Voice from the Desert
Bob Hoatson
Some reflections on last night’s election and VOTF (Voice of the Faithful – a lay Catholic group that has three goals – 1) supporting abuse victims, 2) supporting priests of integrity, and 3) promoting change in the Catholic Church):
Please excuse my cautious optimism after a night of watching the elections results, and thanks for allowing me to use your email account to communicate a few thoughts.
I can’t help but compare last night’s results and the “mandate” of the American people to the mandate “fleeing Catholics” have been giving to the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. And, I sincerely believe it is time for all Catholics, young and old, to act decisively if they want to rescue their church from the clutches of dysfunctional men who do little to nothing to promote Gospel values. For example, at least three bishops in the Midwest and Mid-North forced pastors last week to read letters that were full of venom, threats, and anti-Gospel values. Essentially, the bishops instructed voters to elect Mitt Romney because he would help maintain the “rich white man’s” grip on power and authority, a perfect “fit” for mostly white, Euro-centric bishops who are used to a preferred aristocratic state. Americans rejected that in last night’s vote. And American Catholics joined the rest of the electorate in rejecting the bishops’ outdated, mean-spirited, power-abusing policies. How?
1) By electing the first openly gay woman to the US Senate – Bishops can continue to try to demean homosexuals but it will result in more and more people fleeing the Church. Did you see the poll that indicated that younger people categorically refuse to participate in organizations and institutions that continue to treat gay people as if they were objects? If only bishops would recognize their own homosexuality and heterosexuality in healthy ways!
2) By choosing gay marriage as voters in Maryland did – Bishops must realize that gay marriage is here to stay. Young Americans are more interested in healthy relationships be they hetero or homosexual.
3) By rejecting candidates who demean the intellect and power of women – Candidates Akin and Mourdock went down to defeat – they should have been thrown off the Republican ticket after demeaning statements and positions. …
In light of the above, I would urge all of us to:
1) Stop patronizing any institution and/or organization that demeans anyone. We must stop feeding the beast that is the bishops conference. The USCCB fights legislation that would give clergy sexual abuse victims their day in court; it spends Catholic money to defeat same-sex marriage legislation; it tries to demonize Obamacare by claiming it violates religious freedom, which simply is false. Catholic Charities is 80% government money, at least. So, what do bishops spend money on? They close inner city Catholic schools, so the commitment of the Church to education of the poor is nearly non-existent. So, on what do bishops spend the “pew money? Well, one Archbishop of a large NY metropolitan archdiocese spent 2 million dollars when he arrived to:
a. Air-condition “HIS” cathedral so he “would not sweat while celebrating liturgy.”
b. Place a chandelier in his suite ($20,000.00 for the chandelier) that looks like a mini-palace.
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