The most recent (Feb., 2008) issue of The Catholic World Report featured an open letter to the Pope asking that he "Look Behind The Facade" of the Church in the USA and other articles as to the loss of moral authority of its Bishops and the persecution of the Faithful, in the USA and in other places, by proponents of secular humanism and followers of the Hindu religion and the ideology called Islam.
Other parts of that issue addressed the reasons why Boston was not included on the Pope itinerary for his upcoming trip; These reasons being the impact of sex-abuse scandals and the loss of moral authority of the Church in that diocese (Which problems are self-evident to far too many parts of the USA and the entire USCCB).
Almost exactly three years ago I wrote the letter reproduced below as to what our Bishops should have said to the Holy Father at that time. I very much doubt if any did so.
The only things I would now add to that those bishops should proclaim:
1. A need to teach that "turning the other cheek" applies only to insults and not attempts to murderand rape and destroy the livelihood Catholics AND to destroy their places-of-worship;
2. That such attacks must result in applications of the teachings of that great "Doctor Of The Church", St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and the striking of deadly blows for Christ and his People upon those criminals who misuse popular support (The mobs of India, islamic nations and the politicians of the Peoples Republic Of Massachusetts), weapons or the Law to do so; AND,
3. That those Bishops will bear witness (Be martyrs) to the Faith by expelling from the Church their own members and those subject to them (Including University administrators and elected officials) who either refuse to support and execute the above steps OR violate the Laws of the Church, bishops and other priests who are so expelled to be civilly "fired" and lose all retirement and other benefits (The Pope could, of course, do that to a "certain" one-time US Archbishop now sheltered as the Arch-Priest of a Roman parish).
Respectfully submitted,
James Pawlak
Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 16:57:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: "james pawlak"
Subject: What You Should Have Been Told
To: benedictxvi@vatican.va
CC: "Archbishop Dolan"
2321 South 82 Street
West Allis, Wisconsin
USA 53219-1735
Dearest Holy Father:
Below is the statement you should have received from the bishops of the USA. I fear that you did not and am, therefore, sending it to you for, if you so elect, your future discussions with those bishops.
Fearfully submitted,
James Pawlak
To The Holy Father From The Bishops Of The USA
Mea Culpa! Mea Culpa! Mea Maxima Culpa! Each of us, for ourselves and too many of our fellow American bishops, confess that we have sinned greatly against Jesus Christ, the
Churches-of-God and the Faithful who depend upon us for true teaching, responsible leadership, moral direction by failing in many of the duties laid upon us as priests and bishops.
We have failed to control, isolate, discipline and punish-as-example those bishops, priests and other religious who have sexually, physically and emotionally abused, damaged and even destroyed entrusted to our care and direction. We have, more particularly, transferred such persons from place-to-place to hide them from exposure and the just treatment of civil and ecclesiastical courts and, thereby, allowed them to continue in their criminal and sinful activities. We have, even after their exposure, brought discredit upon the Church by rewarding such creatures by: Giving them very comfortable livings in Church owned places, thereby engaging in the fraudulent misuse of moneys given to us by the Faithful and earned by their physical and intellectual labors; Putting forth their homilies and writings in a special way as approved by the Church, all to the further discredit of the Church; Erecting walls against further exposure of such offenders, especially bishops, such walls built out of a false interpretation of "authority" and independence from the view of the Faithful and the civil law; And, many other and like offenses.
We have compromised the real teaching authority of the Church out of fear of losing "tax exemptions" and of other financial advantages, unwilling to be witnesses or martyrs to the Truth about some political figures and persons, which truths should have been shouted from our pulpits and firmly declared in our newspapers.
We have relied upon the further misuse of our "teaching authority" to the considerable exclusion of our "teaching responsibility" by such actions or inactions as: Failing to teach the truths of the Gospel and the Church out of some fear of losing money from tax exemptions or the contributions of tepid Catholics; Failing to put in our teachings and writings, and those of our priests, that fire, logic and conviction which was so apparent in the words of the Apostles and Fathers of the Church; And, by failing to respond to the questions put to us by all who ask of us full direction and teaching as to the doctrine, morality, ethics and the discipline and governance of the Church.
We have too often failed to make the accounting expected from good stewards for the monies given to us by the Faithful. We have misused too much of those funds in diverse ways and refused accountability for such errors.
We have allowed our Catholic high schools, colleges and universities (And, perhaps even, seminaries) to retain heterodox teachers of religion, ethics and philosophy who will not adhere to the Magisterium of the Church and refuse to do so in the future. We have allowed such schools to use "ex-priests" in such teaching positions in violation of Canon Law. Worse yet, we have allowed such schools to "honor" persons who support elective abortion and other violations of our Faith.
We have encouraged that strange assembly of persons called "liturgists" and have allowed them to cause great distress to the Faithful and great insults to the Divine Liturgy by the mis-use of so-called hymns which neither reflect the teachings of the Church nor have the quality of beauty and those qualities which encourage the worshipful singing by congregations. There have even been the introduction of grossly sexual dances as part of the Liturgy.
We have employed architects who have failed to understand that beauty is holy and that holy places should be both beautiful and focused on the Worship of God in the Holy Eucharist.
We have failed to actively, repeatedly and forcefully bring to the attention of the Faithful and of our political leaders the external attacks on the Church and all Christians by both militant secular humanists and, more violently and murderously, in such places as Burma, India and all of the lands controlled by those who call themselves "muslims", the Sudan being only the most recent of such places in the 1400-year history of such abuses.
We have wasted the resources of the Church earned and contributed by the hard-working faithful, in attempting to establish and maintain "dialogs" with the followers of that false pseudo-prophet Mohamed, whose eternal goal is the destruction of the Church and true civilization.
We have failed to respond and confront the falsehood that the Crusaders of ancient days and those of more recent times were somehow wrong in their goals of taking back what was ill gained by war and terrorism. We have failed to teach that crusaders regained, for Christianity and civilization, much of Europe from "islamic" terrorists and thieves. We have also failed to note that crusades were properly brought against the likes of Tojo, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein and others of such evil nature. We have failed to teach that Crusaders are true martyrs who risked and risked limb, blood, life and their very souls in fighting against evil.
Some of us have compromised the teachings of the Church by trying to be "all things to all men", falsely assuming that those who are only marginally in agreement with those teachings will "somehow" return to the fullness of the Faith. Some of us have, thereby, become tepid and in danger of being spit out.
We have failed to take the most effective moral, teaching and, even, political and civil-legal actions as would form a defense against the loss of the USA to militant secular humanism as too much of Europe has been lost.
We have failed to confront the bishops in other lands and officials in the Vatican as to their participation in such offenses.
In response to these errors, we must: Not continue these offenses as individual bishops or in the community of the bishops of the USA; Pray harder and more often by ourselves and publicly with the Faithful as to these matters; Preach and publish more as to the errors noted above; Privately and publicly invoke the Holy Spirit to be our guide in correcting ourselves and our Church; AND, not hold ourselves as other or better than being the servants of the Faithful, responsible to them as well as to you and, most specially, to Jesus Christ, under the authority of the Father and in the Truth of the Holy Spirit.
AMEN!
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