The good old Sydney Morning Herald doesn't approve of the way the Vatican appoints Catholic Bishops
I'm sure the writer would love the Vatican to appoint Bishops who would ordain women and partnered homosexuals, perform same sex marriages and all the rest - the Episcopalians have gone down this track and emptied their churches in the process.
One Dr Collins is quoted in this piece
A very poor piece of writing - the Church is in the business of saving souls not reinventing its self to satisfy a society that has in a very large part turned its back on God.
A SECRET Vatican document used to research possible bishops almost certainly breaches Australian anti-discrimination laws and seems designed to ensure only the most conformist candidates can be promoted..
The questionnaire, sent to trusted clergy and a few laypeople by the Pope's ambassador, asks about the candidate's personal qualities, orthodoxy, loyalty to the Pope, commitment to celibacy and opposition to women priests, and his public image. It asks about predisposition to hereditary illness and the family's "condition".
I'm sure the writer would love the Vatican to appoint Bishops who would ordain women and partnered homosexuals, perform same sex marriages and all the rest - the Episcopalians have gone down this track and emptied their churches in the process.
One Dr Collins is quoted in this piece
The present system ensured appointed bishops were conformists whose primary gaze was upwards to the Pope rather than down towards the church. Pastoral aspects took a minor place in the questionnaire.
"The bishops are like Hitler's generals in that their oath of loyalty to the Pope utterly cripples them. They are unable to take any action contrary to Rome, and seem not to be interested in the local church," Dr Collins said.
A very poor piece of writing - the Church is in the business of saving souls not reinventing its self to satisfy a society that has in a very large part turned its back on God.
The church may be in the business of saving souls, but many of the priests in Aussie don't accept the teachings of the church.
ReplyDeletehttp://johngarratt.com.au/app/webroot/images-products/9781920682262.jpg
On one hand, it's an entirely valid comparison - an oath of loyalty to a particular leader rather than to the larger entity that individual is leading is generally not a good thing. We get the point.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, WTF? He's comparing them to the Nazis, with Ratzinger as Hitler? Maybe he should take fewer of whatever those pills are, because they're obviously doing more harm than good...
Is the writer not confusing the person of the Pope with the office of the pope?
ReplyDeleteUS Secret Service have a similar oath, are they Nazi Generals too?
The writer is confusing a lot of things. I'll do another post about this if I get time, because he really is a first class idiot advancing first class stupid ideas that the public will lap up being largely uninterested in participating in the so called benefits of enlightenment (applying critical thought to everything; liberals seem to think their own brand of thinking should be exempted from critical analysis).
ReplyDelete"only the most conformist candidates can be promoted" - I should damn well hope so. The church does not need mavericks who want to promote their own agendas, let them go to the Church of England, the place is overrun now with clergy that shocks their congregations with the extent of their unbelief. As for the Hitler ranting, Godwins law again, and proves what imbeciles have found haven in the press these days.
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