Let us praise the Pope and the bishops for a change...

In recent times bishops are often the object of ridicule by Catholics the world over. Those bishops who follow the Church faithfully are attacked by liberals both in the Church and outside of it. Unfaithful bishops who reject Church teaching and lead others into heresy are often the target of those who are following the Church faithfully. The state of the Church and the the loss of faith in it can be largely attributed to those bishops who simply do not believe in the Catholic faith. That being said we rarely hear praises for great bishops who are living the faith and trying to pass it along faithfully in these times of turmoil. So I wanted to post some praises for some of our great bishops. In no particular order here are a few that have in recent times represented Holy Mother Church faithfully.

Bishops Robert W. Finn of Kansas City, Robert Hermann of St. Louis, and Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore all defended life this past year and without hesitation condemned those who support pro-abortion politicians. "Our country," warned Bishop Finn, "is at the edge of the precipice concerning the protection of the life and dignity of the human person. A significant new attack on innocent human life will likely send us into a moral freefall that would rival any financial decline. The price for such a 'walk over the cliff' is millions more human lives for many more years to come."

Bishop Robert F. Vasa of the Catholic diocese of Baker, Oregon, wrote in the Catholic Sentinel newspaper in 2006, “There is a point at which passive ‘tolerance’ allows misleading teachings to be spread and propagated, thus confusing or even misleading the faithful about the truths of the Church…There is a very strong word, which still exists in our Church, which most of us are too ‘gentle’ to use. The word is ‘heresy.’”

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput had some choice words this past election season for pro-abortion politicians. "We should remember that one of the crucial things that set early Christians apart from the pagan culture around them was their rejection of abortion and infanticide," he explained....."Yet for thirty-five years I've watched prominent 'pro-choice' Catholics justify themselves with the kind of moral and verbal gymnastics that should qualify as an Olympic event,"...."All they've really done is capitulate to Roe v. Wade,"

Going back a few years we have Bishop Rene H. Gracida of Corpus Christi in June of 1990 sending Rachel Vargas, the clinic director, and Dr. Eduardo Aquino formal decrees separating them from the sacraments of the church, including communion, holy matrimony and last rites. "Your cooperation in procuring abortions is a sin against God and humanity and against the law of the Roman Catholic Church," Bishop Gracida wrote to them.

In August of 2004 Archbishop John F. Donoghue (Atlanta), Bishop Robert J. Baker (Charleston, SC), and Bishop Peter J. Jugis (Charlotte, NC) wrote that "Catholics in political life have the responsibility to exemplify in their public service this teaching of the Church, (sic) and to work for the protection of all innocent life" and that politicians who support abortion rights are "cooperating with evil."

We rarely see a bishop defend the faithful and attempt to correct those who separate themselves from the Church by rejecting her authority or her teachings, yet we saw Archbishop Burke do just that recently. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke issued the following statement regarding Patricia Fresen, Rose Hudson, and Elsie McGrath:

"As Archbishop of St. Louis, it is my responsibility to safeguard the unity of the Catholic Church and protect the souls of the faithful.

I have communicated with Ms. Fresen, Ms. Hudson, and Ms. McGrath, and informed them that if they participated in an attempted female ordination, they would be excommunicating themselves from the Catholic Church. In the apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed that the Catholic Church has no authority to confer priestly ordination on women. This teaching is to be held definitively by all the faithful as belonging to the deposit of faith. Because they participated in the attempted ordination, Church law requires me to publicly declare the excommunication." He then followed that up with two more excommunications along the same lines.

The Motu Proprio given at St. Peter's, July 7, 2007 by Pope Benedict lifted any possible obstacles to the Tridentine Mass being celebrated, and also encouraged bishops to support it. One Bishop stands out as to as taking this proclamation by the Pope to heart. On July 25, 2006, Bishop Frank J. Dewane was installed as only the second bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida. In under two years not only has he supported the Tridentine Latin Mass community in his diocese that was currently in place when he arrived, he invited in the Fraternity of Saint Peter in to grow the community. Late this past year 2008, he coordinated the purchase and opening of the first exclusive Latin Mass parish. It is the only one in Florida run by the FSSP. It will be opened sometime in the next couple of months. God bless bishop Dewane for his love and support of the liturgy of the Church.

How about giving a thumbs up to the Pope himself! Pope Benedict XVI unwaveringly defended Humane Vitae in a hail storm of opposition from the secular world. "What was true yesterday remains true also today. The truth expressed in 'Humanae Vitae' does not change; in fact, in light of new scientific discoveries, its teaching is becoming more current and is provoking reflection," he said.

In June 2007 the Pope also approved a document concerning the Church and the Protestant denominations. He upheld the teaching of the Church clearly by upholding the fact that Protestant denominations cannot be considered Churches in the real sense of the term....."According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called “Churches” in the proper sense."




There are many more examples of great bishops doing great things. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section!