Bishop Morlino Comes Under (More) Attack

Yesterday, I wrote a post (A Reflection On Matthew 5:10-12 & 8:28-34) talking about the persecution we are facing as we stand up for the truth. I came across a story about Bishop Morlino that illustrates what I said.

Bishop Robert Morlino of the Diocese of Madison has been working to clean up the diocese & bring it back to where it should be. He had an openly gay music director fired, he has spoken out strongly on life issues, he held priests accountable when they failed to support Church teaching, & he recently spoken out clearly on Sen. Biden's false theology. Naturally he has come under attack from the dissidents in his diocese. When you stand for something that goes against Catholic teaching & you have a Bishop showing the right way, then you can't mislead them down the road to Hell. The dissidents know it, & they hate it. Of course they don't come out & actually admit the real reasons why they are upset. They know if they do that their cover will be blown. So, they couch their criticism in nice sounding words of concern for issues they feel need more attention. & you make it sound like you are doing so out of pastoral concern. O yeah, & you do so by putting an ad (R) that claims to be an innocent open letter in the Wisconsin State Journal (WSJ). (Yes, Canon law does allow for publicly calling the Bishop to speak out, but only when he doesn't teach authenthically, not to tear him down when he does.)

I don't know if it was the luck of the draw, or if it was intentional that the ad was in the business section of yesterday's paper. If it was intentional, it gives some insight into the mindset of those behind it. But, 1 fact is known about those signing it, many are members of the Madison branch of Call to Action (CTA), a clearly dissident group. & that is what this whole thing boils down to. CTA & their buddies want to destroy the Catholic Church under the guise of claiming faithfulness to the Church. CTA claims they are being led by the Holy Spirit, in fact they are being led by a lying spirit straight out of hell. & that is where they want to lead others.

Bishop Morlino did receive a copy of the letter last Friday in advance of its publication. Brent King, spokesman for the Madison Catholic Diocese issued a statement from the Bishop calling the group to "return to full acceptance of the faith."

I think that the following statements from the WSJ article about the letter get to the heart of what those dissidents fear the most. (emphasis mine) Ron Faust of Cross Plains said: "I like that he tells the truth and doesn't back away from it." Huan Hoang of Madison said: ""He awakened my faith. He needs to know that he's leading us to Jesus Christ, and at the end of the day, that's the only thing that's important."" (Madison-area Catholics decry Morlino's leadership in open letter) Like I said at the start, Bishop Morlino is speaking the truth & leading people to Jesus, the dissidents want to lead them away by proclaiming lies. Any other questions about why they are attacking the Bishop?

Bishop Morlino is trying to be a good shepherd of his diocese. He may not be doing everything perfectly. Pray for Bishop Morlino so that God will continue to work through him & bless his efforts. Pray that God will confound the Bishop's enemies & defeat their efforts at sabatoge.

(Source: Madison, WI: Call To Action types attack Bp. Morlino in the local newspaper )