How To Criticize a Fellow Bishop Without Criticizing Him

THE SCANDAL OF THE TED KENNEDY FUNERAL, REVISITED – HOPEFULLY FOR THE LAST TIME

by Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, Texas

As President Harry Truman famously said, referring to the latest White House scandal, “The buck stops here!” referring to the President’s desk in the Oval Office. It is not unreasonable to suggest that the ‘buck’ for the scandal of the secular extravaganza which obscured the sacred liturgical nature of the Kennedy funeral should stop at the desk of the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston. Again, since I do not want to directly criticize another bishop, I leave it to the laity to analyze the true nature of that celebration. I give the final word to a layman for whom I have a great deal of respect: Phillip Lawler. Phillip Lawler’s book, The Faithful Departed, is a devastating historical record of the state of Catholocism in Boston as well as an excellent photograph of its present condition. It is a must read for anyone who really wants to understand how a scandalous event such as the funeral celebration last Saturday in Boston could take place. Here is Phillip Lawler’s analysis of that event which he published today on Catholic Culture’s Blog. The Kennedy Funeral: Boston’s Latest Scandal

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Then there is this follow-up:

WHY DID I CONSIDER IT IMPORTANT THAT THE VIEWS OF THE LAITY ON THE TED KENNEDY FUNERAL BE MADE KNOWN?

OVER ON THE “PRIESTS’ SECRETARY BLOG,
http://4thepriests.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/first-bishop-to-express-concerns-with-kennedy-funeral/
some of what I had written about the scandal of the Ted Kennedy funeral was reproduced and posted on that Blog.One person, Drew Black, sent in a comment to that Blog:
Drew Black
Thank-you, Excellency for the courage to speak out, to put the truth into print. May I ask why it is the laity’s duty to formally criticize the Cardinal of Boston? It would seem that the most efficacious means of correction would come from the top. Authority in the church lies with its leaders. You must stand up publicly to one another. Please. We pray for you in this year of the priest.
Mary help you.
Thinking that others might be asking themselves the similar question “why did Bishop Gracida consider it the laity’s duty to formally criticize the Cardinal of Boston?” I decided to send an answer to Drew Black on that same Blog. Here was my answer:
September 9, 2009 at 2:16 pm
abyssum
Drew Black,
You ask “why is it the laity’s duty to formally criticize the Cardinal of Boston?”
In response I would refer you to the Historical Tracts written by the Servant of God, John Henry Cardinal Newman, in which he describes the situation in the Fourth Century when, he says, practically all of the Church’s bishops were tainted either with Arianism or Semi-Arianism, all except for the Pope and Saint Athanasius. The “sensus fidelium” of the laity saved the Church because they would not follow the lead of their bishops. The Pope and Saint Athanasius, relying on that “sensus fidelium” were able to carry the day at the Council of Nicea. Sometimes, history does repeat itself.
+rhg
My point in referring to what Cardinal Newman wrote was that there are times in the life of the Church when the laity needs to make known to the Church’s hierarchy exactly what the sensus fidelium is with regard to whatever burning issue is affecting the unity of the Church at that moment.