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John Pacheco at SoCon or Bust just wrote another insightful article on the Development and Peace (D&P) scandal. Click here to read it.
Media reports following the Plenary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) had some coverage of the D&P affair, although we really don't know what happened because all the important discussions were held behind closed doors.
Among the public comments that we know of, Bishop Richard Grecco (Charlottetown) presented a report that whitewashed D&P of any wrongdoing. That part isn't surprising. What shocked me was the report's assessment of the toll that this scandal has taken:
"Among the individual and regular monthly donors to DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE, we have had 34 individuals (of our 6,110 donors) cancel their monthly contributions as a direct result of the controversy, representing 0.5% of our donor database." (Source)
The reason that donations were so little affected is partly due to the fact that most pro-life Catholics stopped donating to D&P years ago because of other scandals.
But there is a more fundamental issue here. Is that how Catholic bishops should assess a controversy, by its financial cost?
What about the sufferings of thousands of faithful Catholics that have become disillusioned and
Many of you are aware of the Father Rosica scandal that erupted over the past month. You can read about it here.
Catholic Dialogue was interested in getting a broader sense of how Internet-literate Catholics were reacting to Fr. Rosica's unexplainable outburst. To do this, we conducted extensive research on the Internet in order to see which way the wind was blowing. Today, we are presenting these exclusive results.
Clearly, Fr. Rosica is facing serious headwinds in the court of public opinion.
The research revealed that 80.5% of all the articles that expressed an opinion on the controversy were opposed to Fr. Rosica's position, while only 19.5% supported him. The methodology encompasses all online articles published on the Fr. Rosica controversy, but excludes "comments" posted on blogs, since these can easily be manipulated.
In case you're wondering, articles by LifeSiteNews represented a very small fraction of the articles published on this issue. Excluding articles from LifeSiteNews, the disapproval rating for Fr. Rosica is still 79.8%.
The disapproval of Fr. Rosica is widespread and broad-based. It includes both men and women, laity and clergy. They quote Church documents and Doctors of the Church. They refer to authoritative statements by Vatican officials. By all accounts, these are educated Catholics, well-versed in Scripture and the Catechism. They do not seek personal glory or satisfaction. They do not have any axe to grind. They are merely seeking to denounce errors and injustices so that the Church in Canada may once again submit to Rome's authority.
In theological terms, we'd say that the sensus fidelium is enabling the faithful to participate in Christ's prophetic office by denouncing error. In layman's terms, we'd say that Fr. Rosica's behaviour doesn't pass the sniff test.
This doesn't bode well for Salt and Light's ratings. But it is certainly good news in the battle for the soul of the Church, since the Internet reaches such a broader audience than a satellite cable network.
The winds of change are blowing. There is a growing sense that too many clergymen are lukewarm or outright dissenters. The discontent among the faithful will be a powerful instrument to help the Church return to authentic Magisterial teaching in union with the Vatican.
Please pray for Fr. Rosica and all clergy.
The Canadian Organization for Life and Family (COLF), a group co-founded by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, has come out with a strong pro-life and pro-family document. Read here.
Bravo! COLF has been a strong defender of Catholic values over the years.
We are truly blessed in Ottawa to have an Archbishop who is in unity with the Church's teachings and who is not afraid to publicly witness to his faith. Praise God!
Yesterday, Archbishop Prendergast participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign by spending some time praying in front of the Morgentaler abortion facility in Ottawa. He also took some time to affirm and encourage the other people who were keeping vigil there. Read more here.
Finally, a bishop who is not content with simply preaching from the pulpit, but who will also go into the trenches and stand shoulder to shoulder with the faithful on the front lines.
Thank you Archbishop Prendergast! May God bless you abundantly! And may you carry this zeal to the plenary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in October, in order to encourage your brothers to reform Development and Peace and fix the other numerous problems within the Canadian Church.
The most precious thing in the Catholic Church is the Eucharist. Why? Because it is God Himself. It doesn't get any bigger than that.
As John Pacheco points out, a clergyman's behaviour towards the Eucharist is a good litmus test as to whether he is following the true Faith and the true Church.
Do not trust clergymen who won't deny communion to pro-abortion politicians. Do not trust clergymen who don't show proper reverence for the Eucharist. They will invoke clever excuses, such as not wanting to be judgmental or harsh. Don't buy it. That's a cop-out.
If they won't stand up for something so fundamental and primordial as the Eucharist, you can rest assured that there are other errors in their teachings. Be on your guard.
Similarly, make sure to affirm and encourage those faithful clergymen who devoutly worship and venerate Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist. They are beacons of hope in world gone mad. Support them and love them. You have found a precious jewel.
Is there an aspect of the Catholic Faith that you struggle with? Please drop me a line in the comments section and we can have a friendly talk about it.
Asking questions is not a sign of ignorance. It's a sign of intelligence: you want to know and understand something. A faith that has never been questioned may not be fully mature. But if you have questioned certain aspects of the Faith and have looked for the answers, then your faith grows much stronger.
