KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER

July 20, 2004

TOPIC:

A TALE OF TWO DIOCESES

Dear Friend of Catholic Answers:

Bishop Walter F. Sullivan was a liberal who maintained some of the original
meaning of the word "liberal." Unlike many of his counterparts on the left
half of the episcopal spectrum, he permitted the celebration of the
Tridentine Mass, and there were other ways in which he was said to have
given liberty to those with whom he did not agree on liturgical or other
matters.

But he was a liberal in the usual sense too. He catered to pressure groups,
establishing, for example, a "sexual minorities" commission to advise him on
"gay and lesbian issues," and there were de rigueur commissions dealing with
women, people with AIDS, black Catholics, and social justice issues.

Sullivan retired after leading the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, for 29
years. His replacement is Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, who took over in May.
He formerly was the bishop of Honolulu.

Under DiLorenzo the "sexual minorities" commission is not being reactivated.
(It and all other commissions went into suspension when Sullivan retired.)
The new bishop removed from the women's commission a member who was vocal in
her support of women's ordination; she had served as the secretary of the
Women's Ordination Conference. Membership in 24 other commissions is being
reviewed.

Especially interesting is that DiLorenzo announced that no one could be
invited to speak on Church property unless first approved by the diocesan
theologian, a post that had lain vacant under Sullivan.

In deciding whether a proposed speaker passes muster, the new diocesan
theologian, Fr. Russell E. Smith, has been instructed to use a simple
standard: orthodoxy. "Orthodoxy is right teaching. Anything contrary to
Catholic teaching will not fly. Don't expect anything about women's
ordination in this diocese." The definition of orthodoxy, Smith said, can be
found in the Catechism and in canon law. To help parishes, he will be
sending them guidelines.

Smith's duties go beyond vetting prospective speakers. He also will handle
complaints about liturgical abuses. "I am to determine whether or not there
is a problem, and I propose the easy solution to the problem, which is to
fix it voluntarily." If that fails, the situation will be handled by
diocesan administrators as a personnel matter, said Smith.

Richmond has been known for three decades as a "progressive" diocese. It may
be transformed in three years into one that has made great progress in
putting itself in line with the teachings and practices of the Church. Stay
tuned.

VASA NON VACILLATOR

At the other end of the country we find a parallel story.

Bishop Robert F. Vasa heads the Diocese of Baker, Oregon. He has issued a
regulation that requires those involved in parish ministries, especially in
catechetics and in service at Mass, to provide assent to a list of ten
doctrinal statements as well as to "all the teaching of the Catholic
Church."

The document is called the "Affirmation of Personal Faith." Anyone who
declines to sign it is asked to withdraw from ministerial duties. Among the
issues in the "Affirmation" are teachings on homosexuality, contraception,
chastity, marriage, abortion, euthanasia, the Real Presence, Mary, hell,
purgatory, and the authority of the Church.

Vasa noted that "some Catholics claim a right to 'religious dissent' from
even the serious moral teachings of the Church," but this "does not carry
with it a corresponding 'right' to hold positions of esteem as a catechist
or liturgical minister."

In a cover letter to lay ministers, Vasa wrote, "The summary statements
which I have collected in the 'Affirmation of Personal Faith' are all taken
from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They represent the authentic and
authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church, and acceptance of these
tenets is expected of every Catholic. While it is sufficient for me to
'presume' that Catholics who attend Mass and receive Communion adhere to
these teachings (unless the contrary is clearly evident), such a presumption
is not sufficient for those whom I commission to teach and act in some
official capacity."

The "Affirmation of Personal Faith" includes statements such as these:

"I affirm that I reject direct, intentional abortion and I do not recognize
the legitimacy of anyone's claim to a moral right to form their own
conscience in this matter. I am not pro-choice."

"I affirm and believe the Church's teaching about the sinfulness of
contraception."

"I affirm and believe the teaching of the Church about the evil of
homosexual acts."

"I affirm and believe that those who die in God's grace and friendship but
are still imperfectly purified undergo additional purification so as to
achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joys of heaven. I affirm that
the Church's name for this final purification is purgatory."

"I further acknowledge that those teachings pronounced in a definitive
manner, even though not as an infallible definition, are binding on the
consciences of the faithful and are to be adhered to with religious assent."

In a footnote the "Affirmation" says that "The Church requires the making of
a Profession of Faith by various persons when they undertake specific duties
related to Church administration and teaching (cf. Canon 833). In the
Diocese of Baker this has been expanded to include those who take on the
ecclesial duties of Catechist, Liturgical Reader, Cantor, Extraordinary
Minister of Holy Communion, and other Church positions which entail a
presumption of orthodoxy."

The full text of the "Affirmation," along with Bishop Vasa's cover letter
and an explanatory document titled "Giving Testimony to the Truth," may be
found at http://www.dioceseofbaker.org/giving_testimon_to_the_truth.htm

HARRUMPH!

Not surprisingly, not everyone in the diocese has been pleased. A small
group calling itself Concerned Catholics of the Diocese of Baker sent a
letter to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, asking him to review the new documents.
The group includes the diocese's former episcopal vicar. The letter charges
that "Giving Testimony" is "narrow and imbalanced" in that it ignores "the
principal teachings of Christ and the Gospel."

Of course "Giving Testimony" is "narrow," and the "Affirmation," being
shorter, is even narrower. If it were to be otherwise, they would be the
Catechism, not booklet-length documents. The issue shouldn't be whether
"Giving Testimony" and the "Affirmation" are "narrow" but whether what they
propose for belief is correct.

If the faith consisted of 100 propositions, it would not be much of an
argument to say that a doctrinal statement was too "narrow" because it
listed only ten of them. What matters is whether what is listed is true and
therefore worthy to be affirmed.

At the largest parish in the diocese, St. Francis of Assisi in Bend, more
than two dozen people have withdrawn from ministry. One such person, Wilma
Hens, said the "Affirmation" focused too heavily on "pelvic issues." Vasa
responded by noting that he "did not set the [sexual] agenda, but the world
set that agenda."

Would Hens have signed the "Affirmation" if it had included a few dozen
additional points that had nothing to do with sexual morality? Not likely.
Her kind of complaint comes from those who reject one or more moral
teachings of the Church.

The pastor of St. Patrick's parish in Madras also is unhappy with the
"Affirmation." "It breaks my heart," said Fr. Jim Stephens, "that a number
of good people ... have told me they cannot continue in parish ministry,
that they cannot make the 'Affirmation of Personal Faith' because they have
some reservation about some of the teachings."

Stephens says his heart is broken because these people now feel excluded.
Why didn't his heart break when he discovered that they didn't accept the
entirety of the Catholic faith? Isn't rejection of formal Catholic teachings
a worse thing than feeling left out?

What will Stephens do to insure his flock accepts the faith in its entirety?
He doesn't say.

Until next time,

Karl

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The content of this E-Letter is copyright 2004 by Karl Keating.