Some analysts have suggested that the choice of Bishop McElroy is a slap at the US bishops’ conference. It is more than that; it is a whole series of slaps:
- A slap at the full US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which rejected Bishop McElroy’s bid to scuttle their mild statement on voters’ responsibilities— and at the former president of the USCCB, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who was forced to rebuke the cantankerous Bishop McElroy when he pressed the argument too aggressively.
- A slap at Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, the head of the largest archdiocese in the US, who is still waiting for his red hat, in what can no longer be dismissed as an oversight. Archbishop Gomez is not only the current president of the USCCB; he is also the metropolitan of the region in which Bishop McElroy serves.
- A slap at the Hispanic Catholics who make up a majority of the Los Angeles archdiocese, and are still waiting anxiously to celebrate the elevation of a Hispanic cardinal.
- And of course a slap at Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who made headlines last week by taking the stand that Bishop McElroy has sharply criticized, barring Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Communion— and for the many American bishops (not to mention lay Catholics) who have supported Archbishop Cordileone’s disciplinary action.
The tensions between Pope Francis and the US bishops’ conference have become increasingly evident. By giving red hats to prelates far to the left of the USCCB consensus— Cupich, Tobin, and now McElroy— the Pontiff is sending an unmistakable signal about both his personal preferences.
Go here to read the rest. Our Pope, who constantly rails against ideologies and rigidity, is a rigid Leftist. His appointments may indicate that he knows or suspects that his time is short and the mask he has sometime worn must come off.
The action of a petulant child, which if you examine the past nine-plus years is exactly what we have been enduring in the See of Peter. He hates the United States even more than his favored politicians do.
“the Pontiff is sending an unmistakable signal about both his personal preferences…”
The phrase Anti-American-Homo-Facist comes to mind.
(if someone had told me 5 years ago that I’d be saying this about a Pope, I would’ve said they were out of their mind.)
This bishop of Rome brings out a loathing in me which, while I do regret having, is real nonetheless.
Good news: I should be out of the San Diego diocese by the end of the year. Bad news: I will be in the Diocese of San Antonio. Eheu.
Would be that the USCCB finally gets the message that one’s adherence to the tenets of our faith is not what Rome seems to demand or reward anymore. Perhaps it is time that more than the few in the hierarchy speak out, for the scandal is already there for the world to see and the demons to cheer.
I pray the time of Bergoglio will end soon but how much hope do we have for a saintly pontiff to follow? Ven. Fulton Sheen: “He (the devil) will set up a counter-Church which will be the ape of the Church because, he the devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the anti-Christ that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ…”
He’s 68, so he has a solid 10 years ahead of him in the red hat. And once they are appointed then you can not un-appointment a Cardinal, if say, there was a Vatican regime change (yes it’s a regime).
The College of Cardinals could do with a good clean out.
“This bishop of Rome brings out a loathing in me which, while I do regret having, is real nonetheless.”
I get you.