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The sticking point has long been, "Should we obey disobedient bishops?" No. Should our ancestors have affirmed and obeyed the choice of all the bishops in England, save John Fisher, who affirmed that...
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Austin While the Church and State are distinct societies, the Church has indirect power over civil authority. “There may occur a clash between the spiritual good and temporal convenience or expediency,...
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Prof. Bonagura: Thank you for laying out quite clearly the traditional Catholic teaching on the office and role of the Catholic bishop. Thank you as well for the quotes from St. John Chrysostom. As...
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A timely and insightful article! Ezekiel 33:1-17 comes to mind: The Prophet a Watchman. Popes, Bishops, Priests, Parents and all in roles of legitimate authority ought to take notice. Aren't we all...
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A number of comments thus far look at the thorny issue of bishops' statements that fall under the third point I mentioned in the article: practical decisions, which often are the most difficult to...
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Manfred: You present arguments in which I fully agree. BUt, how on earth should we take action? - Ernest Miller
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It seems that there are many areas of confusion developing 'On Listening to Bishops'. The laity is starving for consistent, comprehensive spiritual food of care in order to understand eternal...
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You know, this matter of obeying bishops is something akin to the natural law: you know it when you see it. The same holds true with bishops, the laity know when they got a good one and when they...
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I think we need to fast and pray for our bishops, as indeed we ought to fast and prayer for the salvation of the world (and of our own souls). With the Fortnight for Freedom fast upon us, now is a good...
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@Manfred: Check your sources. Cardinal Dolan did not say that. but just the opposite. According to the New York Times, May 14, "Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan declined on Tuesday to say whether Gov. Andrew...
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@Manfred,The men of our" Faith are HUMAN,have u ever considered that prior to your calls to close the doors of the church? - Jack,CT
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One could cite scripture that we should accept and obey the ruler (i.e., Caesar) in the same vein as the author of this article and some commentators suggest we should accept every word that comes...
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What to do when you believe that your bishop is defrauding the people of his diocese when he closes half of their parishes in one fell swoop, refuses to answer questions, you find that the consulting...
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Unfortunately for Bishops--only the Pope in infallible--and only under specific circumstances. Only an ego such as Cardinal Mahoney of LA, in his "exalted position" in the Church could believe one "mea...
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The Bishops' job is to save souls. Considering that only 20% of Catholics in the US attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on a weekly basis, they are failing badly. They should leave the social justice...
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"...bishops teach us and govern us from their authority as successors of the apostles and representatives of Christ, not from their own personal character." So, when you have bishops saying things...
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With all due respect, jamercurio, part of saving souls is social justice. Fighting abortion, for example, is social justice. Fighting for the Christian view of marriage is social justice. Or should we...
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Professor, you present wonderful points that are important to not only consider, but to take to heart. It isn't easy to countenance some things that come out of the mouths of some Bishops sometimes....
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Too often in the past 50 years has this question raised itself and too often has it been ignored or the answer too it has been fudged. Stop obeying your Bishop when you suspect that what you are...
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