Faithful Catholics follow bishops who offer true and courageous leadership
From my latest article in the Catholic Herald:
Bishop Strickland was reported to be supportive of a lay initiative to protest the The LA Dodgers Baseball Team's invitation of a group of anti-Catholic drag queens called the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” to their June 16th Pride Night to present them with the Community Hero Award.
The group have staged events mocking Catholic symbols and rituals. They call themselves an “Order” and takes considerable delight in mocking Catholic customs and traditions by dressing up as nuns, calling themselves “sisters”, their leader “abbess” and mis-quoting the Bible verse, “go and sin no more”, changing it to “go and sin some more.” This has caused considerable backlash from lay people and the US bishops appeared not to know which way to turn, the LA Diocese distanced itself from the rally urging prayer, not a rally while both Bishop Robert Baron and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone urged public witness against the Dodgers.The rally was a huge success with over five thousand lay Catholics turning out to protest anti-Catholic bigotry contrasting starkly with an empty dodgers stadium as normal Americans made their distaste with the Dodgers known by staying away.
It is instructive that when our shepherds are clear about what matters, lay Catholics will step up. If the Catholic Church simply reflects the culture, it ceases to be salt and light and we shouldn't be surprised when people lose interest.
Read the full article here
Bishop Strickland's address:
Plenty of faithful Catholics followed Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, in Metuchen, New Jersey, and in Washington, DC. How did that work out?
ReplyDeleteIt's a fair point, but there are lots of examples one can find online of McCarrick giving problematic talks and homilies. Not so Strickland. As I say the sheep know the voice of the good shepherd!
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