Edit: amazing that at least in this Diocese, in contrast to others, that faithful priests are being defended, even in this case where the dissident opposition is so strong that it cut donations in half and possibly resulted in the loss of the parish's school.
MADISON — Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino is trying to quell a backlash against some conservative priests in Platteville by warning parishioners that they risk the possibility of being barred from sacraments such as communion, confession and burial.
A report Sunday said the warning came Wednesday in a five-page letter from Morlino to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Platteville.
The congregation has been roiled by opposition to the traditionalist priests, who arrived in June 2010. Donations are down by more than half since they arrived, and about 40 percent of the 1,200 members have signed a petition seeking the priests’ ouster, The church’s 77-year-old school is set to close June 1, a loss many parishioners blame on the collapse in donations.
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Also covered on Badger Catholic...
Link to Bishop Morlino's Letter, so you're not at the mercy of the media to know what he actually said.
Here's a scriptural passage cited by the Bishop::
“Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are
members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do
not leave room for the devil…And do not grieve the holy Spirit of God, with which you were
sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be
removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” (Eph 4:25-27, 30-32)
1 comment:
I am so happy for my bishop backing up his good priests.
http://www.madisoncatholicherald.org/bishop/41-bishop-category/3189-statement.html
Statement of the Diocese of Madison, regarding coverage of the delicate situation in Platteville, in the Wisconsin State Journal
This past weekend, the Wisconsin State Journal chose to run a story on the sad events surrounding the closing of St. Mary’s School in Platteville.
Instead of reporting the facts as they are, the State Journal opted to turn one of the expressed reasons of Bishop Robert C. Morlino’s letter (that of “In charity and in justice, I must caution you most strongly that this cannot continue. I do this now in sincere hopes of avoiding the issuance of Canonical warnings [or penalties]”) into the exact opposite and the basis for their entire story.
The corresponding headline falsely reads “Bishop Morlino warns dissenters to stop — or else,” when no warning was given. Rather, his was an appeal to reasonable Christian charity, in a sincere attempt to avoid that very thing.
This careless and scurrilous misrepresentation of the bishop’s communication is only the latest in a series of stories that seek further to divide the Catholic Church, which it has done, in a seemingly systematic and consistent way, since Bishop Morlino’s arrival, almost nine years ago and even before.
Through distorting the truth, impugning the faith, and undermining the authority of the Church, the Wisconsin State Journal has succeeded in fostering needless discord among the faithful. The present occurrence is certainly among the most outrageous, when the opposite of the bishop’s intent was reported.
Why would one not conclude that the Wisconsin State Journal is anti-Catholic?--
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