Eight Habits of Highly Effective Bishops
I wonder how man measure up
What qualities best equip today's bishop to fight the culture war? That's the question Mary Jo Anderson posed in a survey of Catholic authors and activists, priests and scholars. Here is a synopsis of the results but read the entire article in California Catholic
1. A bishop must be personally holy.
2. A bishop must promote and defend the authentic Catholic Faith.
One frequently mentioned quality of a strong bishop is his willingness to stand up for the truth, no matter the cost (often paid in media uproar). Indeed, for 2,000 years, bishops have been among the chief defenders of the Faith -- from the early Church, through the Reformation, and to the modern era. Maintaining doctrinal fidelity must occur not just among Catholics in general but also among those who work in the parishes themselves.
3. A bishop must be committed to Catholic education.
A bishop is, first and foremost, a teacher. As such, a truly effective bishop must be committed to faithful Catholic education.
4. A bishop must work to strengthen the Catholic family.
5. A bishop must foster vocations.
Seminarians -- the priests of tomorrow -- are the future of the Church. For this reason, one of the primary responsibilities of a bishop is to encourage vocations in his diocese, so that tomorrow's Catholics have pastors to lead them.
6. A bishop must love the Mass.
As with Habit No. 1, a love for the Mass and the Eucharist is a sign of -- and means to -- personal holiness. Sadly, much of today's liturgy is faddish or downright irreverent. The fruit of this is clear for all to see: declining Mass attendance, increased dissent, and a migration out of the Church. When liturgy looks more like a gimmick than a transcendent experience, people lose interest.
7. A bishop must be willing and able to start from scratch.
8. A bishop must be vocal in the public square.
The bishop's role as a teacher is generally a public one. And as such, his office frequently requires him to take a public role -- sometimes in the political arena.
Would your bishop score an "8?" Sadly, too many would be lucky to get a "4."
I wonder how man measure up
What qualities best equip today's bishop to fight the culture war? That's the question Mary Jo Anderson posed in a survey of Catholic authors and activists, priests and scholars. Here is a synopsis of the results but read the entire article in California Catholic
1. A bishop must be personally holy.
2. A bishop must promote and defend the authentic Catholic Faith.
One frequently mentioned quality of a strong bishop is his willingness to stand up for the truth, no matter the cost (often paid in media uproar). Indeed, for 2,000 years, bishops have been among the chief defenders of the Faith -- from the early Church, through the Reformation, and to the modern era. Maintaining doctrinal fidelity must occur not just among Catholics in general but also among those who work in the parishes themselves.
3. A bishop must be committed to Catholic education.
A bishop is, first and foremost, a teacher. As such, a truly effective bishop must be committed to faithful Catholic education.
4. A bishop must work to strengthen the Catholic family.
5. A bishop must foster vocations.
Seminarians -- the priests of tomorrow -- are the future of the Church. For this reason, one of the primary responsibilities of a bishop is to encourage vocations in his diocese, so that tomorrow's Catholics have pastors to lead them.
6. A bishop must love the Mass.
As with Habit No. 1, a love for the Mass and the Eucharist is a sign of -- and means to -- personal holiness. Sadly, much of today's liturgy is faddish or downright irreverent. The fruit of this is clear for all to see: declining Mass attendance, increased dissent, and a migration out of the Church. When liturgy looks more like a gimmick than a transcendent experience, people lose interest.
7. A bishop must be willing and able to start from scratch.
8. A bishop must be vocal in the public square.
The bishop's role as a teacher is generally a public one. And as such, his office frequently requires him to take a public role -- sometimes in the political arena.
Would your bishop score an "8?" Sadly, too many would be lucky to get a "4."
posted by Former Altar Boy at
12:19 AM
4 Comments:
Mine gets a zero
I say that *we* lay Catholics have the ability to help our Bishops be strong, holy Bishops.
I'll explain:
The Feminists and Liberals harass the priests and bishops until they get what they want. And we mope along and comply. We sit in our pews and feel bad and then complain on our blogs.
Well, if there's this much weakness at the parish level then it's no surprise that there is so much weakness also when faced with the harassing, whining, griping Liberal/Feminist press!
Well!! If more *real* Catholics (vs. Spirit of Vat II yahoos) would get off of our spiritual asses and FIGHT BACK then we'd show our Bishops we are not going to take this crap any more!
What if we refused to sing the stuff? And belted out a reverent hymn instead? AND THEN COMPLAINED!
What would happen if we stood up and walked out during liturgical dance, and other abuses? AND THEN COMPLAINED!
What would happen if someone stood up in the pew and went all St. Catherine of Siena on the Priest's/Bishop's/Decon's/Feminist's backside when they started preaching crap from the pulpit? AND THEN COMPLAINED! I'm serious here! How many of us have ever stood up and said, "LIAR! The words you're speaking are SIN and I'm not going to sit here and allow you to put the souls of my fellow Catholics at risk!"
How many Catholic women are heeding the words of Our Lady of Fatima regarding modesty? And wearing big, fat, obvious veils on our heads that say, "KISS OFF!" to the Spirit of Vatican II?
I'm walking the walk, not just talking the talk here! I've had people send someone TO MY HOUSE in order to try and tell me off about the mantilla. So I went and bought EVEN MORE. And now, in order to really make the point, I wear a veil every time I leave the farm. (Or a bonnet if I can't get a veil on in time.) So neener, neener, Spirit of Vatican II!
If we Catholics started to fight back **at the parish level** and forced the Feminists and Liberals to BACK OFF, just imagine how much this would force Priests and Bishops to realize that we are not going to sit there like lumps while they destroy Holy Mother Church!
We all talk tough on our blogs but how many of us actually have the spines to start standing up for Holy Mother Church right there in our own parishes? IN FRONT OF EVERYONE?
How many MEN have the guts to walk up to other men and say, "You need to set a far better example. This is the HOLY MASS! You're here to worship the KING OF KINGS! Would you dress like that if you were meeting with the President?"
It's not enough to demand that our priests and bishops defend the Faith ~ we have a moral obligation to defend the Faith as well. Look at all of those Saints that were not clergy but still had the guts to stand right up for the Faith even though they were denounced and ridculed and labelled "Nuts"??
Oh, and what about those Saints that DIED BRUTAL DEATHS for the Faith? Have they died in vain so we can sit around whining on blogs, with too many of us wimping out, jumping ship, and becoming SSPX? Holy Mother Church needs fighters right here in the trenches! Not going AWOL!
We only have ourselves to blame if our parishes continue to be held in the grip of "The Spirit of Vatican II." Holy Mother Church needs active, brave **warriors** not just complainers.
And folks, I am practicing what I'm preaching. And at a great price to myself, I might add. As I type I'm in yet another battle where I'm refusing to back down **even though I've been ordered to do so by a priest.** I live on a small island where I'm mostly ostracized and ridiculed. I'm laughed at in the streets! I'm suffering daily for living the Faith and not backing down for ANYTHING or ANYONE. I'm not just typing a tough comment! I've had ENOUGH.
Cavemen, Cavelady, I'd like to see this comment put up on your blog so maybe we can pass the club along. Maybe anger enough "traditional" Catholics that we start going all St. Catherine of Siena. Small sparks lead to big fires! And you can put there: COFFEE CATHOLIC WROTE THIS AND SHE'S NOT AFRAID OF YOU.
CC-
Great points. God bless your Christian fortitude and, yes, moe of us need to follow your example.
Coffee Catholic: you mean you got a home visit just for wearing a freaking mantilla??? WtF? It never fails: scratch a lib, get a neo-Nazi fascist pig.
And you're absolutely right. In the fourth century, when damn near every priest and bishop was an Arian, it was the tireless work of orthodox lay Catholics that saved the Church. We can do it again.
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