It wasn't what we expected. They weren't talking about the National Catholic Distorter or America Magazine, Catholics United or Sr. Carol Keehan.
No, they were talking about the folks making the judgements that these people are teaching errors and leading souls astray.
They were shocked. Shocked, I tell you, that there is a growing presence on the internet making judgments that make people feel like their rolls in the hay with every Tom, Dick and Mary are sinful.
"We are particularly concerned about blogs that engage in attacks and hurtful judgmental language. We are very troubled by blogs and other elements of media that assume the role of magisterium and judge others in the church."
They sponsored a webinar on the Catholic media role and their relationship with Bishops.
As you can imagine, most of us found some laundry to do at the exact same time.
The Catholic media relationship with Bishops?
Why that is simple. Nobody on any side of anything gives a rat's patoot.
That is the relationship.
Once upon a time, Catholics faithful to the teachings of the Church and the Deposit of Faith were trying to hold onto what was left of trust after the systemic rot of cronyism was brought into the light.
After the long and painful search for parishes and initiatives to teach our children the faith resulted in the Bishops attacking faithful Catholics instead of pastorally managing those teaching errors, they have lost faithful Catholics.
As we are all assembling to expose their corruption and teach the authentic faith, panic and pandemonium is setting in.
When American Bishops and the USCCB silences and quashes the National Catholic Reporter and America Magazine, the nuns, priests and lay people whoring the Word Catholic and misleading our families, children and friends, we'll start to take their outreaches seriously.
Until then, here's how to characterize the faithful's relationship with American Catholic Bishops: YOU ARE DISMISSED.
Michael Voris, says it much better than I:
6 comments:
Are Catholic blogs beginning to have an effect?
Posted by tantamergo
A Blog for Dallas Area Catholics
July 30, 2010
http://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/are-catholic-blogs-beginning-to-have-an-effect/
On Wednesday this week, the USCCB hosted a webinar entitled “Faitful Catholic Media: Continuing the Conversation.” In this conversation, a Bishop of Zavala, auxiliary of Los Angeles, had some rather negative words to say for Catholic blogs:
“As I talked with brother bishops in preparation for this presentation, there was consistent agreement that one aspect that is most alarming to us about media is when it becomes un-Christian and hurtful to individuals,” he said. “We are particularly concerned about blogs that engage in attacks and hurtful judgmental language. We are very troubled by blogs and other elements of media that assume the role of magisterium and judge others in the church.”
Zavala stated instead, that Catholic media, like National Catholic Distorter and Commonweal, are “civil and respectful.” That’s lovely. Even though Commonweal and National Catholic Distorter frequently cross the line into dissent and well over it into heresy (especially the latter), they are “civl and respectful,” and thus, beyond reproach. Of course, the fact that a certain percentage of our Episcopate, carrying on the tradition of Bernadin, Weakland, and Gumbleton, and others, supports the “vision” of the Church espoused in the Distorter probably plays a part in it. It seems that little the dissent and heresy crowd does seems to much bother the USCCB, while those who call for greater orthodoxy and adherence to the great Tradition of the Church are some of the least popular people among the national conference. I should note, as well, that when Bishop Zavala refers to ”Catholic media,” he is also not including EWTN, the most successful Catholic media operation EVER in the United States. Recall what the ever so gracious Cardinal Mahoney said to Mother Angelica, as reported in her book: “One day, you’ll be gone, and then we’ll get your network.” Mother Angelica shortly thereafter turned EWTN into a lay-run network, beyond the reach of the USCCB forever.
But, there is some good news. It seems all is not well in Catholic media land. In fact, most diocesan newspapers bleed red ink, and the major national Catholic periodicals are in dire financial straits, as well, to the effect that they have requested USCCB provide economic assistance (rather consistent with the handout the MSM has been looking for). The USCCB is apparently unable to comply with that request at this time. I’ll make you a prediction – most Catholic newspapers and magazines will be gone within 10 years, 15 on the outside. The same changing market forces that are dooming secular periodicals are going to doom their Catholic counterparts, unless the bureaucrats at the USCCB manage to convince the USCCB to put NCR and others on life support.
So, a bit of advice for the USCCB. You might want to stop attacking blogs, and start listening to them. You might want to even start befriending quite a few of them, because in a couple of decades, you will need favorable coverage from blogs read by tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands daily. And the Catholic blogosphere is overwhelmingly orthodox. It would probably behoove the USCCB to perhaps re-evaluate its media relationships going forward, the environment the bishops became accustomed to after Vatican II is near death, if not dead already.
Days of Whining and Neurosis
Posted by Robert Kumpel
St. John Valdosta: A Blog
July 30, 2010
http://stjohnsvaldosta.blogspot.com/2010/07/days-of-whining-and-neurosis.html
Once again the forces of Amchurch are treating Catholic bloggers with the same charity that the Obama administration shows Rush Limbaugh.
At a recent July 28 "webinar" entitled "Faithful Catholic Media: Continuing the Conversation", USCCB Committee on Communications (sigh) chairman, Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles lamented the role of Catholic bloggers for their "judgmentalism" (is that even a REAL WORD?) Specifically:
"We are particularly concerned about blogs that engage in attacks and hurtful judgmental language. We are very troubled by blogs and other elements of media that assume the role of magisterium and judge others in the church."
Again: (Sigh)
Before Bishop Zavala and his comrades get too exhausted beating their dead horse, let's clarify a couple of points one more time.
1. ASSUMING THE ROLE OF THE MAGISTERIUM
I haven't read any Catholic blogs that assume the role of the Magisterium. What I have read and what I try to do on my blog is present what the Church teaches--information that is readily available online--and contrast it with some of the "teachings" that are being foisted upon us by the...let us say, "less orthodox" forces in the Church.
2. JUDGING OTHERS IN THE CHURCH
Once again, let us be clear: We are not permitted to judge the state of anyone's soul and only God is the judge of others. However, we ARE called to judge the actions of others. If we do not do so, we are hopeless lemmings headed for doom. Would you advise your son or daughter to "not judge" the actions of his/her fiance? What we see others doing is often the best indicator of whether or not we can or should trust them.
That is why Jesus said in 18th Chapter of Matthew:
But if your brother shall offend against you, go, and rebuke him between you and him alone. If he shall hear you, you shall gain your brother. And if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to you as the heathen and publican.
(Matt 18.15-17)
That is why St. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy Chapter 4:
I charge you, before God and Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming and his kingdom: Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears: And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. But be vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. (2 Tim 4.2-5)
That is why St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:
t must be observed, however, that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly.
Now I'll admit, my tone on this particular blog has, at times, been a bit edgy and, fallible human that I am, I have, perhaps been a bit mocking in my observations of the state of certain quarters in the Church, but the bottom line is that lay Catholics have a right and a responsibility to speak out when they see the Church that they entrust their very souls to veering off in strange and trendy directions.
Love means to desire what is good for others. We can disagree about what is good, but goodness is built on the truth.
As long as there are forces in the Church denying the truth, there will be Catholics speaking out against their lies. This is the age of the internet, so our bishops should not be surprised to see Catholics using it.
To put Bishop Zavala's comments into perspective, recall that at the LA "Religious Ed" Conference a few months ago, he presided over the closing liturgy. Yes, I'll use the "l" word, for what he did can hardly be called an authentic Mass. We scolded him on the mess he perpetrated and thus his nose is out of joint. Here's my post, and please do go to that youtube page to see the videos. http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com/2010/06/us-bishops-complain-about-us-bloggers.html#more
That is NUTS.
I somehow missed that Bishop Zavala was the Presider at this desecration of the Holiest of Holies.
What sane person would clap and dance his way down the isle when so many kooky things are happening around him in the Sacred Liturgy?
This explains everything about Bishop Zavala's attempt to reign in and silence faithful Catholics.
Had we had such a thing as the "internet" in 1965, I am convinced that the powers that be that sold us (and our Faith) down the river would not have gotten away with it. Hence, the Church would not be in this condition today.
Veronica
This is too wonderfully funny to pass up:
"tantamergo" (two words actually) means either, "such great things I sink," or "Such a great woman, therefore ..." as direct object. It is not the same as the first words of that well-known Benediction hymn, "Tantum Ergo Sacramentum." It would be good if people who might prefer the Latin Mass knew a little Latin.
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