Who Speaks for the Catholic Church?

Joan Frawley Desmond offers an interesting potpourri of orthodox lay opinion regarding the dissident poseurs who hate the Church’s teaching but love the Catholic label. John Haas, Ed Peters, and others weigh in on this important issue.

Charles Wilson, president of the Saint Joseph Foundation, which focuses on canon law, adds this important caveat:

“Canon 227—Lay Christian faithful have the right to have recognized that freedom in the affairs of the earthly city which belongs to all citizens; when they exercise such freedom, however, they are to take care that their actions are imbued with the spirit of the gospel and take into account the doctrine set forth by the magisterium of the Church; but they are to avoid proposing their own opinion as the teaching of the Church in questions which are open to various opinions.”

But that caution applies to bishops too. Mrs. Desmond refers to the appearance at the Democrats’ convention of a woman religious who wrapped herself in the authority of the Church, even as she refused to exercise it to condemn the intrinsic evils constantly advocated by the politicians who surrounded her. Here’s my take on that atrocity, from today’s From Under The Rubble column:

“Now comes Sister Simone Campbell, perpetuating the evasion. She is executive director of NETWORK, a left-wing outfit which billionaire atheist George Soros funds because he hates the Church’s magisterial moral teaching. Campbell has her doubts on abortion (“that’s above my pay grade,” she told a reporter at the convention), but she got a standing ovation for bludgeoning Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget, invoking Bishop Blaire as her authority.

“Paul Ryan claims his budget reflects the principles of our shared Catholic faith,” she said. “But the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the Ryan budget failed a basic moral test, because it would harm families living in poverty.” Sister Simone thus joins Al Sharpton and other leftist luminaries who apparently live to mislead. To the party that is leading the attack on the Church she cooed, “We agree with our bishops” — a paltry bit of palaver that would undoubtedly startle many an orthodox ordinary – especially Rep. Ryan’s hometown shepherd, Bishop Robert C. Morlino, who not only defends Rep. Ryan’s rights as a Catholic layman but also emphatically condemns those who hijack the Church’s authority for political gain. “You can be assured that no priest who promotes a partisan agenda is acting in union with me or with the Universal Church,” he said. Your Excellency, does that welcome assurance also apply to nuns?

Well, we can rest assured that it certainly applies to bishops!

This article, Who Speaks for the Catholic Church? is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
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