Yes I suppose I was speaking more from emotion than prudence in my comment. The cruelty some bishops have shown in following up Traditionis with gratuitous bans on e.g. ad orientem took me somewhat by surprise. Especially given that even very small gestures in the other direction would go a long way to healing relationships with hurting members of the flock.
Yes I suppose I was speaking more from emotion than prudence in my comment. The cruelty some bishops have shown in following up Traditionis with gratuitous bans on e.g. ad orientem took me somewhat by surprise. Especially given that even very small gestures in the other direction would go a long way to healing relationships with hurting members of the flock.
As a general rule, people don't develop strong empathy for those they do not see and talk to regularly. Empathy is an emotion designed to help form a community, and you can't form a community with someone you never see. So you can expect bishops to react empathetically to hurting people primarily when those people are diocesan employees. I do not believe many of those employees are traditionalists, and most probably don't lean in that direction either.
The number of bishops who have responded to sexual abuse victims by trying to protect the priest (whom they know) or the diocesan coffers, rather than the victim (whom they have probably never seen) is a good indication that bishops are not immune to this. There is usually some additional grace given to those whom your community has designated as a protected class, but that clearly does not apply to traditionalists in the Catholic Church.
Two of the most interesting things about Bishop Strickland was that he actually did a daily holy hour, and he actually walked around and talked to ordinary Catholics on a daily or weekly basis.
I’m not sure how to articulate the feeling of dismay evoked by the knowledge that it is noteworthy and unusual for a bishop to have a daily holy hour.
…..
I just. I don’t have words. What do they think their JOB is. Can you imagine a married couple being *noteworthy* bc they spent an hour together speaking during a day? 😞
To be fair, I don't know that other bishops don't do a daily holy hour. I just know that the only other bishop I've heard talk of it was Fulton Sheen. And he gradually shifted from gently suggesting that his priests do one, to insistently and persistently recommending it as of great importance.
I like your use of the married couple analogy. I remember a group of us talking to an Amish guy while touring his milking parlor, asking whether he or his wife did the milking. He very sincerely explained that they did it together, because "I don't want to do without her, and she don't want to do without me." They legit wanted 24/7 together, and probably got pretty close. That's noteworthy. It's also what St. Paul told the Thessalonian laypeople that they should be doing: "pray constantly". When I'm doing well, I can wish for that sort of prayer.
Yes I suppose I was speaking more from emotion than prudence in my comment. The cruelty some bishops have shown in following up Traditionis with gratuitous bans on e.g. ad orientem took me somewhat by surprise. Especially given that even very small gestures in the other direction would go a long way to healing relationships with hurting members of the flock.
As a general rule, people don't develop strong empathy for those they do not see and talk to regularly. Empathy is an emotion designed to help form a community, and you can't form a community with someone you never see. So you can expect bishops to react empathetically to hurting people primarily when those people are diocesan employees. I do not believe many of those employees are traditionalists, and most probably don't lean in that direction either.
The number of bishops who have responded to sexual abuse victims by trying to protect the priest (whom they know) or the diocesan coffers, rather than the victim (whom they have probably never seen) is a good indication that bishops are not immune to this. There is usually some additional grace given to those whom your community has designated as a protected class, but that clearly does not apply to traditionalists in the Catholic Church.
Two of the most interesting things about Bishop Strickland was that he actually did a daily holy hour, and he actually walked around and talked to ordinary Catholics on a daily or weekly basis.
I’m not sure how to articulate the feeling of dismay evoked by the knowledge that it is noteworthy and unusual for a bishop to have a daily holy hour.
…..
I just. I don’t have words. What do they think their JOB is. Can you imagine a married couple being *noteworthy* bc they spent an hour together speaking during a day? 😞
To be fair, I don't know that other bishops don't do a daily holy hour. I just know that the only other bishop I've heard talk of it was Fulton Sheen. And he gradually shifted from gently suggesting that his priests do one, to insistently and persistently recommending it as of great importance.
I like your use of the married couple analogy. I remember a group of us talking to an Amish guy while touring his milking parlor, asking whether he or his wife did the milking. He very sincerely explained that they did it together, because "I don't want to do without her, and she don't want to do without me." They legit wanted 24/7 together, and probably got pretty close. That's noteworthy. It's also what St. Paul told the Thessalonian laypeople that they should be doing: "pray constantly". When I'm doing well, I can wish for that sort of prayer.