Call To Subterfuge

From the Lincoln Journal-Star, Call To Action gets sneaky:

A group critical of the Lincoln Diocese for being the only one in the nation not to participate in a sex abuse survey said it was turned away Monday when it tried to hand-deliver petitions to bishops from across the country.

The USCCB is a sitting target for all sorts of grief when e're they gather. Call to Action, having been previously rebuffed and embarassed in their quest to shame Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, are trying to push their 'prophetic' agenda using some fairly underhanded tactics:

The Catholic reformist group Call to Action instead planned to use a person not known as a member of the group to sneak roughly 1,000 petitions into the hotel where the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was meeting in Baltimore, said a member of the group.

Classy, guys, really classy. Next time, try it without the Groucho Marx disguise. While their battlecry is "Save the Children", Call To Action was excommunicated SIX YEARS before the abuse scandal hit. In reality, they're still hacked off that they got excommunicated, and most people know it:

Monsignor Timothy Thorburn of Lincoln said in statement that Call to Action is “venting its ire” at the bishop for his decision to “not allow the group to operate in the Diocese of Lincoln because of its anti-Catholic doctrines.”

Failing to whip up further scorn from other bishops, Call to Action proceeds to further advertise the root of their misunderstanding of the Church:

“It’s a disappointment ... because Bishop Bruskewitz has just thumbed his nose” at the policies from the bishops’ conference, said Gordon Peterson, Call To Action Member. “The position he takes is he’s only answerable to the pope.”

Well, Gordon, I hate to break it to you, but the bishop is right. The sad part is, Bishop Bruskewitz knows that he answers to the Pope, while too many catholics, like Mr. Peterson, think that they don't.

The model church of Call To Action makes the bishops obedient to the people, and the people obedient only to their 'conscience', however well or ill formed it may be.

Representing

Nine members of the group Call to Action stood outside the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Friday to call attention to Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz’s refusal to participate in an annual sex abuse audit.

But they were upstaged by more than 100 local Catholics who came together on less than an hour’s notice to show support for the bishop

That was from the Lincoln Journal Star's account of CTAN's histrionic bid for some attention. To try and scrape up some ill will against their nemesis, bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, the heretics trot out the bete noire of sexual abuse. Despite that fact that it has been a rare but quickly dealt with problem in Lincoln, some are leary of Lincoln's non-participation in the USCCB's backside-covering sex abuse audits.

Nevertheless, the non-participation raises questions, said John Krejci, a Call to Action member from Lincoln. “We have no guarantee that the children of this diocese are protected,” he said.

I wish that people could be honest in their beefs. Call To Action isn't primarily concerned about sexual abuse, they want the excommunications recinded by Bruskewitz. The sexual abuse audit question is the only thing that they can get any media traction on, in order to try to pressure the bishop. Well, here's the big claim:

Despite the greater numbers on the other side, Pokora said she believes Call to Action represents the majority of Catholics nationwide who want bishops to fully comply with the annual sex abuse study.

“We are the church, and it is important that the voices of the faithful who are concerned about the children of the diocese are heard,” she said.

Well, if CTA represent a majority of Catholics, then why did it take months to get 1000 signatures on their petition. The pro-Bruskewitz petition got 1400 signatures in 31 hours. As for "We are the church", I wasn't aware that the excommunicated had any claim on the Church.

Bruskewitz, as he's always done, called for the dissidents to repent and rejoin the Church. As for the faithful laity of Lincoln, Bruskewitz had the usual request:

He asked them to pray for Call to Action members, that they return to the true Catholic faith.

Yes, let's do.

That All ?

From the Omaha World Herald, Group Targets Actions of Bruskewitz:

More than 1,000 Catholics from all corners of the country have signed a petition protesting Lincoln Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz's actions against members of the Lincoln-based Call to Action Nebraska.

One thousand?! That's the best you can do? Heck, our small parish packs that many in on any given Sunday.

"We are not happy with the way Bishop Bruskewitz has been handling things in the diocese and wanted to draw attention to that," said Rachel Pokora, president of Call to Action Nebraska.

Ms. Pokora thinks herself ill-used, excommunicated by the bishop for belonging to an organization that inherently defies catholic teaching and doctrine.

..the petition criticizes Bruskewitz's refusal to allow girls to serve at the altar and his 1996 excommunication of Call to Action Nebraska members.

Having not gotten any sympathy for their heretical views, Call To Action plays the Abuse card:

The petition also included criticism of his refusal to participate in the annual nationwide audit to determine whether churches are compliant with church policies regarding sex abuse.

"We find this to be very disappointing because we feel the children of Lincoln and the diocese are at risk," said Nicole Sotelo, spokeswoman for the Chicago-based Call to Action U.S.A.

Unlike Call To Action, the USCCB is less hysterical about Lincoln's non-participation in the audits:

A spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said the Lincoln Diocese's lack of participation in the audit does not mean it isn't adhering to church policies regarding sexual abuse.

"The clergy sexual abuse crisis is a serious issue for all the bishops, and I can't see any bishop not doing all they can to ensure children are safe in their diocese," said Teresa Kettelkamp, executive director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection, which administers the audit.

In a written statement, Bruskewitz affirmed that his diocese is operating in full compliance with all civil and church laws concerning the abuse of minors.

I don't worry much about the children in Lincoln, because the Bishop's policy is clear to the local clergy. I think it's something along the lines of "If you abuse children, I promise I'll visit you in prison."

"The Catholic Church teaches that all homosexual acts and any sexual abuse of minors or others are mortal sins," Bruskewitz said in the statement. "Such sins and heinous crimes should be appropriately punished by the authorities of the church and the state."

He cracks down on heretics as well. It's going to take much more than a pathetic petition to change Bp. Bruskewitz' mind on the Call To Action Nebraska excommunications. Maybe they should try renouncing their heresies and reconciling with the Church. It's been known to work.

Ahh, Tolerance

Yours truly trespassed in the yard of one of the "Inclusiveness" apostles, and got dope-smacked for it. Okay, I was asking for it, me and my quoting scripture and proclaiming the Word where it's not particularly welcomed.

It all started over at Titus One Nine, an Episcopalian blog, where my attention was grabbed by an article about sin and identity. I followed the link to a blog, run by an Episcopalian Lesbian cleric, where I thought I could contribute something to dialog. Wrong. Here's the meat of the contention:

But, theologically, [Behaviour-Identity separation] has always been a deeply flawed argument, predicated on several facets of a mind/body dualism which has always tried to make identity and behavior separate and distinct from each other.
Living a "compartmentalized life" - with my identity here and my behavior over there - is to live with one foot in and one foot out of the closet.
...
And, [target of criticism], my brother, you cannot say, on the one hand, that LGBT people are sinners because they act on their sexual orientation outside of marriage, and, at the same time, deny marriage to LGBT people because we are sinners because we are physically intimate and express our love outside of a civil right and a liturgical rite which is denied to us.

That's called "blaming the victim." It's also called "crazy-making" - for everyone involved.

As I was reading her comments, St. Paul's letter to the Romans sprang to mind:
Romans 7:18-20

" For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. "

I, like most others, am a sinner. I'm duly ashamed of my sins, and I realise that they damage my relationship with God. God created me to love Him and serve Him, not spend my life entertaining myself, and God expects obedience (while anticipating failure). I'm NOT going to demand that the Church validate browsing pornography or autoeroticism, because the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, informs me that these activities are disordered.

So I decided to leave a comment on her blog:

[other commenter] beat me to it, as Paul to the Romans (7:14-) was called to mind whilst reading the author's commentary.

Our own desires and appetites should be completely secondary to obedience to the Father, His Will having been expressed in Sacred Scripture and validated by His Son, Jesus. Professing to following Christ requires complete obedience, not rationalizations of defiance.

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. "

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

aemulare ergo et paenitentiam age.

Okay, I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that spiritual musing to be warmly welcomed. This is the response I got from the hostess:

First of all [innocent bystander], [another commenter] and St. JimBob - are any of you Episcopalian?

I mean, the kind that has gone through some kind of course of introduction to the Episcopal Church: our history, traditions, Anglican Spirituality and/or Anglican polity?

If you haven't, that may explain your biblical perspective as well as your, um, reasoning.

And, just so you know - a simple "yes" or "no" will do.

If you're not Episcopalian, there's no need to continue this discussion.

And, if you are, well, there's still no need to continue this discussion.

This is a Blog. It's MY blog. I get to decide who prints responses here.

If you want to debate someone on these points, go find another blog.

If you are searching for information, go to a library.

If you want someone to agree with you, go to a conservative, or orthodox blog.

Thanks.

Ummm, alrighty then. Her description of herself, listed on her blog, says that she's "a passionate radical Orthodox, Anglo-Catholic with a joyful Evangelical spirit", so I assumed that a radically orthodox comment from an evangelical Catholic should be acceptible. WRONG.

She's entirely entitled to run her blog how she likes, and her tirade betrays how she likely runs her church: Lip service to tolerance and dialog, and hissy fits when challenged, especially with Sacred Scripture.

FYI, The current Episcopal Church is EXACTLY what Call To Action and other nominally catholic, dissenting groups want for the Catholic Church.

The Whinepress of Wrath

Oh no! National Call to Action is going to start bombarding Lincoln, Nebraska Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz with the "Fraternal Correction" suggested by Patricia Ewers. It's like illegal immigrants lecturing a congressman about environmental policy: An attempt to cover one's own illegitimacy by accusing an adversary of an unrelated fault.

They're also going to copy the head of the USCCB, Bishop William "[uncharitable comment edited]" Skylstad on the letters. Might as well CC Santa Claus as well, for all the good that will do, as Bruskewitz gives creedence to the USCCB to the same extent as he might the Tooth Fairy. So, having washed out at the Vatican, are they going to the next higher authority (in their minds) by going to the USCCB?

From CTA's press release:

“Bishop Bruskewitz may try to excommunicate our Nebraska members, but he cannot excommunicate our efforts for justice,” says Rachel Pokora, President of CTA/Nebraska. “We want our daughters to be able to be altar girls and we want to protect the children in our diocese in the wake of the sexual abuse revelations. Every other diocesan bishop in the United States allows altar girls and has complied with the sex abuse-related national Charter for the Protection of Children
and Young People, except Bishop Bruskewitz. The bishop has excommunicated us for simply wanting justice in our diocese.”

Don't be disingenuous, Rachel, those reasons are not why you got excommunicated. The CTA gang was excommunicated 7 years before the abuse scandal even broke out. There's nothing like blatant falsehood to communicate one's innocence. So what does CTA want that got them excommunicated: Birth Control, Abortion, Married Priests, Women Priests, Gay Marriage. Once again they try to clothe the rest of their agenda with the "Protection of Children" issue:

“Does this mean that any Catholic is at risk of excommunication when they disagree with their bishop or Catholic teaching? What about the more than 90% of US Catholics who disagree with the Vatican’s stance on birth control? What about the two-thirds of US Catholics who desire women’s ordination? Does this recent letter from the Vatican mean that any Catholic who advocates for the protection of children in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis could be subject to excommunication?

The devious insinuation of legitimate issues to mask the advance of the illegitimate desires are proof enough that EVERY catholic, in EVERY diocese, should get out of Call To Action, period. Any remaining should be excommunicated.

h/t CWNews/OTR

Bishop's Judgment Upheld

via CWNews:

In March 1996, Bishop Bruskewitz had announced the excommunication of all Catholics in his diocese who were members of Call to Action or several other dissident groups which he described as “totally incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

The Nebraska chapter of Call to Action appealed the bishop’s decision to the Vatican. In his November 24 letter to Bishop Bruskewitz, Cardinal Re reports that Vatican’s finding that the disciplinary action was “properly taken.”

It's interesting that CTA would bother appealing to an entity who's authority they routinely reject. It's like an anarchist in queue for the dole, he only regards the entity inasmuch as it's beneficial to his ends. In this instance, the Vatican wasn't sympathetic to the plaintiff's cause.

The Vatican has determined that “the activities of ‘Call to Action’ in the course of these years are in contrast with the Catholic Faith due to views and positions held which are unacceptable from a doctrinal and disciplinary standpoint,” Cardinal Re writes. He concludes: “Thus to be a member of this Association or to support it, is irreconcilable with a coherent living of the Catholic Faith.”

This appears to be a fairly potent indictment of the Call To Action movement as a whole, and so begs the question voiced by others: If Call To Action is bad for Catholics in Nebraska, isn't it bad for Catholics everywhere else as well?
I wonder if other bishops are paying attention, or if they're ducking in hopes of not being noticed for being conspicuously silent on this issue.

Update 12/08/06:

The Lincoln Journal Star picked up on the story, and got reactions from local CTA members.

Local CTA member Jim McShane, who signed the original appeal of Bruskewitz’s ruling, said the local group has never received any response from Rome or been given the opportunity to state its case to Vatican officials.

“This letter is very unfortunate,” McShane said. “I’m deeply distressed by it. There’s every evidence that Rome is acting on misinformation.”

Rather than getting correct information about the beliefs and purposes of Call to Action from members of the organization itself, Vatican leaders have received incorrect information from Bruskewitz, McShane said.

Bishop Bruskewitz had advice for the sanctioned group:

Bruskewitz said Re’s letter makes clear the Vatican’s opposition to Call to Action and other groups considered incompatible with the faith.

“My prayer will always be that when people understand they have taken a wrong turn, they will stop and take the right turn,” he said.

The bishop urged local Catholics to “repudiate their membership in these groups” and then seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation in order to be reinstated with the church.

He's giving them every opportunity to repent and reconcile. Why are these people so stubborn?

Rachel Pokora, president of Call to Action-Nebraska, said she plans to continue attending church in the Lincoln Diocese and taking communion, as she has in the past.

“It will be interesting to see what the implications (of Re’s letter) are,” she said. “Will other dioceses take stronger actions against Call to Action?” So far, Bruskewitz is the only bishop to issue an excommunication ruling.

Obstinate, aren't we? But then, it's to be expected that CTA folks won't listen to a Bishop that they didn't vote for. My advice? Either repent and reconcile with the Church, or go join the Episcopalians. If you're going to join the TEC, though, you'd better hurry. They're about to throw themselves over a cliff, and may end up being Unitarians.