"Today, especially in the context of our secularized societies, we need bishops who are the first evangelizers, and not mere administrators of dioceses. Who are capable of proclaiming the Gospel. Who are not only theologically faithful to the magisterium and the pope, but are also capable of expounding and, if need be, of defending the faith publicly."
From your mouth to God's ears, Your Eminence!
Cardinal Ouellet notes that a number of candidates refuse appointments because they are intimidated by the job, as the Church is under attack from various quarters, and there are sexual scandals to deal with.
I can understand why candidates would want to avoid dealing with the scandals and not be vilified in the public square.
But if you're a priest who is a strong defender of Catholic orthodoxy, please note:
We need you. We need you badly.
We need men who will speak out and tell it like it is. I think the model for that is Archbishop Charles Chaput. He does not mince words. He identifies the problems in plain English and states the solutions, without no beating around the bush. Oh that every diocese had a bishop like him!
The faithful need bread. They need the bread of truth, and the bishops have to give it to the people. They have to insist that their priests give it, and that their seminaries create the expectation that they will give it.
The speech of Catholic prelates today is generally pap. It's so thin, it's responsible for the spiritual anorexia the faithful suffer. The faithful want meat. We think seekers want pap, but in fact, they can get that anywhere else in our society. You can't get Catholicism anywhere else except in the Catholic Church, so why not offer it whole instead of pureed beyond recognition?
Orthodox Catholics today would rather turn to their computers than their priests for spiritual guidance. That's wrong. The priests should be doing what the laity get from web pages.
