A grave allegation is made about bloggers who have, for example raised the above mentioned issue or blown the whistle on such militant anti-Church groups such as the "Catholic Network for Women's Equality" that promotes pantheism, priestesses etc. Vox Cantoris is to be commended for his expose of this organization.
Perhaps what is far graver than this is the decision of Archbishop Weisberger to state the following without any clarification:
"I think first of all they’re not part of the church, they’re not Catholic in the sense that they have no mandate, they have no authority, they have no accountability".
Here, a straw man is constructed and then demolished by the bishop. Canon Law states that Catholics have a right to make know to their pastors their spiritual concerns.
Can. 212 §1. Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church.
§2. The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.
§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.
Meanwhile, bishops should be attentive to the following:
Can. 386 §1. A diocesan bishop, frequently preaching in person, is bound to propose and explain to the faithful the truths of the faith which are to be believed and applied to morals. He is also to take care that the prescripts of the canons on the ministry of the word, especially those on the homily and catechetical instruction, are carefully observed so that the whole Christian doctrine is handed on to all.
Also, a bishop should consider the salvation of souls as his primary objective and not helping the poor. Alms and charity are a means to sanctification, but not the end. Obviously we cannot forget our less fortunate brothers, but even more so we cannot forget any spiritual misfortune that may be upon them. Hence, preaching the Gospel is primary.
In conclusion, a bishop is obliged to clarify and make restitution if indeed the Catholic laity have been funding abortion via Development and Peace. The laity also have a right to know the Canadian bishop's stand on organizations such as the "Catholic Network for Women's Equality" which operates within the canonical territory of the Canadian bishops. -Does this group use the word "Catholic" with episcopal approval per canon law? If so, why, and if not - will the bishops request they cease doing so.
May Catholic bloggers continue to raise their voices loudly and clearly!
