The Dangers of Corrupt Bishops

JMJ

Dr. Shaw has an excellent series called "Corrupt Bishops: Why it is a problem!" (part1, part2, part3).

The whole series is a worth a careful reading. One particular quote jarred my slats with the truth behind it:

One of the distasteful things about the obituaries of Fr Kit Cunningham, the Rosminian who was revealed to have been a paedophile when the ink on these was scarcely dry, was the fact that they showed that he was loved - by his friends - for his vices, not for his virtues. He clearly had a problem with alcohol, for example, and everyone thought it was terribly endearing. It was his vices which drew people in. But you don't draw people in to Christ by your vices. You might draw people to yourself, or even to your little club, your institution, or some favourite ideas, but you don't draw people in to Christ, because it is not in each other's vices that we encounter Christ.

This crisis of the Church is a crisis of leadership, a crisis of Bishops. Let's just not forget that the Pope is also a bishop and also has his burden of responsibility in the cause and solution of this crisis.

This also reminds me of various priests that I've met who have left the SSPX, including Fr. Carlos Urrutigoity, and Bishop Williamson: People became attached to them personally.

It does become very much a 'club' and the influence that these charismatic priests and bishops have over them is stunning. So strong is the attachment to their person, that when they do something objectively wrong, their 'club' cannot accept it as a fact. They will defend their belief about the object of their affection (there is no better word) blindly and basically follow them to the ends of the earth.

Just look at those who followed Fr. Urrutigoity around North America and the defense put forth by Bishop Livieres.

The same goes for the supporters of Bishop Williamson and his unapproved trip to South America to confer confirmations. Only a month or two before Bishop de Gallerata was scheduled to go to the same region.

There a quote from a business expert:

"Being charismatic and wrong is a bad combination" Jim Collins

P^2

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