I could be wrong, because she mentions no names. But Simcha Fisher is pretty upset about those trying to sweep the problems with Bishop Weakland under the carpet.
Now, I had never heard of the fellow. RIP. Apparently he was heavily linked to the cover ups in the sex abuse scandal. That, remember, is what really made the Church look bad. Only anti-Catholic bigots would fry the Church over the sinful actions of some priests. But it was the systemic cover ups that sent the reputation over the edge.
I've seen Fr. James Martin's response to his death criticized in multiple venues . Donald McClarey's The American Catholic is just one site that looked aghast at Fr. Martin's all but ignoring the real problems with Bishop Weakland. To see Fr. Martin's response, you'd think the baddies were the ones who had a problem with the bishop paying for gay sex. He mentions nothing at all about Bishop Weakland's links to the sex abuse scandal. Which, per Ms. Fisher, is a no-no and fails to account for the ongoing pain from the abuse scandal. Though, again, she mentions nobody by name.
Ms. Fisher does bring in Covid and links her point to those who questioned various approaches to the Covid pandemic. Personally I don't see a connection between those questioning the ever evolving responses to the Covid pandemic and those who enabled and defended the sex abuse scandal. But that's just me. Ms. Fisher and I obviously disagree.
UPDATE:
It looks like Fr. Martin apologized.
He apologized for ignoring the abuse scandal aspect of Bishop Weakland's legacy. More importantly he apologized for making one sin sound like all the others in order to defend him. This is an argument, it's worth noting, he has used before about those who indulge in the sins to the left of center. So that was actually not at all out of step for him. Does that mean he is retracting that line of reasoning where participants in the sins of the Left are concerned? We'll see. If so, then that is definitely a step in the right direction. As it is, he apologized and that should be good enough for any Christian.
I suspect in Weakland's case, you could save time by reviewing the aspects of his time in the Benedictine order and the ordained ministry which were not troublesome.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I had never heard of the fellow. The backlash for Fr. Martin was not just that he ignored Weakland's more egregious part in the abuse scandal, but that he leaned on the old 'hey, everyone's a sinner' dodge to challenge anyone who wanted to bring it up. For me, the apology will have to do.
DeleteMark Shea is instructing us as to what normal people do. SMDH.
ReplyDeleteSelf awareness for Mark long ago went out the window I'm afraid.
DeleteFr. Martin is a long time promoter of the gay lifestyle in the Church. Francis loves him. Do a web search on Martin, and you'll see this is true.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've followed him for some time. I'll take him at his apology, as long as he also makes clear he's apologizing for all the times he's used the 'hey, we're all sinners' to cover up the various sins of the Left. If he means that, apology accepted IMHO.
DeleteDave, the man is a committed leftist. He's not going to ever apologize for the sins of the left, he's going to wallow in them.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't shock me. I think we need to accept the apology at face value for now. Though as I've said his apology should cover all of the time's he's used 'but everyone's a sinner.' Though I've noticed this sort of thing and the apologies and the follow ups are when we begin seeing where people are.
DeleteMark no longer believes that abortion is infanticide. Imagine my shock.
ReplyDeleteAlmost overnight Mark has become one of the loudest Catholic voices in full support of keeping abortion legal.
DeleteAnd Simcha's an idiot. Not getting a defective vaccine or refusing to wear a mask aren't in the same league as covering up sex abuse or killing children for money.
ReplyDeleteThat amazing thing is just how many things the scientific community itself has admitted it was wrong about over the last couple years, and yet how many people like Ms. Fisher continue to act as if it was divine revelation and any questioning of what turned out to be wrong is as bad as covering up child abuse.
DeleteThough I would refrain from smack down insults like idiot. Ignorant maybe, or foolish. Or blinded by agendas even.
DeleteTrust me. In Simcha's case, "idiot" is underselling it.
ReplyDeleteShe is a left leaning pro-life feminist, which itself can be a toxic brew. I know there have been times, when she avoided partisan issues, she could write some insightful posts. But she is also pretty fanatical, and once I got drawn in when she tried to rally her followers to wreck the career of a young lawyer who ran afoul of her about the Harambe the Gorilla story.
DeleteI don't know if you read that apology in it's entirety, but he ends it with "y'all need to forgive and we're all sinners anyway". I think Simcha was aware of it.
ReplyDeleteThat's my thing. He has pulled the old 'we're all sinners so let's not worry' trick, which is bad theology and a bit duplicitous - unless he would apply the same principle to open racists, sexists, white supremacists, and all. Even then, it's still a dishonest use of the doctrine of sin and he should stop it. If his apology includes for all the times he's done that, fair enough. But right now it's hard to say. I take it for what it's worth at this point, at face value.
Delete