Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Jesuit On Archbishop Dolan's Election As Head Of USCCB

“This is a signal that the conference wants to be a leader in the culture wars,” said the Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown. “The two vice-presidential finalists were the two most conservative on the ballot. That says something about where this conference is going.”
Link (here) to read the full story 

15 comments:

Maria said...

When I see Abp Dolan in my mind, I see a mann full of the love of God. When I see Fr. Reese SJ in my mind, I see a sullen, angry man? I would venture to say that this is not by accident. Abp Dolan's seems to pastor his flock with fruits of the Holy Spirit given to him.

The silence at America Magazine is deafening...

Maria said...

When I see Abp Dolan in my mind, I see a man full of the love of God. When I see Fr. Reese SJ in my mind, I see a sullen, angry man. I would venture to say that this is not by accident. Abp Dolan seems to pastor his flock with fruits of the Holy Spirit given to him.

The silence at America Magazine is deafening...

Anonymous said...

I don't see that. I'm not that taken with Dolan--to me he's just a hardheaded Irish pol with media savvy.

BTW, AMERCA magazine seems to be in love with Dolan so I'm not certain what Maria means by "deafening."

Anonymous said...

America Magazine is brown nosing Archbishop Dolan in self protection. They are located in his diocese and could close them down if he wanted to.

Jack in Park Slope

Anonymous said...

You might be right Jack--& good for them!

As for shutting down AMERICA, he could, but that would be pretty dumb. Bringing down the hammer on a 101 year-old magazine is serious and AMERICA has some big fans out there. I'm not aware of any American bishop ever making this kind of move against a Jesuit institution.

Anonymous said...

Maria,

Your skin tone and strident judgmental tone lead me to suspect that you likely also see pink elephants as well when you look at priests.

Maria said...

"America Magazine is brown nosing Archbishop Dolan in self protection. They are located in his diocese and could close them down if he wanted to".

Jack in Park Slope

I imagined that they were all at PJ O'Rourkes drowning in their beer, giving in to the sin of despair...I think that the appointment of Abp Dolan gave them pause. Nods to Abp Dolan by way of applause for homilys et cetera, is not the same thing as a full post which heralds Abp Dolan's new appointment. Fr. Martin posted Reese's commentary.

Ever notice how uncharitable comments never attach to a name in these parts?

Anonymous said...

Truth is independent of agent; anonymity takes the personal aspect out the equation.

I would be equally blunt if you didn't divulge your name. Somebody has to say it. It is not charitable to not say that which must be said.

And no, I am not a Jesuit.

TonyD said...

I wonder if many Jesuits feel the way that I do. When I look at Priests like Fr. Dolan I see someone dedicating their life to protecting life, fighting poverty, and promoting Christian values.

At the same time, I see someone who rigidly interprets "protecting life" as fighting abortions and undermining others free will, and "promoting Christian values" as something done to people through a political process that again undermines others free will.

So, while I can support Fr. Dolan, I can also disagree with his techniques.

Anonymous said...

TonyD, if you disagree with Archbishop Dolan's techniques, you are undermining his free will to live as he believes God is calling him. Why don't you just leave him alone to live the life of Christian discipleship the way he wants to? Why must you be so judgmental?

TonyD, can't you see that your pathetic arguments and silly logic are self-defeating? You undermine yourself with your blather.

TonyD said...

Disagreement alone does not undermine someones free will.

If I ran coercive ads to convince people that the Catholic Church had a long history of harm to society, causing laws to restrict all of society to prohibit Catholic practices, then I would be undermining his free will -- as opposed to looking for ways to allow everyone to practice their free will to the greatest extent possible.

Anonymous said...

America magazine gives no Bishop the sway it has been giving Archbishop Dolan. Remember Archbishop Dolan reprimanded the Jesuit Parish in NYC St. Francis Xavier for it's participation in the local gay pride parade.Many Jesuits at America celebrate the Sacraments at St. Francis Xavier. Archbishop Dolan can make Jesuit life very difficult if he wants to

Jack in Park Slope

Anonymous said...

Dear Jack:

No doubt he can but my argument is that there are limits to what he can do. And thank God for that!

Anonymous said...

I am a little suspicious of the tone and tenor of America magazines "Public Relations" campaign with the conservative Archbishop Dolan. Remember is was US bishops that pushed out the former head of America, Fr. Thomas Reese, SJ. America's current Culture Editor Fr. Martin, SJ stated on the election of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, "When he walked out on the balcony, I wanted to jump of my balcony!"

The conservative swing in the American Church is startling to the Catholic left. The "Catholic Tea Party" is growing and gaining power

Jack in Park Slope

Anonymous said...

So, go ahead and be suspicious "Jack in Park Slope"--it's a big Church we have and not everyone shares your pinched view of what it means to be a Christian.