American Catholic Church Being Hijacked by Mob Rule

As I have written before, the vast majority of American Catholic blogs and websites appear to be written by the same person because there is so little difference in their views and opinions.  If you have read one, you've read them all.   This also includes a fair amount of British Catholic blogs and websites as well.  They seem to feel a real kinship with their American counterparts.

I will hereafter refer to these blogs and websites as "Catholicspeak."

Catholicspeak operates under mob rule.  Mob rule is defined as "the fact or state of large groups of people acting without the consent of the government, authorities, etc."

The only authority Catholicspeak recognizes is its own.  It has rejected the Magesterium of the Catholic church as evil.

Catholicspeak listens only to itself and those who agree with it.  It rejects any facts that do not fit in with its beliefs.

It is important to review the basic tenents of Catholicspeak.

Catholicspeak believes its group comprises the only true and faithful Catholics left in the world.

Catholicspeak identifies and denounces the current Magesterium of the Catholic church as evil.

Catholicspeak denounces and rejects as a heretic every Catholic priest and bishop who does not agree with it.

One of the main creeds of Catholicspeak is that Pope Francis is a pit of darkness with no good in him, and therefore he must be opposed at every turn. 

Catholicspeak has an unbreakable rule to immediately and without hesitation denounce every word, spoken or written, that emanates from Pope Francis.

Catholicspeak accuses any Catholic who dares to support Pope Francis of papalotry.

Catholicspeak points to homosexuality as the root cause of all bad priests.

Catholicspeak declares the Second Vatican Council as the root cause of all the rest of the evil not only in the Church but in the entire world. 

Catholicspeak claims that the solution to all the problems in the Church and the entire world is the return to the 1950's when Catholics knew their religion and there were no problems in the Church.

Catholicspeak is also very nationalistic, believing that the United States of America is the savior of the world but in order to carry out her divine mission, America needs to be taken back from the godless liberals who have hijacked her.  

Interestingly, even as it rejects the Magesterium of the Catholic Church, Catholicspeak has put its political faith in a man whose life has been devoted to the accumulation of wealth and power, and who is a known sexual predator.

Certainly the uniformity among Catholicspeak can be plainly seen in its reaction to Archbishop Vigano's revolt against Pope Francis. Each and every one of these blogs and websites declares Vigano to be a courageous hero daring to rise up against the evil Bergoglio. (Catholicspeak really hates referring to the Holy Father as "Pope Francis".  Catholicspeak considers it next to heretical to show that kind of respect.)

The latest example of the uniformity among Catholicspeak is its reaction to Pope Francis' acceptance of Cardinal Donald Wuerl's resignation.

Cardinal Wuerl has always been viewed as an enemy of Catholicspeak because of his "liberal" ways, i.e. support of Vatican II. When Wuerl was attacked in the Pennsylvania AG report as being too soft on abusive priests, Catholicspeak immediately tore into the Cardinal and demanded that he resign.

As usual, Catholicspeak did not do any research into Cardinal Wuerl's past to confirm the accusations against him. Catholicspeak completely ignores the fact that all bishops who served in the Diocese of Pittsburgh since 1950 were named in the Pennsylvania AG report and that Wuerl was only one of them.

It is true that Wuerl is mentioned more than the others, but Wuerl is also the most high profile of any of these bishops. Further, Catholicspeak ignore the fact that at no time prior to this report had Wuerl ever been implicated in any cover up of sexual abuse in the Church, and no victims of abuse had ever implicated the Cardinal in any way.

But none of that matters to Catholicspeak.  It believes Wuerl is evil and an enemy of the Church, and the Pennsylvania AG report gave that to them. Why look any further?

It turns out that Cardinal Wuerl has actually been considered at the forefront of those who have fought for victims of sexual abuse in the Church.

In a very interesting article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, hometown newspaper of Cardinal Wuerl's former diocese, it is reported:

Cardinal Wuerl had become known as a gutsy but introverted leader who saved the diocese from financial disaster, elevated women in the church, created a well-read adult catechism, withstood downturns in Catholic school enrollment, held his flock together through tumultuous parish mergers, engaged with parishioners in ways predecessors had not, and handled delicate assignments.

Cardinal Wuerl has always been known as one of the hardest working, most loyal of all bishops in the United States.  He was brought into the Pittsburgh diocese when it was falling apart, and he put it back together again.

As the Post-Gazette reports:

When sex abuse cases did arise in the Diocese of Pittsburgh — the first just a few months after he became bishop — Cardinal Wuerl met face-to-face with victims, led the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to create guidelines for accountability and prevention of future abuse, launched a Diocesan Review Board to address accusations, and risked his future in church leadership by fighting an order from the Vatican’s highest court to reinstate the Rev. Anthony Cipolla after he was accused of molestation. Earlier this summer Cardinal Wuerl — he was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2010 — proposed that the conference instate a panel to investigate rumors of sexual misconduct by its own members.

Cardinal Wuerl was meeting with sex abuse victims shortly after he arrived in Pittsburgh, and that was 1988.  That sure doesn't sound like a bishop who was trying to cover up sexual abuse.  But how can these facts be reconciled with the Pennsylvania AG report?

The Pittsburgh-Gazette continues:

Is Cardinal Wuerl a villain who turned his head while children were abused? Or is he a hero whose courage in fighting the Vatican emboldened other bishops to remove suspected abusers from their parishes?

Timothy Bendig believes he could be both. Mr. Bendig was one of three boys who have said they were abused by then-Father Cipolla in the 1970s and 1980s.

Cardinal Wuerl “fought to have this perpetrator removed, and that gave all the bishops the strength and the power to remove bad priests,” Mr. Bendig said.

For that, he will always be grateful.

But, he said, it would be unforgivable if the allegations laid out in the grand jury report turn out to be true.

“Do I think he should be held accountable for any criminal wrongdoing after my case? Yes. If there was any cover-up, he should step down,” said Mr. Bendig, now 49. “At this point I don’t know if there’s credible information to say that. Because of what he did for me and how he fought Rome to get this perpetrator removed, how can I personally say he did wrong when we don’t know?”

Mr. Bendig doesn't know or automatically accept the truth of the allegations against Cardinal Wuerl because he has seen another side of the Cardinal, but Catholicspeak has no doubts whatsoever.  Catholicspeak declared Cardinal Donald Wuerl to be an evil man and as far as it is concerned, there is nothing more to discuss.   Catholicspeak certainly isn't going to listen to Mr. Bendig.

More from the Pittsburgh-Gazette:

Wuerl spokesman Ed McFadden said his boss took the lead on an issue that other bishops were ignoring. His effort was imperfect, but it was more than anyone else in the church was doing, Mr. McFadden said.

Academics who study the church struggle to reconcile the contents of the grand jury report with the reputation of the man behind the Dallas Charter.

“I know for a fact that in Rome he has been a strong advocate for measures to tighten up procedures within the church for handling abuse cases, and there’s the well-known example of Father Cipolla where it’s quite clear he even bucked the Vatican to do what was the right thing. I respect him for all those efforts,” said Stephen F. Schenck of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America. “On the other hand, I have to say that from the point of these awful allegations … I’m dumbfounded.”

Mr. McFadden said Vatican procedures made it very difficult for bishops to remove priests at the time.

That became easier after the passage of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People — better known as the Dallas Charter — which Cardinal Wuerl persuaded the U.S. Conference of Bishops to pass in 2002. It set standards for responses to allegations that now include cooperation with police, discipline for offenders and help for victims.

There are those who accept the efforts of Cardinal Wuerl on behalf of sex abuse victims, but still hold him responsible.  I personally have to say that is like trying to have it both ways.  Is it possible for Cardinal Wuerl to be both good and bad at the same time, fighting for sexual abuse victims and hurting them at the same time?

From the Pittsburgh-Gazette:

Mr. McFadden said he understands the outrage and that Cardinal Wuerl is a natural target of it because he is the most senior church leader named in the report.

“The anger is righteous. People are devastated, and rightly so,” the Wuerl spokesman said. “It goes to breaches of trust in the most painful way possible because you have men that you entrust in some cases literally to the salvation of soul who would prey on children and breach that trust in just an incredibly ghastly, horrendous way.”

But, he said, the abuses would have been worse if not for the efforts of Cardinal Wuerl.

“We have a man who, in my mind, did something during his years in Pittsburgh that virtually no other bishop in America was undertaking at the time,” Mr. McFadden said. “And his record reflects, by and large, that he was successful in doing what he set out to do, which was remove priests from the ministry so that they could not harm children again. It’s that simple.”

Just how many priests did Wuerl remove:

By [McFadden's] count, 32 names of suspected abusers came to light on Cardinal Wuerl’s watch.

Fourteen of those cases involved priests who either had died or who had already been removed from the ministry by the time Cardinal Wuerl arrived, Mr. McFadden said. Cardinal Wuerl addressed the other 18 cases either by removing them from ministry entirely or restricting their roles, he said. In a few of those cases, which he said the cardinal now regrets, offenders were returned to the ministry.

Wuerl was not perfect.  He made mistakes with some of the priests in returning them to ministry.  But that is hardly the same as a cover up.

One of those mistakes was in the well-publicized case of the Rev. Ernest Paone, a known serial pedophile whose transfer to Nevada was approved by Cardinal Wuerl. Mr. McFadden said the late Father Paone had been living in California for 25 years by then and that old files were so disorganized that Cardinal Wuerl hadn’t seen reports of his abuse until 1994 when a new accusation surfaced, which he brought to the attention of bishops in California and Nevada.

I cannot, and would not if I could, read all of Catholicspeak blogs and websites, but I would bet every dollar I have that not one of them ever mentioned any of these facts in their condemnation of Cardinal Wuerl.  Many of them are most likely not even aware of this part of Wuerl's record because Catholicspeak does not listen to or read anyone but itself.

Nonetheless, Catholicspeak won its war against Wuerl.  He is finally out.  As Catholicspeak member Father John Zuhlsdorf told us:  Vigano 2, Francis 0.

However, even with this "victory", Catholicspeak is not happy, and has found another reason to attack both Wuerl and its arch enemy, Pope Francis, over the handling of the resignation.

Lifesitenews.com is a major website for Catholicspeak.  They did an article entitled, "Francis’ glowing send-off of Wuerl signals he’s ‘not the Pope to clean out the stables’: scholar."

This is nothing more than a one-sided hit piece on Pope Francis, the specialty of Catholicspeak:

Pope Francis’ praise of Cardinal Wuerl for his “nobility” and “docility to the Spirit” in his letter accepting the Cardinal’s resignation signals that Francis is “not the Pope to clean out the stables” of the abuse crisis that is rocking the Church, a Catholic scholar said. 

Oxford University’s Dr. Joseph Shaw told LifeSiteNews that Pope Francis’s Oct. 12 letter accepting Cardinal Wuerl’s resignation “makes it very clear” that he doesn’t want to punish his subordinate. 

“In the Roman Curia and in many Bishops' Conferences there is a widespread attitude that bishops and senior officials should never be publicly disgraced: there should be no 'brutta figura' [loss of face],” Shaw explained. “Even when sacked for bad behaviour, they should be allowed to depart in a dignified manner.” 

“One would expect, then, a carefully-worded and diplomatic send-off from the Pope on such an occasion, but Pope Francis' letter goes far beyond this. It sounds like a letter written by a political leader forced to sack an underling very much against his will,” he continued.

Of course, the underlying lie in this "report" is that Cardinal Wuerl was "sacked for bad behaviour."  Shaw is absolutely correct when he says that it sounds like Pope Francis was forced into this action.  In his letter, Pope Francis acknowledges that he is not "firing" Cardinal Wuerl.  He is acceding to the Cardinal's request to resign.

There were accusations made in the Pennsylvania AG report that have not been proved to this date and which are in complete contradiction to the known record of Cardinal Wuerl.  Pope Francis looked at what we actually know about Cardinal Wuerl, and with the knowledge of those facts, the Holy Father wrote:

On September 21st I received your request that I accept your resignation from the pastoral government of the Archdiocese of Washington.

I am aware that this request rests on two pillars that have marked and continue to mark your ministry: to seek in all things the greater glory of God and to procure the good of the people entrusted to your care. The shepherd knows that the wellbeing and the unity of the People of God are precious gifts that the Lord has implored and for which he gave his life. He paid a very high price for this unity and our mission is to take care that the people not only remain united, but become witnesses of the Gospel "That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:21). This is the horizon from which we are continually invited to discern all our actions.

Pope Francis recognized that Cardinal Wuerl actually has the facts on his side and that he could legitimately fight for his good name and reputation.  Instead, Cardinal Wuerl is stepping aside in an attempt to foster unity in the Church:

I recognize in your request the heart of the shepherd who, by widening his vision to recognize a greater good that can benefit the whole body (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 235), prioritizes actions that support, stimulate and make the unity and mission of the Church grow above every kind of sterile division sown by the father of lies who, trying to hurt the shepherd, wants nothing more than that the sheep be dispersed (cf. Matthew 26:31).

You have sufficient elements to "justify" your actions and distinguish between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and to commit some mistakes. However, your nobility has led you not to choose this way of defense. Of this, I am proud and thank you.

If we are to be honest and look at the true record of Cardinal Wuerl, we would see the truth of Pope Francis' words:  "your nobility has led you not to choose this way of defense."

Since Pope Francis does not recognize any wrongdoing on the part of Cardinal Wuerl but on the contrary, he sees the heart of a good shepherd who has made a personal sacrifice and acted only in the best interest of the Church, Pope Francis named Cardinal Wuerl as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese until the appointment of a successor.

But of course, this is not how Catholicspeak sees it.  This is what Lifesite tells us:

It seems remarkable to Shaw that Pope Francis has failed to use this opportunity to distance himself from the “nightmarish, interconnected abuse allegations and convictions” rocking the Catholic Church in the USA.

“He seems to be sending the signal that he is not the Pope to clean out the stables,” Shaw remarked.

Francis’s warm letter to a prelate implicated in cover-up of abuse of both minors and seminarians seems at odds with his 2014 pledge of “zero tolerance” for sexual predators. It also seems out of tune with his theory that the roots of the sex abuse crisis stem from “clericalism”.

 Again, Lifesite completely ignores the fact that Pope Francis is not implicating Cardinal Wuerl in any kind of cover up.  The Holy Father is actually completely exonerating Cardinal Wuerl.

But Lifesites continues with its false and manipulative reporting:

In his letter to Wuerl, the Pope merely mentioned “some mistakes” the Cardinal had made regarding abusive priests, indicating that he did not believe the former archbishop had covered up or ignored abuse.

“You have sufficient elements to ‘justify’ your actions and distinguish between what it means to cover up crimes or not to deal with problems, and to commit some mistakes,” Francis wrote. “However, your nobility has led you not to choose this way of defense. Of this, I am proud and thank you.”

However, Wuerl did indeed justify his actions as Bishop of Pittsburgh. After the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report was released, he published a website that defended his handling of clerical sexual abuse cases. Called “The Wuerl Record”, it was removed after criticism.

Yes, Cardinal Wuerl reacted as any human being does when he or she is unjustly attacked.  He tried to defend himself.   Lifesite admits that Wuerl did remove this defense, but they don't tell you that he did this when it became apparent that his defense was causing even more division in the Church.  This is the "nobility" referred to by Pope Francis.

More Catholicspeak from Lifesite:

Wuerl’s resignation comes in the wake of a barrage of allegations that he mishandled and covered up instances of criminal sexual abuse by priests while he was bishop of Pittsburgh, from 1988-2006. In a sweeping grand jury report on criminal sexual abuse released on August 14, Wuerl was mentioned some 200 times.

The cardinal was also accused in August by a former apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Viganò, of lying "shamelessly" in stating that he did not know about now ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's abuse of seminarians.

You can go to the article and read the rest of it yourself.  It is classic Catholicspeak. This is mob rule at its best.

Mob rule was at the center of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and it is at the center of the attacks against Pope Francis and all who support him now.

This is the work of the devil, clear and simple.