Thank you for your honest assessment. The Bishops as a body have repeatedly, for generations, refused to lead and differentiate on these critical issues. Only a few heroic, prophetic Bishops have faithfully led in truth. Thank you for your wisdom, honesty and courage in laying out a course correction. Let’s hope and pray, now that their backs are against the wall, that the Bishops are humble and wise enough to do so.

Thank you Father for your assessment. Would that you had been able to give it at the bishops conference rather than here. I unfortunately have no confidence that the bishops will do any of this. Still hope springs eternal, and prayers, even for those things we think unlikely often bear fruit.

Paul A. Rahe wrote in “American Catholicism’s Pact With the Devil” (Ricochet.com, 2/10/12): “[In the 1930s] the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church
…. did not stop to ponder whether [Social Security] would subvert the moral
principle that children are responsible for the well-being of their parents.
They did not stop to consider whether this measure would reduce the incentives
for procreation and nourish the temptation to think of sexual intercourse as an
indoor sport….In the process [of supporting the New Deal], the leaders of the
American Catholic Church fell prey to a conceit that had long before ensnared a
great many mainstream Protestants in the United States – the notion that public
provision is somehow akin to charity – and so they fostered state paternalism
and undermined what they professed to teach: that charity is an individual
responsibility and that it is appropriate that the laity join together under
the leadership of the Church to alleviate the suffering of the poor. In its
place, they helped establish the Machiavellian principle that underpins modern
liberalism – the notion that it is our Christian duty to confiscate other
people’s money and redistribute it. At every turn in American politics since
that time, you will find the hierarchy assisting the Democratic Party and
promoting the growth of the administrative entitlements state. At no point have
its members evidenced any concern for sustaining limited government and
protecting the rights of individuals. It did not cross the minds of these
prelates that the liberty of conscience which they had grown to cherish is part
of a larger package – that the paternalistic state, which recognizes no
legitimate limits on its power and scope, that they had embraced would someday
turn on the Church and seek to dictate whom it chose to teach its doctrines and
how, more generally, it would conduct its affairs. I would submit that the
bishops, nuns, and priests now screaming bloody murder have gotten what they
asked for. The weapon that Barack Obama has directed at the Church was
fashioned to a considerable degree by Catholic churchmen. They welcomed
Obamacare. They encouraged Senators and Congressmen who professed to be
Catholics to vote for it.”

Great insight, Fr. Orsi. A couple more points I see are:
1. Because of a few weak Bishops who protected their predator priests, all Bishops are viewed as weak. The proverbial bad apple spoiling the whole bunch at work here. So anything the sheep hear from the weak is just discarded and even derided. No Bishop should any longer project that they are protecting a suspect priest.
2. My sister and brother-in-law actually believe that same-sex marriage won’t harm society and I had to send them the new study by Regnerus. The point is that very few priests and bishops talk about the harm of same-sex marriage. No point just saying that God is against it – time to show why, now that the data exists.

As a marketer, I can say that a message has to repeated consistently and persistently, before it sinks in. Time for our pastors to do the same – they must all speak the same language.

We could add Cardinals not having big lavish dinners and photo ops honoring presidents that promote abortion no restrictions even until the ninth month and support gay marriage.Great article and it would be great if the church hierarchy takes those steps.But we must remember that the majority of catholics are not true catholics and probably not christian.They are NOMINAL catholics.Just chaff among the weat.the blessing in disguise with Obamas persecution of the Catholic church is that it will purge the church of all these phony Catholics.even if it means the number of catholics would go from 100 million to only a million faithful ones it will be worth it

But that is rather dramatically understating the truth of what happened. In point of fact QUITE a few Bishops (and from all I have read it seems it would be the harder task to find a Bishops who’s hands are clean) protected and hid serial child rapists, willfully and deliberately exposing countless other children to rape and molestation. And many of them still hold offices and jurisdiction in the Church.

But in any case, there are rather quite a few more legitimate reasons why the Bishops are viewed as weak. For example I read several stories of priests across the country preaching in support of homosexual “marriage” during the Mass, to standing ovations, and with impunity.

Nov. 14th: This is the best summary of what ails our Church and our people today. As for denying ‘Catholic’ politicians who promote abortion publicly and aggressively Holy Communion, Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict and Cardinal Burke, among others, have said this should be done. By not doing this, those who are publicly standing against the Church on grave moral issues and urging others to follow them in this are being affirmed in their sin, and others are led to believe that grave moral sins/evils, such as abortion, are not so bad. Card. Dolan publicly declared he celebrated the Catholicity of both Paul Ryan and Joe Biden causing people to believe that both were practicing their faith in an honorable way. Not only does Joe Biden aggressively promote abortion in this country but he went to Kenya and told the government that if they would put abortion rights in their new constitution, the ‘money would flow’ but if they refused…well. Now Cardinal Dolan is saying he wants to bring back ‘meatless’ Fridays…what!! How is that going to help lost and confused Catholics who have little or now understanding of the Faith and a weak relationship to Christ? You don’t bring people to Christ by imposing restrictions on them…propose, not impose! Even Pope Benedict said that we ought not to present our faith as a faith of you must and you must not…but show the goodness and beauty and compassion of Christ and His Church. If Cardinal Dolan wants to fast and abstain and ask others to join him, that’s up to him. It’s time the Bishops and Pastors started leading the flock, first by example and then by teaching as this article proposes. And don’t wait until the government threatens to either cut off funds or mandate that you pay for insurance that would include paying for what goes against our moral principles…there are over 230 Bishops meeting at the Bishops’ conference…why haven’t they all been standing up and crying out: “Stop the killing!” in the face of millions of lives being terminated in the wombs of their mothers? Someone told me that Raymond Arroyo said that there were Bishops who voted for Obama…I don’t know how he would know that but I don’t find it hard to believe…when some Priests read a letter explaining how Catholics should and should not vote a few days before the election, it was too little, too late…we need to stand up now and witness to Christ and His Church…for that, it is never too late!

We have also reached a point where people definitions of morality are more formed by the media , than they are by the church because the media gets far far more of their attention

Faith Based Organization

Look at the USCCB website. Their priorities for the next four years do not include anything about preaching about the social issues. I see no sign that anything will change.

“American” Catholic Bishops? Why not “Catholic” American Bishops? The “losers”? we’re all the “losers,” esp. the unborn. Rely only on Jesus the Christ!