Yes, Cardinal Rabbit Hole, they are taking it very seriously, as is clearly visible to anyone with eyes to see. Any and all transparency must be stopped. So on the very morning of the first day of the USCCB meeting dedicated entirely to the abuse crisis and with concrete ballot measures, Rome blocks the whole thing.
Specifically, it was the Congregation for Bishops that delivered the order.
Anyone wanna guess the only two American bishops in the Congregation for Bishops?
++Cupich and ++Wuerl.
Boys and girls, get ready. The real filth that still lies beneath is so, so bad, that the optics of this mess actually look much better than the truth we might eventually find out.
———————
Vatican Cancels US Bishops’ Vote on Sex-Abuse Reform Measures HERE
The instruction to delay consideration of a new ‘Code of Conduct’ for bishops, creation of a lay-led investigative body came directly from the Holy See, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo told USCCB meeting.
Ed Condon/CNA
BALTIMORE — Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, has told the American bishops that they will not vote on two key proposals that had been expected to form the basis for the Church’s response to the sexual-abuse crisis.
The news came at the beginning of the U.S. bishops’ conference fall general assembly, meeting in Baltimore Nov. 12-14.
The instruction to delay consideration of a new “Code of Conduct” for bishops and the creation of a lay-led body to investigate bishops accused of misconduct came directly from the Holy See, Cardinal DiNardo told a visibly surprised conference hall.
Cardinal DiNardo said that the Holy See insisted that consideration of the new measures be delayed until the conclusion of a special meeting called by Pope Francis for February. That meeting, which will include the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences, will address the global sex-abuse crisis.
Apologizing for the last-minute change to the conference’s schedule, he said he had only been told of the decision by Rome late yesterday.
Ahead of the bishops’ meeting, two documents had been circulated: a draft “Standards of Conduct” for bishops and a proposal to create a new special investigative commission to handle accusations made against bishops.
These proposals had been considered to be the bishops’ best chance to produce a substantive result during the meeting and signal to the American faithful that they were taking firm action in the face of a series of scandals that have rocked the Church in the United States over recent months.
Speaking before the conference session had even been called to order, Cardinal DiNardo told the bishops he was clearly “disappointed” with Rome’s decision. The cardinal said that, despite the unexpected intervention by Rome, he was hopeful that the Vatican meeting would prove fruitful and that its deliberations would help improve the American bishops’ eventual measures.
While Cardinal DiNardo was still speaking, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago intervened from the floor, expressing his support for the Pope.
“It is clear the Holy See is taking the abuse crisis seriously,” Cardinal Cupich said.
At the same time, he suggested that the work that had gone into preparing the two proposals should not go to waste.
Cardinal Cupich suggested that if the conference could not take a binding vote, they should instead continue with their discussions and conclude with resolution ballots on the two measures. This, he said, would help best equip Cardinal DiNardo to present the thoughts of the American bishops during the February meeting, where he will represent the U.S. bishops’ conference.
“We need to be very clear with [Cardinal DiNardo] where we stand and be clear with our people where we stand,” Cardinal Cupich said.
While acknowledging that the February meeting was important, he noted that responding to the abuse crisis “is something we cannot delay — there is an urgency here.”
Cardinal Cupich went on to propose moving forward the American bishops’ next meeting, currently scheduled for June 2019. Instead, he suggested, the bishops should reconvene in March in order to act as soon as possible after the February session in Rome.
Ed Condon is the Washington editor for Catholic News Agency.
Indeed, they are ‘taking it very seriously’ alright……..as in ‘seriously trying to cover their tracks’.
It seems as if Rome doesn’t want to allow the US Bishops the opportunity to lead the move towards real reform and transparency. Is that a crazy thought?
After reading some more, it appears that not much of substance was really on the agenda for the bishops conference. Perhaps Rome didn’t want there to be a rogue faithful bishop to say something which might gain traction with the people?
There was more on the agenda than there ever has been. Weak, but still more than ever before.
With all the talk and commentary by attending bishops much of which I followed on EWTN, I didn’t hear the word “homosexual” once. There is much denial there; no shame.