Bishops had a choice to make about their new leaders:
BALTIMORE (Reuters) – New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan agreed on Monday with Pope Francis’ call for a heightened concern for the poor, but disputed the idea that U.S. bishops haven’t paid enough attention to the issue.
“That’s been a constant, constant concern of the conference of bishops since our founding in 1917,” said Dolan, the outgoing president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is meeting this week to pick new leaders.
(Reuters) – U.S. Catholic bishops elected two centrist conservatives as new leaders on Tuesday, an archbishop from Kentucky and a Texas cardinal, both of whom expressed “solidarity” with Pope Francis’ strong emphasis on the poor.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, 67, of Louisville, Kentucky was elected to a three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, while Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, 64, of the Galveston-Houston diocese, was chosen as vice president.
Archbp Kurtz explained a (slight?) shift in emphasis:
“I believe we are very much in solidarity with Pope Francis, and that is, his way of articulating clearly that we need not only to serve the voiceless and the vulnerable, but to be an advocate,” Kurtz told reporters after his election. [boldface added]
A spokesman for The Left registered approval:
Christopher Hale, senior fellow with [eight-year-old] Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, a progressive group that focuses on social justice issues, said he believes both Kurtz and DiNardo “will move the American Church in the direction Pope Francis desires.”
And for the vice-presidential choice as immigration-reformer:
Hale cited Kurtz’s “long pastoral experience” and praised DiNardo as a “tireless leader on immigration reform. He knows firsthand the problems of a broken immigration system.”
My question: How are these two on economics? Advocacy and activism for Jesus’ sake is admirable. But do they know economics?
Blithe Spirit 
To answer your question as to whether the bishops know economics, the answer is “no.” They live off the donations of those who live and work in a market economic system, yet they are pretty much clueless as to how profits (and salaries) are earned — in fact, they tend to despise the whole process as “crass materialism.”
If Catholics weren’t so afraid of going to Hell for any negative thoughts about their Church leaders, many would walk away from their mostly Left-wing, timid parishes which regularly insult the intelligence and morals of those who support therm! In addition, faith and morals are not taught from the pulpit, hence the poor turnout for the effort to flood Springfield in defense of Marriage last month.
I have noticed that in the South, pastors and parishes tend to be more conservative and “Catholic.” Very refreshing.
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Reblogged this on Not for Attribution.
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