News: Catholic Bishops

“... only conclusion one can reach is that Catholic bishops prefer to avoid all spotlights. ”

It is remarkable that no Catholic bishop was asked to fill a responsible role in recent current American affairs. Other religious leaders were so asked and they responded enthusiastically.

Did American bishops deliberately avoid the spotlight or were they simply excluded? It seems hard to believe that they would be so excluded. This is a time in national affairs that Catholics are more sought out than ever, The majority of members of the supreme court are Catholic, the vice-president is a Catholic, etc.

The only conclusion one can reach is that Catholic bishops prefer to avoid all spotlights. And, that is due to the recent sex abuse scandal that has rocked the American Catholic Church. The bishops are afraid that they are blamed for a great deal of the scandal and that some of their members might go to jail as a result. They prefer the posture of lying low for the present tune.

The above reasons could account for the present behavior of the bishops. It could account for their neither accepting a role in the spotlight nor objecting that they were not offered such a role. The question than must be asked as to when they will feel differently.

It is simply beyond all belief that they will abandon leadership in the Catholic community. For one thing, the Vatican would not allow it.

During a time when the national media, in truly desperate fashion, seeks to fill its time and space with anything that approaches newsworthiness, the current situation confronting Catholic bishops in this country is more interesting to more people than ever. Why, then, do they allow Catholic bishops so much public anonymity?

Why, then, does the media refuse to address this issue?