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Sunday, May 3, 2009

St. Paul's Letter to Bishop Boland of Savannah - Do Your Actions Show Love?

There's a wonderful quote from St. Paul. "Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?" Paul addressed that question to his flock in Corinth. (1 Corinthians 4:21) Earlier in the letter he spoke about the necessary requirements for ministers. They should be servants who teach the mysteries of God. Paul especially expects them to be trustworthy. And what does that mean in the context of being a servant imitating Christ? Paul provides the answer in 1 Corinthians 13 when he describes love.

Which brings me to Bishop Boland's continued unloving treatment of the Kumpel family which is a scandal to the Church, his own diocese, and the people of Valdosta. Read Robert's description of his youngest child's baptism and his second oldest child's First Communion. They traveled across the country for the sacraments because Robert was banned from his own parish. (If you are unfamiliar with the Kumpels' story you can read the two previous posts here and here.)

Look at the photos of these darling little lambs of Christ and ask how a good shepherd would treat them and their parents. The sacraments should have taken place in the Kumpels "home" parish of St. John's. But they could not. The church doors in Valdosta are legally barred against the children's own father BY THE BISHOP. He hides behind his lawyers, but the continued persecution comes directly from his hands. He can lift the ban. He chooses not to.

And so I ask Bishop Boland, "Do your actions show the love of Christ?" Do they pass muster according to St. Paul's words?

Love is patient. Has the bishop shown patience?
No, Robert and his family are the ones who have waited patiently for two years to see this unjust ban lifted.

Love is kind. Has the bishop shown any kindness toward the Kumpel family?
No, it could hardly be more unkind than to divide a family and withhold from them the "daily bread" of receiving the Eucharisth every day at Mass.

Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish.
Bishop Boland has never met the Kumpels yet he sent word that they may NEVER contact him except through his lawyer. His actions smack of the most rank snobbish clericalism.

Love is never rude, it is not self seeking, it is not prone to anger.
One of the hallmarks of anger is its capacity to hold a grudge. The bishop's actions not only indicate a grudge, but they imitate the Jehovah's Witnesses practice of shunning which is cruel and uncharitable.

Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth.
Like many bishops who shuffled around predatory priests, Bishop Boland did not like hearing the truth about Fr. John O'Brien's imprudent behavior with the Office Director. Instead of dealing with it, he joined in shooting the messenger.

There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.
There is little evidence of forbearance on the part of the bishop; but a great deal on the part of the Kumpel family. They have lived with insults, rudeness, shunning, hostility...and yet they continue to desire to make a home at St. John's. People who were less committed Catholics would likely have been driven out of the Church over this. Sad to say, Bishop Boland's behavior is not like the Good Shepherd in today's Gospel, but like the hireling who abandons the sheep.

The Good Shepherd uses his rod to strike the wolf. Unhappily, Bishop Boland has used his shepherd's staff to strike the Kumpels, his own sheep. When you attack the father, you attack the family. There is no evidence of love in Bishop Boland's actions. Please pray for him.

16 comments:

  1. I encourage people to contact Bishop Boland here:

    http://www.diosav.org/contact

    And his attorney. The attorney's contact information may be obtained by enlarging the letter that is posted here:

    http://stjohnsvaldosta.blogspot.com/2009/04/not-your-parish-not-our-parish-its-his.html

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  2. I sent Bishop Boland a long email about this and didn't get the courtesy of an acknowledgment. This may well be a shepherd with no eyes or ears.

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  3. I am suggesting to everyone that they copy their email and put it in an envelope to the Apostolic Nuncio with a brief cover note asking him to transmit their concerns to the Holy See. The contact information is:
    Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi.
    3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W, Washington, DC, USA
    Telephone: (202) 333-7121
    Fax: 337-4036

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  4. I too have never gotten a response, but I feel sure that the message is being conveyed.

    Also, I nice letter, or email, to the attorney will be sure to get attention.

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  5. Why doesn't the Vatican punish Bishop Boland for his cruel actions which do not permit his parishioners to practice their religion. Why? No guts!

    Bishop Lynch in St. Petersburg got away with ignoring the murder of Terri Schiavo years ago without a word from the Vatican.

    I give up. I just love God
    The "Clergy" has let me down a long time ago.

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  6. Luckily, the Bishop Boland types are a dying breed. Finally, we are getting some good bishop and archbishop appointments under Pope Benedict; much better than JP2.

    Yesterday, at the Tidentine Mass at St. John in McLean, I met four seminarians who told me they were studying at the John Paul Institute at CU. Three were from the Diocese of Portland, ME and one from Rochester, NY. All four were wearing cassocks and looked extremely priestly and devout. I told the one from Rochester that I would pray especially hard for him because that was a tough diocese under Bishop Matthew Clark. He agreed with my assessment, but then added--"things are changing there". Seeing and talking to these fine young seminarians gave me a great amount of hope.

    The Bishop Boland (Clark and Hubbard) types don't foster vocations, they kill them. That is why their breed (from the 1960s and 1970s) is dying off. If you want to read a great article regarding fostering vocations, check the piece on the newly named archbishop of St. Louis (Carlson) in latest issue of the Wanderer. He is a polar opposite of Boland.
    Phil

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  7. After reading all of this, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the moral and prayerful support.

    However, let's be fair and give credit where credit is due. Bishop Boland's record on vocations is not too bad. Per capita, he has had one of the top 3 dioceses in the US for cultivating new vocations. I suspect one of the reasons is that most seminarians attend Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, Maryland, one of our better seminaries.

    I don't "have it in" for Bishop Boland (like he apparently does for me) and I believe that when our bishops do a good job in one area, they deserve our praise for it.

    Now, I just wish he could get beyond his personal grudges and re-discover the "pastoral" sense that he supposedly likes to promote among his own priests.

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  8. Bishop Boland would never have done it if it were Rudy Guliani, Edward Kennedy or Frank Sinatra. They would never have to stand outside and watch their children, grandchildren receive Communion. Yet, their lives were not indicative of what a good practicing Catholic should do according to the laws of the C hurch.

    Why doesn't the Vatican (the Pope) take the Bishop to task? You tell me! No guts, maybe. The Jewish people got after the Vatican for honoring the bishop that said the Holocaust never happened. They changed their tune at that time.

    Mary

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  9. No Mary Ann, Bishop Boland is trying to use his Crozier to open the gate for the wolf to enter into Robert's house!

    God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
    Kenneth M. Fisher, Founder & Chairman, Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc.

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  10. Time and time again Catholics are treated by their shepherds in manners which go against the teachings of Christ. Why don't we actually try to help each other live out the teachings of the Church instead of making it just about impossible? Could we let someone be a saint without being persecuted by the Church? Like, go back to the good ol' days of becoming a saint by being persecuted by nonbelievers instead of our felllow Catholics? God bless Robert for praising the Bishop as he did. The Kumpels sure are a source of inspiration in times of trial!

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  11. " I don't "have it in" for Bishop Boland (like he apparently does for me. "

    This is unbelievable, chutzpuh. the bishop is doing what he had to do to protect his flock. the court system said , you are right bishop and we are going to follow your wishes. Love is protecting the flock. Bishop Boland is the good shepard who protects his flock.
    Thank God.

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  12. Now exactly how is Bishop Boland's vindictive action against the Kumpels' four children protecting the flock?

    It wasn't against the children you say? Nonsense, his actions affect the innocent little ones whose well-being cannot be separated from that of their parents. They have been denied the right to attend Mass as a family with their dad who is spiritual head of the family.

    And what, pray tell, is the bishop defending the flock from? ... having their feelings hurt?

    No doubt that's what Obama is saying after his victory speech at Notre Dame today with a cheering mob who would have fit right in at Hitler's rallies. What Bishop Boland is doing to the Kumpels is indefensible just like Fr. Jenkins' betrayal at Notre Dame.

    As for chutzpah that term applies well to anonymous posters who take potshots in the dark.

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  13. As to the drama in georgia, Justice is served.

    Mass has not been denied to anyone. How much do you worry about the plight of the unarmed
    Catholic Palestinians who are being ethnically cleansed daily with a racist apartheid terror group next door to them who ignores every international UN resolution. Is that worthy enough of a cause to protest. Well, it is going to offend the Jews and get anyone who does it labelled an anti-semite! Abortion is wrong, but it is known as the SOFT and safe issue. Want to REALLY slow abortion, TRY and protest the Jews and their porn industry and soft porn magazines etc...I mean the demise of morality in America,thanks to the smut peddlers,is a key reason for MANY of the abortions today. How many abortions are there in Iran? Far fewer. Porn is a crime punished by death in Iran and morality is taken serious. One reason the zionists want to ruin that nation, in order to flood it with porn and birth control pills,after they steal the oil. The nuke issue is the biggest scam since the claim of 6 million getting gassed in a bedroom with glass windows and wooden doors.
    How did Obama and Hitler enter this stage? what most Americans do not know is Hitler was acting in an honorable way, if we review his actions as least when compared with Geo Bush. Hitler was under attack by the Jews of Germany who were organizing a global boycott on Germany. Germany imported 65% of it food then and a boycott would have starved the people. Furthermore, porn had overrun Berlin then, via the Jewish strip club owners, and Hitler was feargul of a bloodbath of Germans by the Jews, much like the one they organzied and carried out in Russia in 1918. concentration camps were used as both a safeguard for the Jews and as cheap labor. Nothing more nothing less. Hardly actions that make a person evil.

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  14. A lot of gentiles were killed as well in those camps that were built to "safeguard" the Jews. Were they safeguarding Catholics like Maximilian Kolbe and Edith Stein and Protestants like Corrie ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoeffer? And the young people of the White Rose, Sophie Scholl, her brother and friends who were guillotined for resisting Hitler's tyranny.

    You troll around and spew anti-semitic claptrap while you defend "justice being done" by Bishop Boland. Just what he needs - a holocaust denyer defending him. With supporters like you, who needs critics?

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  15. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  16. Anonymous, you've had your say denying the holocaust and I'm not allowing any more posts including the last one you wrote. I've read plenty of eywitnesses accounts including two by priests at Dachau. Eisenhower predicted that people would deny what happened. You are living proof.

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