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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Walter Sullivan: "The Good Bishop" - Hahahahahahahaha

I can't stop laughing after reading a description of a new biography of Bishop Walter Sullivan who spent 29 years decimating the Diocese of Richmond which still hasn't recovered. The last time we went to Virginia Beach we visited two churches on Saturday morning and neither one had morning Mass. The parish we went to in Hampton for Sunday Mass was so filled with liturgical abuses we decided not to receive Communion. (The bread used for consecration looked like gingerbread and the fraction was performed by ladies helping out at the altar.) You can read about that particular abomination here.

Walter Sullivan persecuted orthodox priests, allowed rampant dissent to rule in Richmond, and helped advance the homosexual agenda. He allowed a parish in the Norfolk area to hold an ecumenical liturgy where the Protestants and Catholics shared the Liturgy of the Word then went to opposite ends of the hall for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. When I wrote to object I got a letter signed by the bishop saying he was well aware of it and claiming it was legit. Disobeying Holy Mother Church was not a problem for him.

Bishop Sullivan was chaplain to the dissent group Pax Christi for years and dissent was also reflected in the the rampant liturgical and theological abuses. They were so bad, in fact, the diocese was commonly referred to as Wally World, the fictional theme park in the Chevy Chase lampoon film Vacation. Sullivan killed vocations; most men seeking ordination went elsewhere. During Sullivan's years Arlington was ordaining from six to ten men each year; Richmond was lucky to have one or two and some years produced none. Once when my husband and I were vacationing in Chincoteague we found the daily Mass at the small church there so orthodox we were shocked and went back to talk to the priest and praise him. When I said it was nice to find an orthodox Mass in the Diocese of Richmond, he laughed and said, "That's why I'm here; I have thirty families." Friends and relatives of mine in the Richmond Diocese often lamented how difficult it was to find a faithful Mass to attend and how awful religious instruction was for their children. Obviously, dissenters loved him!

A few items to note. The book is published by Orbis which is Maryknoll's publishing arm. Anybody whose been following Maryknoll since the 60's knows the order is riddled with dissent and many of their publications promote heretical positions. It's no surprise, then, that they would publish a eulogy of Walter Sullivan, one of the worst bishops in the country, with kuddos from liberal Catholic Martin Sheen. Although Sheen is personally pro-life and has supported life in his own family he has also marched for choice. Like his hero Sullivan, he's a cafeteria Catholic who picks and chooses when to obey Holy Mother Church.

Bishop Walter Sullivan died last December at 84. I pray for the repose of his soul, but he was a "good bishop" like an absentee father is a "good dad." He failed to do his duty to transmit the faith. Instead of teaching, governing, and sanctifying according to the mind of the Church, he turned Richmond into a stronghold of liberalism where progressive politics masqueraded as the Catholic faith. According to dissenting Catholic Professor Dan Maguire who teaches at Marquette, Sullivan even wrote a "welcoming introduction" to a book of essays by theologians some of whom "defended the right of sacramental marriage for same sex couples."

Martin Sheen asked the rhetorical question, "What would the church look like with more bishops like Walter Sullivan?" The answer is simple -- just like Richmond did under his rule with shrinking vocations, the destruction of the liturgy, promotion of socialism, women running parishes, and orthodox priests sidelined and persecuted. In the eyes of the world, Bishop Sullivan was indeed a "good bishop."  Whether God agreed with them Bishop Sullivan now knows. Please join me in praying for the repose of his soul. The man needs prayer and penance not spurious praise.

12 comments:

  1. The Maryknollers have also supported the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which is another reason not to support the Maryknollers by buying their publications.

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  2. I seriously doubt that god is anywhere near as condemning of Walter Sullivan as the writer of this piece. While he (the good bishop) and I rarely saw eye to eye when he was alive, I suspect he is at peace with his god.

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  3. I hope you're right, Anonymous. God certainly desires salvation for all of us and I pray for the bishop. But God also values the truth and Bishop Sullivan did terrible things to the faith in Richmond.

    I wonder what you think of the scriptural admonition that it is better that one have a millstone tied round his neck and be drowned in the sea than to scandalize. Bishop Sullivan's reign was one scandal after another.

    Lord Jesus, we ask your mercy on Bishop Sullivan. Don't hold those scandals against him, but bring him to the joy of heaven. Amen.

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  4. http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/engel/110401

    You may find this article of interest.

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  5. Thanks for the article. The USCCB has been a disaster for the faith on many fronts. It makes one think of Ezekiel's warning -- "Woe to the false shepherds!" As for Bishop Sullivan -- his support for the homosexual agenda was well known and Richmond is still reeling under in the wake of his disastrous legacy!

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  6. Wow.......I doubt Jesus would see eye to eye with you all who are bashing Bishop Sullivan for living the Gospel, loving his fellow brothers and sisters and refusing to stand in judgement. You represent everything wrong with Christianity. And I do realize I am standing in judgement of your judgement. I shall pray we all be more like Bishop Sullivan. Peace Be With You

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  7. And what represents what is right in Christianity?

    The Mass readings all last week were Jesus condemning the religious leaders of His day. Did Jesus represent "everything wrong with Christianity" for "bashing" the pharisees and saducees?

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  8. Bishop Sullivan was a gentle, loving, non judgmental leader who simply loved. He loved the poor, oh how he loved the poor. He loved those on the margins of society. He even loved those who didn't love him. Traditionalists may not know that the diocese of Richmond is home to two parishes who celebrate the Tridentine Mass exclusively. Bishop brought these parishes into the diocese. The overwhelming number of dioceses don't have Tridentine parishes. He supported his priests and treated them in a respectful manner. He empowered lay people to lead and provided them with a theological education to do so. I am comfortable believing Bishop is with a loving, merciful God, a highly suspect he had a little something to do with Francis's election! ( I doubt this will be published, but I tried!) Bishop, pray for us!

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  9. Why wouldn't I publish it? You can have an opinion. Although I disagree that the bishop was non-judgmental. He certainly found it easy to help justify the murder of Hugh Finn.

    http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=682

    Maybe he "loved the poor." He sure didn't love his orthodox priests. I remember going to Mass at a tiny little parish in Chincoteague, VA in his diocese. I was shocked to see a reverent Mass and hear an orthodox sermon. I went up to the priest after Mass to compliment him and say how surprised I was to find such a wonderful, orthodox Mass in the Richmond diocese. His response? He laughed and said, "That's why I'm here. I have 40 families." Blessed families!

    And I know other orthodox priests under Sullivan who were treated like unwanted bastard children instead of spiritual sons.

    But I'll keep praying for Bishop Sullivan and I suggest you do too even though it appears you've canonized him already. But just in case....

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  10. Why would Bishop Sullivan involve himself with Hugh Finn's death? Hugh Finn was a resident of a nursing home in Manassas,VA, not a part of the Richmond Diocese where he served as ordinary. The Diocese of Arlington encompasses Manassas where Paul Loverde is bishop. I'm sorry you didn't have the pleasure of knowing Walter Sullivan. He was a giant among men and a lot more tolerant of people he disagreed with than you. He was charitable and disagreed with people who held views contrary to his in a respectful manner. He believed the church was a big tent, and loved diversity. Thanks for posting my comments. God bless.

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  11. "Why would Bishop Sullivan involve himself with Hugh Finn's death?"

    Good question. But the fact is that he essentially blessed Michelle Finn's decision to starve and dehydrate her husband to death. And he did it publicly. If someone did that in wartime to the actions of the enemy, he'd be tried for treason. He and Bishop Lynch were a disgrace to the Catholic faith when they excused that horrible evil.

    That kind of "tolerance" certainly wasn't very "kind" to Hugh. I met and talked to his distraught parents and I think they would have a different view of the "good bishop."

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  12. Keith, Bishop Sullivan is not supposed to "celebrate" diversity or act "non-judgemental." He is supposed to defend the teachings of the Catholic Church, not the editorial pages of The New York Times. Sullivan appears to be another in a long line of degenerate liberals using the cover of the Catholic Church to promote their left-wing social justice nonsense along with sodomy.

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