Kathleen Reeves who blogs at "Reality Check" needs one. In a post describing the election of Archbishop Timothy Dolan to head the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) she accused me of "a smear" for my article on Bishop Gerald Kicanas. What offended her? I described the bishop as a "homosexualist," which he is without a doubt. Do your homework! If he were not, he hardly would have received the ringing endorsement of the "rainbow sash" movement who included a comment that they hoped he would "grow" on the same-sex marriage issue, something they obviously think is a possibility despite it flying in the face of Catholic teaching.Reeves says Kicanas' defeat showed the bishops caved in to the "far right" in the Church and blasts the tea party and "political movements that preach fear, exclusion, and bigotry." Obviously, she does not consider herself a member of one of those "political movements." Only those who disagree with her fit the description. She obviously sees herself as the non-political, independent voice of "reality" and reason. Uh...yeah.
But here's a "reality check" for Kathleen. First of all, her understanding of the Church is seriously deficient. Anyone using the terms "liberal" and "conservative" when referring to the Catholic faith adopts political language that reflects a political agenda. The Church is a family of faith and the job of the bishops as shepherds is to teach, govern, and sanctify, not according to their own personal beliefs, but according to the doctrine laid down by Jesus Christ through the apostles. Embracing the creed isn't conservatism; it's orthodoxy. And, yes, there are bad bishops and priests who undermine the faith. Every heresy in the Church that I can think of began with a man in a Roman collar.
But those who defend the faith from heresy today are smeared as "exclusionary bigots."
