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| Are the U.S. Catholic Bishops Pharisees or Shepherds? |
There's a story, perhaps apocryphal, about a conversation between Cardinal Ercole Consalvi, Secretary of State to Pius VII, and Napoleon Bonaparte which has the ring of truth. Apparently Napoleon told the cardinal he had the power to destroy the Church. The ironic answer from the prelate was, "If the bishops haven't been able to do it in the past 1800 years, how can you expect to succeed?"
"Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
"Woe to you , scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.
"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.' Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred?" (Matt 23: 13ff)Jesus is certainly the lover who won't break a bruised read or quench a burning ember. But he never flinched at condemning hypocrisy, especially from the Jewish clergy of His day. And John the Baptist, among other saints, imitated Him. No one could ever accuse him of being non-confrontational!
