AMERICAN CATHOLIC COUNCIL: Detroit convention in 2011...be there!

One of the subjects I have on my list to comment on is a national convention of liberal Catholics to be held in Detroit on June 10-12, 2011. The national group is called THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC COUNCIL.

What attracted me to this story was a statement released by Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron warning Catholics in metro Detroit to stay (the hell [my insertion]) away from this convention.

The archbishop said some of the scheduled speakers espouse positions which are clearly contrary to Catholic faith.

Organizers of the convention are saying that Catholic leaders are using scare tactics to silence people and I may add, keep people from listening to Catholics other than Church leaders.

The archbishop asks us all to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit (read Vatican) so we may embrace authentic (Vatican) development of faith and morals, and shun efforts which threaten unity.

The American Catholic Council responded by saying that many Catholics are dismayed at the lack of responsible pastoral leadership within the church, the lack of accountability for the sinfully criminal behaviors of predator priests and their clerical enablers and the lack of fiscal transparency present in reporting how hard earned donations are being spent and/or stolen.

Well now, let us break that down a little.

The Vatican (Vigneron) is trying to silence Catholic critics of the Vatican because the Vatican is the only body Catholics should listen to because:

They allowed hundreds if not thousands of innocent children to be molested by predatory priests. Yes, allowed because evidence shows that molestation continued with the knowledge of higher up clergy.

The pope (even the previous pope and who knows how many before them) did not show any acknowledgment of the molestations or took up any public campaigns to stamp out the abhorrent behavior by representatives of Jesus on earth. Benedict did not take action until he was forced to by lay Catholics so his mea culpa means nothing now.

They allowed fiscal shenanigans in Rome by clergy handling money donated by Catholics from around the world. As much as the Vatican has tried to hide them, many financial abuses have come out in the press.

How dare Archbishop Vigneron ask faithful Catholics to not listen to criticism of the Vatican in light of their abysmal, incompetent and criminal administration of the Catholic Church? In fact, it is the duty of priests, deacons, lay ministers and concerned Catholics everywhere, to listen to what “other” Catholics have to say about the Vatican and its failures.

The American Catholic Council is calling for church reforms and greater openness (transparency); no more hiding things in the closet which the church has been doing for hundreds of years. Let us talk about married priests and female priests and more acceptance of gays and lesbians.

I can’t wait to see who the scheduled speakers will be. I do know that one of the speakers will be HANS KUNG, a Swiss priest that has written many books that I have read.

You can check on what the council stands for and is up to:       Americancatholiccouncil.org.

Who knows; you may learn something you did not know before.

Related articles

• Detroit's Archbishop Vigneron lowers the boom on meeting of dissidents (te-deum.blogspot.com)