Catholicism and Covid: Disagreement among bishops is a positive thing

From The Irish Times: Tues 17 August 2021:

Church criticism of Covid curbs may trigger review of place of sacraments in school by Fr Tony Flannery

It is now a little over a week since the exchange between some bishops and the civil and medical authorities concerning the public celebration of sacraments. To say the least, it was a very interesting development, in some ways redolent of an Ireland that most of us consider in the past. A few things stood out for me.

First, I was surprised to hear bishops openly calling on their priests and people to ignore, even defy, the expressed advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team and the Government.

Link to article (subscription required):

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/catholicism-and-covid-disagreement-among-bishops-is-a-positive-thing-1.4648508?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fcatholicism-and-covid-disagreement-among-bishops-is-a-positive-thing-1.4648508

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Underestimating Love, which is the gospel’s core message

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Francis A. Quinn, the retired bishop of Sacramento, has an interesting article in The New York Times in preparation for Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.A.
One of the topics he broaches is that of the ordination of women.
“Recent popes have said publicly that priesthood for women cannot be considered because the gospel and other documents state that Christ ordained men only.
Yet women have shown great qualities of leadership: strength, intelligence, prayerfulness, wisdom, practicality, sensitivity and knowledge of theology and sacred Scripture.
Might the teaching church one day, taking account of changing circumstances, be inspired by the Holy Spirit to study and reinterpret this biblical tradition?”

With so many retired bishops speaking out recently on topical issues it raises the question why they haven’t done so when in office. What prevents bishops from expressing such views when they hold office? Whatever it is, it most certainly is not healthy and is damaging the office of bishop and the universal church.

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