You have to look pretty hard to find a Catholic that supports Bishop Finn. Why? Because powerful people in Kansas City have manipulated the media to paint a good man into a demon. The narrative they constructed has been loud and constant, and these powerful people even managed to get a court to go along with them. Great tactics. Worthy of Lenin, Goebbels, Alinsky or the other master propagandists of the 20th century. But while volume, repetition, and a show trial may sway the uninformed, they do not make something false into something true.
For the uninformed (and there are many of them out there who might find this post) Bishop Finn was an activist against pornography, personally devout, and committed to cleaning up the terrible mess Boland and his predecessors left here. He appointed faithful Catholics to key positions...not dissidents who subscribe to the National Catholic Reporter. He recruited and ordained a couple dozen priests who are more likely than the last generation to teach what the Church has always taught (with dozens more in the seminary pipeline) . And in the case of Ratigan (BTW, ordained by Boland, a Bishop fondly remembered by those who orchestrated this shambles), Finn acted prudently: removed him from parish work immediately, did a legal check to to see if it was an obligatory reporting situation (which he was told it wasn't), and restricted his activities. Then the diocese investigated further when Ratigan caused more trouble (he broke his restrictions..he didn't actually do anything that resulted in a third party complaint to the diocese). Then something reportable turned up, and guess what happened? FINN HAD HIM REPORTED.
But of course the truth doesn't matter to those who are serving the Father of Lies.
Alas, Finn was politically naive and he was (unwisely) hesitant to fight back. It is lamentable that he agreed to plead guilty personally, thinking he would protect the Church and diffuse the situation. Of course it made it worse, and no doubt, he gave up the right to defend himself and speak the truth as part of his plea agreement. Now all you hear it "convicted, convicted, convicted" in the media. No MSM mention of the real facts, much less the plea bargain and the reasons for it. It's absolute calumny. His REAL mistakes were not treating his enemies, and the enemies of the Church, as what they were, and not boldly calling all Catholics to aggressively fight back against the persecution that is underway against the Church. Bishop Finn should have reread the life of St. Thomas a Becket as this all started. Then maybe he would have been inspired to stand firm and face his henchmen instead of compromising. As it happened, the Kansas City chancery will never become a place of pilgrimage like Canterbury was.
Well the lefties have the upper hand now, but they're graying and they're sterile. They have no succession plan. On the other hand, Finn left a legacy that just may eventually overcome them...probably 40 or 50 young, orthodox priests who (more likely than not) teach what the Church has always taught (or most of it) instead of some warmed over self-indulgent pseudo-theology from the 1960s.. And he invigorated and inspired the faithful Catholic laymen in their enclaves in this diocese. The clock is ticking and the enemies of the Church (as well as those unfortunate folks in the cultural proletariat who took the progressive bait) are going to die off with no one to replace them (they contracept, and the few kids they do have won't make any pretense of being Catholic). Meanwhile, the faithful Catholics who supported Finn are steadfast, and their many, many children being raised in the Church and will be steadfast, too. Eventually demographics just may give those faithful Catholics the inevitable victory (unless our Lord gets fed up with us all and sends an asteroid our way (Rev 8:10).
All that I didn't even get in a jab about "humble" Francis, the Pope of "Mercy" who appoints a real creep as a Bishop in Chile even as he blows things up in Kansas City. You can bet things would have turned out very differently if Cupich were in Finns position, eh?
We must presume that the Pope's mercy extends to one and all except those who don't share his peculiar ecclesiology.
ReplyDeleteBishop Finn was a better man and a better Catholic than his critics could ever hope to be. The good bishop will be fine. The Opies in St. Louis will provide him with a nice place to live, or maybe he could go work for Cardinal Burke in Malta. Not a bad landing place.
I am now living the Archdiocese of Kansas and I have to agree with you with the handling of Bishop Finn's case by his detractors, including that miserable District Attorney who still is proud of her work. I left KC before the turmoils of the late 60's and early 70's and missed the later issues with Father Hart (although I knew him very well) now retired Bishop Hart, and those miserable years that caused KC's priests to cover their arses, to use a horrid term. I think now the clerics have learned that returning to the original church teaching will rid the clericalism that befell the post VII hierarchy into the mess that it has been. I hope that Archbishop Nauman will help. I have had some dealings with him and I do trust him.
ReplyDeleteI hope you continue your work on this site "mudge, you do an honorable job.