Bishops Backing the Wrong Horses

Two cases of unwise gambles have struck my eyes in the last two days.

I learned via James Preece's blog that our own Bishop Kieran Conry has made public, in The Tablet, that he requested that Fr Ray Blake change his blog title, under pressure from Mgr Basil Loftus's efforts to take legal action against the aforementioned well-loved Brighton Priest.

One has to ask why His Lordship has been so open and garrulous with a weekly magazine with a notable history of stitching up traditional Priests, yet he was so taciturn when asked about women's ordinations on TV during the Papal Visit, saying, 'I couldn't possibly comment'?  Surely this incident merited both support for his Priest and, in the absence of that, at least some discretion with The Tablet? As one of the sheep in His Lordship's flock, I must say I am most disappointed, especially being a lay man with so much admiration for Fr Ray's dedication, devotedness to Christ, Our Blessed Lady and Our Lord's Holy Church, not to mention his faithfulness in following closely the wishes of Pope Benedict XVI in liberating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

His Lordship is Bishop of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton so it is hard for me to say anything negative about him, but regardless of that, I've met him once or twice and I have nothing negative to say about him on this basis. His Lordship was very cordial and caring. I do remember wishing that His Lordship had dressed as a Bishop when I did meet him at a 'youth' gathering in Hove, but, aside from that, I just find it so disappointing that His Lordship has given into Mgr Loftus's blatant bullying and inability to cope with any critical examination of his own writings.

Bishops have a real responsibility to protect their Priests and to support them, especially when the Priest in question has only acted in good faith, allowing others to comment on his blog and to air their opinions. Fr Ray continues to make the Catholic Faith very accessible to the Faithful, teaching the Faith with great loyalty and zeal, using, as a loving pastor, the opportunities that the online media now present to the clergy to communicate the Gospel.

So sad. Another bad bet is Archbishop Vincent Nichols's sudden refusal to allow the Latin Mass Society to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Papal visit in the Extraordinary Form. Pop over to Linen on the Hedgerow's excellent new blog to 'read all about it'. So sad...

 I'd rather no more comments to be published on this blogpost, please.