Everybody's Screaming About Big George
Sorry, Charlie. Any "informed Catholic" would recognize that the cardinal-archbishop of the most prominent See is the de facto "leader" of a national hierarchy, a fact of life due to protocol, visibility, and clout.One of the things that infuriates informed Catholics is the way the media treats Cardinal George Pell of Sydney as a kind of "official spokesman" for Australian Catholicism. He is referred to often as the country’s "top Catholic leader" whose views somehow represent those of the local church.
This is perhaps understandable given he is a cardinal. But Sydney is not even the largest diocese in the country (578,000 Catholics with 139 parishes): Melbourne is, with just over one million Catholics and 231 parishes. The fact is George Pell is simply the Sydney Archbishop and Metropolitan (this means very little) of New South Wales (excluding Canberra-Goulburn), and his remit ends at the borders of his diocese.
John O'Connor, anyone? Spellman? Going back in history, "Dagger" John Hughes? Would any sane person doubt that these guys were the kingmakers of their eras at the pinnacle of American Catholicism?
Forgive me, but this guy's rant is just irrational and betrays a disconnect from reality. It's not how an "informed Catholic" fights the battle.
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posted by Rocco Palmo at 18:14
3 Comments:
Anyone else twig to Newsbytes calling Paul Collins a priest? He hasn't functioned as such for years and is now marries, I believe.
Oh no, not ex-priest Paul Collins again! And to think this guy used to hear my confessions as a kid (yes, I know, he was in Persona Christi at the time).
One of the things Collins doesn't confess in this article is his involvement with We Are Church - yep the same guys who unfortunately after yesterday’s comments, still have a "real presence" within the Church (see http://www.we-are-church.org/index.php?id=15&type=1 ) – and yep, you’ll see he’s up there with Pope Joan C.
The reason Collins is commenting now in a dissident online rag is that he really fears Bishop Mark Coleridge (you’re going to be hearing a lot more about him) will be appointed Archbishop of Collins’ home diocese, Canberra-Goulburn. Coleridge frequently debates Collins, and whips him every time!
Collins’ choice is Canberra-Goulburn Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power, who he believes won’t get the job because “sadly, his honesty and integrity probably makes him an unlikely choice as Archbishop”.
Nope, what makes him an unlikely choice is that he that Pat Power is the Gumbleton of the Aussie episcopate.
And another thing: Paul Collins uses a half-truth to try to make his point.
He attempts to slight Cardinal Pell by claiming he just runs a small Archdiocese.
But the reason the Sydney Archdiocese has fewer Catholics than Melbourne is that the greater Sydney region is broken up into 3 dioceses, whereas Melbourne is just one big diocese.
Despite Collins' wishful-thinking, few Aussie Catholics would doubt Cardinal Pell's clear pre-"eminence", both within the Church and within wider society.
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