Father Tom Doyle Responds to a Question

Attached is a document (see below) I recently composed on communicating with bishops. It was prompted by a question asked of me at a VOTF gathering recently....about the productivity of continued confrontation with bishops as opposed to dialogue.

My response
I believe that building bridges and honest dialogue is essential for the future of the Catholic Church as a Christian community. It certainly is more important than feeding anger by engaging in diatribe, violent confrontation and the like.

BUT... the mistake is lumping all "confrontation" into the same category. True dialogue can deal with confrontation because confrontation means honesty, and there is much to be confrontative about in today's Church.

True communication excludes the capitulation insisted upon all too often by Church leaders.

True communication means that many of the empty presumptions and accusations be abandoned. It also means a recognition of the right of all Catholics to think.

True communication in today's Church must take into account the sad fact that VOTF, SNAP and other affiliated groups are regularly slandered and discriminated against simply because they are acting like Catholic adults. Sad too is the fact that priests and deacons who have been openly supportive of VOTF and SNAP have been unjustly penalized by uncaring and unthinking bishops.

I believe that it is a grievous mistake to back away from honestly challenging our ordained leaders over many or all of the major problems facing our Catholic community. I have learned over many years that clericalism is a virus that has infected us all. It takes much effort to face and eradicate it but it must be done. Clericalism takes many forms and one of them is the fear that if we challenge we will offend the bishops. Clericalism is in control if we succumb to the old behavior of being docile and obedient whenever we are in communication with the clergy.

Clericalism is in control if we fail to see the most ignored, disenfranchised and marginalized person or group in the Church as equal in importance to the men who sit in the highest positions of power.

God bless. Tom Doyle

Communicating with Bishops