Discord Among Catholic Bishops: A Healthy Sign, by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, April 20, 2022

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. …

Browsing today’s online commentary, I notice that two veteran Catholic journalists have made related observations:

1. 1. In Catholic World Report, George Weigel notes that fraternal correction— a practice that the Church has always recognized as importance to spiritual growth— has been practiced sparingly, if at all, among Catholic bishops in recent years. This is odd, he remarks, because theological arguments were common among the leaders of the early Church, and should flourish all the more in our era of instant worldwide communications.

      Somehow, though, the practice of episcopal “collegiality” came to resemble the unwritten etiquette within Evelyn Waugh’s fictitious London club, Bellamy’s, where one simply didn’t criticize another member, no matter how disturbing, even bizarre, his behavior….

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