By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, July 28, 2023
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.
After an episcopal ordination some time back, I was sitting at lunch with the newly consecrated bishop, the archbishop who had ordained him, and several other older prelates. The archbishop addressed his young colleague:
Now that you’re a bishop, there are two things you never have to worry about again. You’ll never want for a good meal. And you’ll never hear the truth.
He was joking. Or was he?
Flash forward to this past weekend, when I was having dinner with a priest who had served as aide to an influential prelate. He reminded me of that earlier conversation when he burst out: “Nobody ever tells a bishop the truth!” …