In responding to the killings at Uvalde and the deaths of 53 smuggled migrants, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller has emoted, attacked, and offered sad displays of shameful clericalism.
By Dr. Randall B. Smith, Catholic World Report, August 29, 2022
Dr. Randall B. Smith is a full professor of Theology at a Catholic, liberal arts university. His book Reading the Sermons of Aquinas: A Beginner’s Guide is available from Emmaus Press. And his next book, Aquinas, Bonaventure, and the Scholastic Culture at Paris: Preaching, Prologues, and Biblical Commentary will be available from Cambridge University Press in the fall.
I am loath to criticize the bishops, or even a bishop, for several reasons. First, it’s too easy, and it is too likely to make the writer popular in a bad way.
Second, bishops are the successors of the apostles, and we owe them respect for their office. They need not be perfect for us to show them that respect. As the Scriptures make clear, all the apostles had their problems: in-fighting, an invidious desire for glory, and frequent failures of faith culminating in the abandonment of Christ at the crucial time. If those men, as weak and damaged as they were, could exercise “apostolic authority” with the help of the Holy Spirit, then modern bishops can, too. …