Why the ‘Good Bishops’ Keep Disappointing the Faithful, by Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, Sept. 12, 2025

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. See full bio.

Catholic World Report has done a great service to readers today, by dipping into the magazine’s archives and posting an article by the late, great James Hitchcock, Conservative Bishops, Liberal Results. Originally published in the May 1995 issue (when I was serving as editor), the article explores a phenomenon that still puzzles many faithful Catholics. Why is it that so many good bishops—bishops who have the enthusiastic support of Catholics loyal to the perennial traditions of the Church—fail to bring about any discernible changes in the actual working of their dioceses?

Although Jim Hitchcock died only two months ago, a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease had silenced him for years, and younger readers may not be familiar with his work. For them, this article from Catholic World Report is a must. He was an extremely perceptive observer of Church history, who thought and wrote with unusual clarity. His analysis offers cogent answers to the questions that many Catholics are still asking. …

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