Two Years Since the Mid-Term Relatio

I will never forget my horror between the release of the "mid-term relatio" at the Synod of the Family and my relief when I read that Archbishop Gądecki, president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, had broadcast over Vatican Radio that the report was a load of hooey.

In between I went to Tesco (not remembering how I got there) and wondered where I was going to go to Mass on Sunday. It was that serious. It had never been that serious before. One understands that priests, bishops, cardinals and even popes commit sins. (I first heard about clerical sexual abuse when I was 12 or so.) Many are deeply sinful men. But one does not expect them to be, collectively, heretics. When the Gądecki news flashed around the internet, I cried with relief. I even drunk-blogged, but B.A. made me erase it.

I see that exactly a year ago, my profile of Archbishop Gądecki was published by Catholic World Report. Hmm, what is it about October 13?

One of the most shocking things about the relatio--quite apart from its made-up conclusions--is that it was a LIE. We were LIED to. It was NOT drafted by the "synod fathers". It is believed to have been written by an Archbishop Forte. 

This is the recent history of our Church. We should not forget it or sweep it under the rug. Please see this, scrolling to the events of October 13 and October 14, 2014. 

But then go back to your usual activities. Before radio, we didn't think about Vatican politics all that much. We lived local lives. Our lives as Catholics revolved around our homes, schools and parish churches. Our leaders were our priests and, perhaps, the nun in charge of our school (or our children's school). We rarely saw our bishop, and when we did it was a big deal. If we had the money to spare, we subscribed to our diocesan newspaper. Those were the days.

UPDATE: Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia comes out of his corner swinging against the "Catholic Spring" shenanigans.