Saturday 14 September 2013

What do you look for in a Bishop?

Do you look for a warm character, one who oozes holiness and yet is fearless and outspoken when it comes to speaking up for the Faith?

A man who is unafraid to tell the truth regardless of the consequences?

A clear, positive speaker who makes his point without hesitation or prevarication?

A beacon of light and a leader and role model to his priests?

And, one who is, to paraphrase the late Alice Thomas Ellis, a Catholic?

Well please feast your eyes on this interview with Bishop Kieran Conry (who proudly proclaims that he never reads blogs).

Really, My Lord? And I thought you were the epitome of a modern Catholic bishop.....

 
Shortly I shall be running a poll on Bishop Conry and how inspirational you, dear reader, find him.
 
I shall post on that once my pulse has slowed and heartbeat returned to normal after watching this Bishop frankly and lucidly expounding on lapsed Catholics (I thought it was non pc to call them that these days).
H/T to Deacon Nick at Protect the Pope for his post on the ACTA and the Bishop.
 

9 comments:

  1. Ah yes, bishops. The shepherds of their flock. When the wolves turn up, they are advised to abandon their sheep and run away. Or so +KIeran seems to think.

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    1. Wolves! Wolves? What wolves? I thought Pope Francis said we are all bound for Heaven. Or did I get him wrong?

      Yours in tolerance,

      Bishop Bogus Smirk

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  2. I don't understand Bruvver Eccles' sarcasm. What did Bishop Conry say that might be considered objectionable? He seemed to me to be talking sense.

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  3. ...for once.

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  4. Michael - for my part I felt that +Conry appeared weak and vacillating. I think Bruvver E was referring to the Bishop's pathetic apology over the Brighton Argus affair.

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  5. Richard:
    Don't go there explicitly ! (Polls and comparisons I mean)
    Any of us may - God forbid! -have, or be near, bishops who are , at best , sow's ears - well if we mean what we say talking about the All-Mighty , then we know he CAN turn them into silk purses, and MAY even do so without our prayers, tho with seems to be more to his instructions.
    Praise of Bishop X or Y for his W or Z actions and qualities is surely in order-(Ive a little list of favourite bishops , tho I may be wrong, the Holy Spirit knows best) presenting those canonized from the past even better, but I m tempted enough internally to "look upon this picture then on that" without any polls!To put providence to the question on all Ive been given, Bishop included.
    For who knows what their left hand may have done, be doing, or do inthe future - an obvious and material example is , say, a stray Pole in WW2 's helping Jews escape, which only became public when some of said Jews came forward to say so on said Pole's becoming Pope, noone knew.

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  6. Kieran Conry is not my bishop. From some of his comments over the years, I have to admit that I regard him as something of a buffoon, and I have little confidence in him as a pastor of the Church. He is of course right in welcoming lapsed brethren back into the fold. "Erigens autem se Jesus, dixit ei: Mulier, ubi sunt qui te accusabant? nemo te condemnavit? Quae dixit: Nemo, Domine. Dixit autem Jesus: Nec ego te condemnabo: vade, et jam amplius noli peccare."

    I don't think this can be transmogrified into the following. "You left because the Old Church criticized your lifestyle and implied you were a sinner. The New Church is not going to criticize you. Do what you want, believe what you want, you are welcome. We even have this inclusive dumbed-down touchy-feely liturgy which is guaranteed to make you feel good about yourself".

    The Church of England has preached this for decades, which is why its churches are packed, week in, week out.

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  7. I suppose I am one of millions trying hard not to despair. Sorry!

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  8. My impression was that practically the entire Catholic population of England rushed to the defence of Fr Blake against the calumny put forward by the Arg*s (and repeated elsewhere). The one notable exception was his own bishop, whose BBC interview was a disgrace.

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