Bishop Zurek, for his part, called what Matthiesen did a ‘serious mistake,’ yet the memorial still remains.”
Am I asking too much of the Church in the Diocese of Amarillo to provide “transparency, accountability, and evaluation” regarding:
From Luke 15: 1-10
- The protection of a memorial erected by a convicted pedophile priest for a bishop whom Bishop Zurek acknowledges made a “serious mistake“;
- The Maintaining of a letter on the diocesan website rebuking “a few” who reported abuse at St. Mary’s Cathedral;
- The aborting of daily Masses at St. Mary’s Cathedral for the sake of priests’ health and spirituality;
- The building another bishop’s residence, effectively putting our next bishop “in his place” before he even arrives ❓
XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
How to be a missionary synodal Church
Instrumentum laboris
Part II – Pathways
Transparency, accountability, and evaluation
74.
“In the New Testament, we find accountability practices in the early Church’s life that are significantly related to protecting the communion of the Church. Chapter 11 of the Acts of the Apostles offers us an example of this.” Indeed, did not these accountability practices do much to ensure that members of the early Church did not “conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.“❓
“When Peter returns to Jerusalem after having baptized Cornelius, a pagan, the circumcised believers rebuked him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” (Acts 11:2-3). Peter responds by expressing the reasons behind his actions. Thus, accountability of one’s ministry before the community belongs to the oldest of the Church’s traditions, dating back to the time of the apostles. ” However, in his letter, “A Reflection on Christian Life,” doesn’t Bishop Zurek suggest that rebuking him or his priests doesn’t have much to do with being a Christian—and that it actually prevents us from proclaiming, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.“❓
Alleluia, alleluia, “The Christian theology of stewardship offers a framework within which to understand the exercise of authority and situate reflection on transparency and accountability.” Furthermore, can this much-needed “reflection on transparency and accountability” not help me understand how authority was exercised regarding the “serious mistake” memorial, the letter, aborted Eucharists, and the house Bishop Zurek built, o that I may be one of whom it is said, “Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him.“❓
Alleluia, alleluia
Finally, doesn’t a proper understanding of stewardship require that I act “prudently” by challenging Bishop Zurek for his lack of transparency and accountability, much more for the transcendent dimension of my openness to God, but also due to “sins against synodality“—which now place our new bishop in a position where he must “Just Say NO❣️” to being “put in his place” and having to ask…
“‘How much do you owe my master❓’”
A correct relationship with the created world demands that we not weaken this social dimension of openness to others, much less the transcendent dimension of our openness to the “Thou” of God.
From Paragraph 119 of ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME