Am I living by allowing God to lead me to the “places” my conscience identifies as needing to be “Areas of shared journeying,” in the Diocese of Amarillo“, or am I counted among “the dead” who:
From Luke 20: 27-40
- Protect a memorial erected by a convicted pedophile priest for a bishop who made the “serious mistake” of granting that convict a second chance, ultimately leading to the destruction of the innocence of youth;
- Maintain a letter on the diocesan website rebuking “a few” who reported abuse at St. Mary’s Cathedral;
- Abort daily Masses at St. Mary’s Cathedral, citing the need for “an incredible sense of Reverence for the…Priests and especially for the Bishops“, effectively leveraging the Eucharist as a means of power and control;
- Build 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 III – Places
Areas of shared journeying
88.
Bishop Zurek, for his part, called what Matthiesen did a ‘serious mistake,’ yet the memorial still remains.”
“‘Given the ministry of the Bishop of Rome as the visible principle of unity of the whole Church and of each Bishop as visible principle of unity in his local Church, the Council was able to say that the Church, the mystical Body of Christ, is also a body of Churches, in and from which exists the one unique Catholic Church (cf. LG 23).‘” Accordingly, doesn’t a memorial erected by a convicted pedophile priest for a bishop who made a “serious mistake” in a rural parish over a decade ago challenge this understanding, compelling me to reflect on whether the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, is truly living as a body of Churches through which “a breath of life from God entered them.“❓
“This body comprises: (a) the individual Churches as portions of the People of God, each entrusted to a bishop; (b) the groupings of Churches, where the instances of communion are represented above all by the hierarchical bodies; and (c) the whole Church (Ecclesia tota), where the Church as a communion of Churches is expressed by the College of bishops gathered around the Bishop of Rome in the bond of episcopal (cum Petro) and hierarchical (sub Petro) communion.” However, doesn’t the letter, “A Reflection on Christian Life,” remain as a “living” testimony against “a few” who reported clergy abuse at St. Mary’s Cathedral by suggesting they are not part of the living body of “faithful and loyal disciples that the Lord Jesus desires”—those who proclaim, “Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!“❓
Alleluia, alleluia, “The reform of ecclesial institutions cannot but follow this ordered articulation of the Church.” If the decision to abort the daily Eucharist at St. Mary’s Cathedral truly followed this ordered articulation, could I not go about living and proclaiming: “Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.“❓
Alleluia, alleluia
Finally, since the Spirit of life dwells in every living creature and calls me to enter into relationship with Him within the “places” in the Diocese of Amarillo that should serve as “Areas of shared journeying,” but remain affected by “sins against synodality—the very sins that now place our new bishop in a position where he must “Just Say NO❣️” to being “put in his place.”—should I not heed the call of the Holy Spirit, who is God…
…”and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,“❓
The Spirit of life dwells in every living creature and calls us to enter into relationship with him.[65]
From Paragraph 88 of ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME