Will I be content with simply being a part of the abundant harvest, or am I willing to be one of the #laborers in “The service to unity of the Bishop of Rome” by going to the places within the Diocese of Amarillo where there are those who are “troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd,” because of:
- A memorial erected by a convicted pedophile priest in honor of a bishop who made the “serious mistake” of granting that priest “a second chance,” a decision that ultimately led to the destruction of the innocence of youth.
- A letter that remains on the diocesan website—a letter rebuking “a few” who reported abuse at St. Mary’s Cathedral—casting them aside instead of pursuing justice, healing and reconciliation.
- The abortion of daily Masses at St. Mary’s Cathedral, justified under the guise of fostering “an incredible sense of Reverence for the…Priests and especially for the Bishops“, effectively weaponizing the Eucharist as a tool of power and control—excluding or exiling of members of His Body.
- The construction of a second bishop’s residence, symbolically reinforcing hierarchical dominance and seemingly designed to “put our next bishop in his place” before his arrival.
As a disciple, when Jesus asks me to request laborers for the harvest, is He limiting me to praying, “Lord, we need a greater number of priests,” or is He calling me to something deeper according to the Gospel, Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8❓
XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
How to be a missionary synodal Church
Instrumentum laboris
Part III – Places
The service to unity of the Bishop of Rome
104.
Bishop Zurek, for his part, called what Matthiesen did a ‘serious mistake,’ yet the memorial still remains.”
“Moreover,” shouldn’t “the drafting of canonical norms…also be a place to exercise a synodal style” so that a memorial erected by convicted pedophile priest in honor of a bishop who made the “serious mistake” of granting him and other laborers “a second chance“—a decision that ultimately led to the destruction of innocence—could be canonically addressed in a way that ensures justice and healing, fulfilling the promise that “no more will you weep“❓
Consequently, should the “generation of rules…not imply merely the exercise of a power endowed by authority but…be considered true ecclesial discernment” so that when “a few” at St. Mary’s Cathedral, —report clergy abuse, they are not dismissed as being less than “faithful and loyal disciples that the Lord Jesus desires” but instead are thanked for being laborers who contribute to the Church’s mission and are among those who hear, “Blessed are all who wait for the Lord“❓
Alleluia, alleluia, “Even if it alone enjoys all the prerogatives to legislate, in doing so,” couldn’t and shouldn’t “the authority…act with a synodal method to promulgate a norm that is the fruit of listening in the Spirit to a need for justice” in addressing decisions such as the aborting of the daily Eucharist at St. Mary’s Cathedral—for the sake of the laborers‘ health and spirituality—as a way of ensuring that indeed, “The LORD is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King; he it is who will save us.“❓
Alleluia, alleluia
Finally, according to the biblical account of creation, God placed man and woman in the garden he had created (cf. Gen 2:15) not only to preserve it (“keep”) but also to make it fruitful (“till”); therefore, do not laborers and craftsmen thus “maintain the fabric of the world” (Sir 38:34), especially in places that do not seem to be in “The service to unity of the Bishop of Rome” because of “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” and have him exclaiming just as Christ:
“‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;…'”❓
According to the biblical account of creation, God placed man and woman in the garden he had created (cf. Gen 2:15) not only to preserve it (“keep”) but also to make it fruitful (“till”). Laborers and craftsmen thus “maintain the fabric of the world” (Sir 38:34).
From paragraph 124 of ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME