Saturday, April 30, 2005

Priests Say They Weren’t Consulted on Bishop Braxton

On Valentine's Day, a dozen or so Belleville priests gathered to discuss what kind of bishop would best be suited to lead their diocese.
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The members of the Presbyterial Council had been asked by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago to assess three things: the qualities they would like in their next bishop, the current state of the Belleville diocese and the future needs of the diocese.
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The priests never got a chance to go to Chicago. A month after their meeting, Edward K. Braxton of Lake Charles, La., and a former auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, was named bishop of Belleville.
The story states that some of the priests are "furious"...But that's not all - the Post is quick to add comments from FOSIL (Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity), a group with ties to Call to Action and other groups espousing heresy or heterodoxy. (Sources: here, here, here, and here).
"I would hope (George) would not intentionally (mislead the priests)," said Anne Harter, a member of the Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity, a group active in promoting lay involvement in the church. "And that leads me to believe that he was simply not consulted."
The remaining article makes for interesting reading, considering: some money issues raised, that Bishop Braxton would like a priest on staff for prayer and conversation, and the possibility of his bringing in more priests from abroad doesn't seem to sit well with others in Belleville.

Article here.

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