Who Are The American Bishops?

From our friends at Catholic Culture, we received this article this morning. Definately worth a read!

Our bishops have just finished their November meeting, and their activities suggest a deep identity crisis. One might almost conclude that they think they are laymen.

That's the subject of my latest Highlights column at CatholicCulture.org. See what I mean at News from the U. S. Bishops, Whoever They Are.

Jeff Mirus
President
Trinity Communications

Some excerpts:

Three controversial issues surfaced at the U.S. Bishops’ November meeting in Washington: the death penalty, the rejection of Church teaching by Catholic politicians, and liturgical translations.
. . .
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn gave the game away after the vote when he stated in a press conference that while abortion and euthanasia can never be justified because they are “intrinsically evil”, Catholics may disagree with the bishops’ position on capital punishment without separating themselves from the Church. This is exactly true, and it immediately shows why the bishops should not be issuing statements on this topic. It is a usurpation of a role proper to the laity to proclaim this position and launch this campaign. And quite apart from the ecclesiological impropriety, what in actual practice have the bishops managed so well lately that we would want them to take over American politics?

[Emphasis mine]
Read the rest of the article here.