Bishop Finn Restores Catholicism in Kansas City

So much so, in fact, that the National Catholic Distorter cries foul...Those who favor heterdoxy are beside themselves that a bishop would actually perform his duties to teach, govern and sanctify. Why are NCR and others upset? The first week of his appointment, he:

Dismissed the chancellor, a layman with 21 years of experience in the diocese, and the vice chancellor, a religious woman stationed in the diocese for nearly 40 years and the chief of pastoral planning for the diocese since 1990, and replaced them with a priest chancellor.

There's probably a good reason for this although NCR neglects to provide more details.

Cancelled the diocese’s nationally renowned lay formation programs and a master’s degree program in pastoral ministry.

"Nationally Renowned"? This needs to be checked out...If it was orthodox, surely he would not have cancelled it.

Cut in half the budget of the Center for Pastoral Life and Ministry, effectively forcing the almost immediate resignation of half the seven-member team.
Within 10 months all seven would be gone and the center shuttered.

What was this group doing? Again, NCR leaves us in the dark.

Ordered a “zero-based study” of adult catechesis in the diocese and appointed as vice chancellor to oversee adult catechesis, lay formation and the catechesis study a layman with no formal training in theology or religious studies.

As if NCR is even capable judging who is better able to oversee authentic catechesis? That's a stretch...

Ordered the editor of the diocesan newspaper to immediately cease publishing columns by Notre Dame theologian Fr. Richard McBrien.

And the problem with this is what...One of NCR's favorite proponents of heresy is denied the opportunity to infect the faithful with his flawed and dangerous theological opinions?

Announced that he would review all front page stories, opinion pieces, columns and editorials before publication.

As any good and faithful bishop should do unless he has delegated that to someone whose fidelity to the teachings of Christ and His Church is beyond reproach.

But this is not all. NCR then lists the new bishop’s "priorities", as they see them:

The budget of the Office of Peace and Justice was cut in half. One of two full-time staff positions was eliminated, and the other may be reduced.

And the problem with this is what? NCR doesn't tell us.

Support of the Diocesan Bolivian Mission, a relationship established with the La Paz archdiocese in 1963, was cut from $50,000 annually to $10,000 annually. Fr. Michael Gillgannon, the diocesan priest missioned to Bolivia since 1974, learned of the cut while home on leave in April.

It's so nice of NCR to be able to second guess the bishop. Perhaps this was a waste of funds with few, if any, results to ustify the expenditure? Again, we are left wanting actual facts.

The Vocation Office went from a part-time priest vocation director to a full-time priest vocation director with a part-time priest assistant and additional support from the head of the newly established Office for Consecrated Life.

And this is a bad thing? People want to complain about a lack of priests but then they want nothing to be done about it save for doing away with celibacy and having women "priests"...What a pathetic bunch!

A separate Respect Life Office was established to handle pro-life issues and battle stem-cell research.

This, too, is a great step to help the uncatechized Catholics learn what their obligations are.

The diocesan-sponsored master’s program, administered for eight years by the Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Dominican school affiliated with Jesuit-run St. Louis University, was transferred to the Institute for Pastoral Theology at Florida-based Ave Maria University. Ave Maria is being developed by former Domino’s Pizza magnate Thomas Monaghan, who has funded a host of conservative Catholic efforts.

As if Aquinas could hold a candle to Ave Maria...This is probably one of the best things Bishop Finn could have done. At least one can be assured that heterdoxy will not be tolerated or taught by Ave Maria professors, something sorely lacking, it seems, with Aquinas.

Finn upgraded a Latin Mass community, which has been meeting in a city parish, to a parish in its own right and appointed himself pastor. ( See accompanying story.) Later, he asked the parish that the Latin Mass community will be leaving to donate $250,000 of the estimated $1.5 million the Latin group needs to renovate the old church Finn gave them.

OH NO!!!! Not the Latin Mass!!! Actually, it's encouraging to see a bishop celebrate the Tridentine Mass. What a blessing the faithful of Kansas City have received with the appointment of Bishop Finn.

In the July 22, 2005, issue of the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Key, Finn explained his actions at the center in terms of mission and money.

“We have to understand where the power of the laity is,” [Finn] said. “It’s in the family, the workplace, the marketplace. That’s where [the transformation of society] has to happen.

Quite to the point...It's a shame that more don't understand this and believe they are "called" to a "vocation" of running the diocese with their own personal agendas, which are sometimes far removed from being authentically Catholic.

It gets even better, though:

In May 2004, Finn, while still coadjutor, called [the editor of the diocese newspaper, Albert] de Zutter into his office to complain about a column by Notre Dame theologian Fr. Richard McBrien. He had called bishops who wanted to bar politicians from Communion “a tiny number of extremist U.S. bishops” and “zealous, but theologically unsophisticated.” He included Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, Finn’s former boss.

De Zutter recalls: “Finn became quite incensed.” Finn said McBrien’s columns were “generally offensive,” the comments about Burke “hurtful,” and he wanted the columns stopped. But the paper continued to run McBrien’s columns while Boland remained bishop. Once in charge, Finn declared that “McBrien would never again appear in the paper,” de Zutter said.

I don't understand how any Catholic could ever read, much less support, a man such as McBrien. Kudos to Bishop Finn again.

The NCR article is quite entertaining...it demonstrates that some bishops have the courage to do what is right, to do their jobs, to be successors of the Apostles, and true followers of Christ. That which is detrimental to souls should be banished, that which does not serve the mission of the Church, salvation of souls, should be eliminated.

While the article attempts to foster suspicion or worse on Bishop Robert Finn, I think faithful Catholics can read this and rejoice that those who embrace heterdoxy are justifiably worried and concerned about their future and their agenda to form a church in their image, to their desires, and some bishops are not going to permit them that luxury any longer.

We need to continue to pray for our faithful and courageous bishops. Let them know that we support them in their difficult positions of bringing back the Faith to areas where it has all but disappeared.

The NCR article is here.