WEEKLYPRESS.COM ·
UCREVIEW.COM · JULY 27 · 2011
A Very Chilly, Pundit-Philly, Welcome to the New Archbishop
By Thom Nickels Contributing Writer
T
he sudden announce- ment of Philadelphia Cardinal Rigali’s re-
tirement had a lot of people talking. Some linked the Cardinal’s announcement to fallout from the sex abuse crisis while others, namely the archdiocese, stated that the cardinal was already due to retire. Still, the sud- denness of the exit got pun- dits’ tongues wagging, and most of the wagging was not good, especially when it came to commentary on the cardinal’s successor, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver. Poor Archbishop Cha-
put barely got in from the airport when he was pundit whacked by area columnists. Ronnie Polan- eczky of The Philadelphia Daily News, skeptical of the Vatican’s choice to replace Rigali, stated that Philadel- phia Catholics were get- ting more of the same with Chaput. Polaneczky, whose columns I generally like, wrote that Chaput “is cut from the same conservative cloth” [as Rigali]. She also quoted from organizations that viewed Chaput’s ap- pointment with skepticism. Another DN columnist,
Will Bunch, called Chaput “Archbishop Rush Lim- baugh.”
On The Philadelphia
Inquirer side, columnist Monica Yant Kinney ad- vised Philadelphia Catholics “to keep on praying or exit to the nearest Episcopal Church.” Kinney called Car- dinal Rigali “disengaged” and Chaput “puritanical and proudly political.” Polaneczky quoted “Catholics4Change” who told her that Catholics come in two varieties, the “apa- thetic autopilot Catholic” or the “disheartened souls who are crushed and heart- broken by the Church.” Left out of the equation were traditional Catholics who gather at Saint Paul’s church in South Philadelphia or at Mater Ecclesia Church, an all-traditional parish in Berlin, New Jersey, where the Tridentine Mass is cel- ebrated regularly. The spirit of the Ameri-
can West has always been one of openness, but in Philadelphia it seems like the sound of slamming
Archbishop Charles Chaput
doors is the only audible sound when it comes to Archbishop Chaput. Doing some research on my own, I discovered that Chaput has been to Pennsylvania several times, mainly Pittsburgh, and that he loves Denver very much. He’s also an articulate writer who doesn’t describe himself as a “conservative.” As he told John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter: “I actually don’t see myself as a conservative at all. I try to be faithful to the church’s teaching, as the Church has handed it on to us. I don’t feel that as a Christian or as a bishop I have a right to play with that tradition.” While I may disagree with Chaput on many social issues, when it comes to a 2,000 year-old institution, is it really reasonable to expect a Catholic bishop to support abortion, gay marriage or women priests?
When I hear clamor about Philly Catholics “getting the same as Rigali” with Arch- bishop Chaput, I also hear a “tone” that goes beyond the issue of clergy sex abuse (Catholics4ChangePhiladel- phia is only concerned with clergy sex abuse) and that seems to suggest, ever so subtly of course, the need for broader changes in the Church.
What’s annoying about columnists who are not Catholic but who feel the need to tell Catholic leaders what they don’t like about Catholicism or how it could be improved or even what
Catholics should believe in the modern world, is the arrogance of their stand. Unfortunately, the sex abuse crisis in the Church has given many people with zero religious affi liation the feeling that they have a right to damn the Church for its views on subjects that have no bearing on them as non-Catholics. From what I could gather about the former archbishop of Denver, he does listen to the people. In Colorado, for instance, he proved to be ahead of his time when he helped organize an all Latin Mass parish in the town of Littleton, a full six years before greater use of the Tra- ditional Latin Mass was al- lowed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 with Summorum Pontifi cum.
While I have no doubt
that Archbishop Chaput will shake things up in Phila- delphia, I also know that it won’t matter to him if some- time in the future—once he’s been to a Phillies or an Eagles game—he fi nds himself being satirized on the front pages of one of the Philly weeklies.
But for Philadelphia at this time in history, I think he may be the right person for the job, despite my disagreement with him on some issues. “The Church in Philadel- phia is at an important point in her life,” Archbishop Chaput told Allen. “It’s not time to be embarrassed about what we believe. In fact, it becomes even
more crucial to preach the Gospel—both within the Church and outside the Church.”
Revolutionary—but clas- sic Catholic words—indeed.
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