Lay Consultant To Catholic Bishops on Religious Freedom and Liberty Responds To Claims of Partisanship

There are to me two frustrating aspects of the complaints against the United States Catholic Bishops campaign for religious freedom.

First the claim of partisanship. I have no doubt of the many Bishops we have some Bishop will go into questionable waters. With so many Bishops , and so much at stake ,you really can't prevent that.


But on the whole the Bishops I think have put forth a very non partisan case. However people are tribal. It is understandable by human nature that people want to protect their "own". However I can't help but notice these same voices of criticism urge at times the Bishops to be very PARTISAN like toward other political "tribes". If they don't urge it then often they do little to police their own.

Again this is understandable human nature.

Second this is not just the Bishops. There are behind the Bishops a very talented and esteemed group of Lay folks that are putting together these documents , and in fact are the ones that in their lay role have alerted the Bishops too these threats. Some good faith crictics ,but nearly as many as should, have not engaged these folks in their publications. Thus there is an appearance of Clerical Bishops versus LAY FOLKS. That would be incorrect.

With that being said one Lay contributor to the latest Bishop's document responds to some criticism in a very calm and reasoned manner.

From Mirrors of Justice see More on religious freedom, the Bishops, politics, and the Commonweal editorial