Recommended Reading: the Inky’s Op/ed Piece on Archbishop Chaput

The Philebrity
September 14, 2015

http://www.philebrity.com/2015/09/14/recommended-reading-the-inkys-oped-piece-on-archbishop-chaput/

With the Archdiocese of Philadelphia currently asking the parents of Catholic school students to sign a “Memorandum of Understanding” (declaring, among other things, that “In all questions that involve Catholic teaching, morals, and Church law, the final determination rests with the Archbishop”), Archibishop Chaput has been raising some eyebrows throughout the Delaware Valley of late. With the papal visit mere weeks away, The Inquirer has just run a fascinating op/ed piece from U.s. magistrate judge Timothy R. Rice that examines how Chaput’s actions may be impacting his faith in the region. From the article:

The local archbishop, Charles J. Chaput, rules with a fist clenched in a velvet glove. Cloaked as a man of God, his message is simple: Follow all rules or leave the Church; we have no need for dissent or diversity in our ranks.

Judging from some of his email replies to the faithful, he is less than kind about delivering the message. Lately, he has taken off his gloves and started delivering bare-fisted body blows. Some days it seems he is auditioning to be a modern-day Rocky Balboa in clerical garb, pounding away on a side of beef at a slaughterhouse at the Italian Market.

On Tuesday, Rocky Chaput pronounced that all parents of Catholic school students must sign a loyalty pledge, acknowledging allegiance to Church doctrine and to him as their supreme moral authority. Parents, who often work two jobs to afford a Catholic education for their children, are being lectured that Catholic education is a privilege, not a right. If they don’t agree with every Church doctrine, they should head for public school. His edict comes only a few years after he shuttered dozens of Catholic schools, often without consulting parents, and after Catholic bishops have been targeted for concealing sexual abuse of children by clergy.

The piece also references Chaput’s response to Waldron Mercy Academy teacher Margie Winters firing due to her involvement in a same-sex marriage, and offers a compelling rumination on the state of the Catholic church in Philadelphia on the eve of its highest profile event since Pope John Paul II visited in 1979. With all the talk of how the city has been prepping for Pope Francis’ trip, Rice’s words present a complex companion article that presents much food for thought on Philly’s highest ranking religious leader. Check it out.