Invincible ignorance and the bishops

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

by Phyllis Zagano on Aug. 01, 2012 Just Catholic

Many years ago, Cardinal John O’Connor told me about “invincible ignorance” — you can’t be blamed for what you’re not taught. He said point-blank that the bishops responsible for invincible ignorance are the guilty ones.

Now some of those same bishops and their successors are foundering in a sea of rhetoric, sinking by weights of their own making. They might want to talk about abortion and the rest, but nothing they say is heard.

What are they talking about, anyway?

Toledo’s Bishop Leonard P. Blair took to National Public Radio to deride the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and its president, paying lip-service to the horrendous episcopal malfeasances and cover-ups turning the stomachs of the world. His message: We’re in charge, and they will do what we tell them to do.

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