Vatican Disrespects American Catholics

Swiss Guard Protecting the Vatican

With the arrival of Pope Francis a spirit of renewal appeared to be taking place in Catholicism and particularly within the Vatican. Granted, most of the changes were a matter of style rather than substance, but Catholics were hopeful their church would focus on the message of the Gospels rather than it's own man-made teachings.

Even more encouraging was the news from the Vatican that it was going to ask Catholics their opinions on a variety of issues including same-sex marriage, contraception, communion for divorced and remarried couples. This is a real step forward for a monarchical organization. The Vatican is actually asking for the opinion of its members. Has this ever happened before? I think not.

But hold on a minute. If you are an American Catholic, the Vatican does not want your opinion. Although Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Vatican's Synod of Bishops asked them to distribute the poll "immediately as widely as possible," when the poll was sent to American bishops it was accompanied by a second letter which does not ask them to seek the opinions of American Catholics. Instead the letter asks the bishops to provide their own observations. We know that the American Catholic faithful and the U.S. Bishops Conference disagree on many issues. Apparently the Vatican does not care what the parish priests, the women religious, or the Catholics on the street think; they care only for what the the U.S bishops think. Why even send the poll to the US; the whole world knows what the US bishops think.

What value will this Vatican survey have? If a large portion of Catholics are excluded, the survey
 will tell us very little about what Catholics think. And, perhaps this maneuver is typical of a Vatican that is suspicious of democratic principles. For example, the United States allows women to vote and participate in government. That scares the you-know-what out of a Vatican Patriarchy. Therefore they are content to accept our financial support, but they do not want to know our opinions.

Questioning minds have to ask whether this Vatican move to disrespect American Catholics is part of a pattern. It was only a few years ago that the Vatican was close to calling American Nuns heretics. In addition the Vatican insists on appointing (some call it, "shoving down our throats") bishops who are clearly conservative fundamentalists who are out of touch with American Catholics.

(For details of the Vatican survey, consult article by Joshua J. McElwee in the National Catholic Reporter, October 31, 2013.)