A Magnum o'Pus from Bishop Grahmann

By Fr. Wilson ( articles ) | May 21, 2003

What could one possibly say that could be bad enough about this piece by Bishop Grahmann in the Dallas Morning News? The Bishop's decisions flowed from the purest evangelical motivations, but, sadly, are being obstructed by a mob of unconverted, judgmental, stone-lugging Laity. Not a WORD about the fact that the good people of Saint Francis Parish were already deeply suspicious of the Diocese because their previous pastor was unceremoniously yanked without even the chance to say good-bye, let alone an explanation, despite their repeated entreaties over months. Not a syllable about the fact that this was a situation in which a rape allegation had been raised, in court, only to be dismissed because it was brought too late.

Talk about not 'getting it.' There's a major credibility problem here, and the Bishop can write with all of the Olympean detachment of which he is capable... but at the end of the day, this is NOT the fault of the pitchfork-waving, stone-carrying Laity. The Catholic Faithful are not unwashed peasants. They are good people who love their families and their parish, and neither the diocese nor the Bishop have earned much trust in the last few decades. Charles Grahmann does not understand that; he did not understand it at the close of the Kos trial, when the jury, in a statement read by the Judge, rebuked him for unforthcoming testimony, and clearly, to judge from this condescending article, he doesn't understand it now.

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/viewpoints/stories/052103dnedigrahmann.ac9b6.html