Is it any wonder that nobody goes to Church in France anymore?
Check out this obnoxious statement by a Cardinal from a country known for its unpleasantness. From Rorate Caeli:
LOURDES (Hautes-Pyrenees), 14 September 2008 (AFP) – Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, president of the Conference of Bishops of France, stressed that the relationship between the pope and the bishops “is not a servile relationship of subordination”.
“The relationship of the pope with the bishops is not a boss/employee relationship. He is not the CEO of a multinational corporation who is coming to visit a branch office,” said Cardinal Vingt-Trois during a press briefing held after the meeting between the pope and the bishops.
“We have welcomed him and listened to him as a brother who has come to reinforce the faith of those with whom he works and with whom he is in communion,” said the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris.
“We are in a relationship of communion, of affection, and of collaboration. And when we have things to say to him, we say them” said Cardinal Vingt-Trois.
Earlier the pope had spoke before the bishops calling for the steadfastness of the Church in the face of the challenges of the contemporary world – a speech with the tone of a directive which was met by somewhat lukewarm applause.
While it is certainly true that the relationship is not one of CEO to employees, he is also not just merely a visiting dignitary from Luxembourg. Come to think of it, I can’t imagine that they would make such an odious statement about a visiting dignitary from Luxembourg.
The hierarchy in France is living up to its deserved reputation for tepid Catholicism and bad manners.
The hierarchy in France should thankful that the relationship is not of CEO to employee for it was, they would have all likely gotten the sack.
Perhaps Pope Benedict should put some of the Bishops to the episcopal guillotine and replace them with some of the more traditional minded in France. You know who I mean. That would get their attention.
September 15, 2008 at 5:31 pm
It’s sort of funny and sad to think of priests bristling at the idea of being “servile.” What do these guys say about all that washing of feet on Holy Thursday?
“Eh. Non.”
Only in France…
September 15, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Andre Vingt-Trois = Sinead O’Connor in drag?
September 15, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I do not see anything odious in speaking truth. But, I will reserve judgment until I see the original French. Can someone please point me to the French text? This being taken from a press briefing, it is likely that the Conference President was clarifying the concept of collegiality to a French press that can be as anti-Catholic as the U.S. press.
September 15, 2008 at 8:52 pm
ADK,
If I introduced my wife at business dinner as the woman who does my laundry, it would be technically true. But I would still be a jerk, n’est pas?
September 15, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Please excuse my ignorance, but does France have a “bishop problem” as in the U.K. or, until recently, the U.S.A.? I had assumed French bishops were compliant with the Vatican, even if they aren’t world renowned for their zeal in engaging the culture.
September 15, 2008 at 9:12 pm
In T. S. Eliot’s MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL one of the knights says to the audience something to the effect of “When it comes down to it, it does go against the grain to murder an archbishop.”
True, true, but one is still free to refer to His Eminence Vingt-Trois as a (doodoo)head.
Mack
September 15, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I think the only difference between this French bishop and the Mohoneyesque ones we have in the US is that the French say what’s on their mind.
There is an old Yiddish/Jewish addage; everyone pees in the pool, but the only ones do it from the diving board get caught.
September 16, 2008 at 4:22 am
Is there a reason he is Cardinal Andre 23? “Vingt-trois” means 23… Do they number their cardinals like the popes in France? I aak because I honestly don’t know and it seems to be a strange last name to me.
September 21, 2008 at 2:54 am
As a Frenchman, I can tell you there is not an ounce of Gallic hauteur here. As a theologian, I can also tell you that Vignt-Trois’s comments are perfectly orthodox, straight-down-the-line statements about the relationship between the local bishop and the bishop of Rome. Anyone who is surprised by his statements has obviously not read, inter alia, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, Lumen Gentium of Vatican II, or other authoritative statements, including Ut Unum Sint.