Go Bishop Boyea!!!
Kasia October 28th, 2008
Governor Granholm can support Prop 2 if she wants to, but representing support of it as being consonant with Catholic teaching is a lie. I’m glad His Excellency called her out on it. Supporting stem cell research is, indeed, pro-life. Supporting embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, is not. There is a difference.
Incidentally, I have had the pleasure of a few dealings with Bp. Boyea in the course of my work. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him – he is a very good man.
Good to see that at least one Michigan bishop has said something direct on something regarding the election. With the exception of the UP bishop, I don’t believe any of them has come out on the abortion issue this year. Other than reprinting the Fatihful Citizenship doc from the USCCB. Have you seen anything else?
Larry, I haven’t seen a direct statement from any other bishops, but I know the Michigan Catholic Conference has run quite a lot, and there have been MiCAUSE and other ads in the Michigan Catholic (over which Cardinal Maida has at least symbolic editorial control, but I’m sure he doesn’t read every issue before it goes to press).
Bishop Boyea’s statement is the most direct I’ve heard. BUT, it also bears mention that Gov. Granholm is in his diocese, and she’s the one who tried to make it a Catholic issue. I would think (perhaps hope is a better term) that any of our bishops would have done what Boyea did under the circumstances.
We need someone like Bp. Boyea in Detroit. I desperately wanted to include a statement from Cdl. Maida in my apologetics handout, but I had to look elsewhere.
Well, much as I’d love Boyea or someone like him here, I have to speak up in defense of Cdl. Maida on two points:
1) He did have pastors read a letter from the pulpit last Sunday about Prop 2, and
2) To my knowledge he has not had a Catholic politician in his diocese explicitly mischaracterize Catholic teaching on the subject.
Bp. Boyea is in a unique position, having the state capital in his diocese. He’s Granholm’s shepherd right now – after she’s out of office, perhaps she’ll be back in Detroit, I don’t know. I’m inclined to give Cdl. Maida the benefit of the doubt and assume he would have done likewise if it had been in his diocese.
Sorry Larry – I’d forgotten about the pastoral letter from the pulpit…
I didn’t realize you’d written about Boyea when I posted my comments. How weird is that?
Bishop Carlson of Saginaw is another good one. He is a definite change from Bp. Untner.
Thanks for the response, Kasia – I checked all the state’s Diocesean websites, and with the exception of Marquette (IIRC), none of them have issued a direct statement, while most have referenced the USCCB ‘Faithful Citizenship’.
Detroit could use a few more good auxillary bishops – it’s lost 3 in recent years, with Vigneron going to California (he might be coming back, tho, to replace Cdl. Maida after he retires); Boyea to Lansing and now Quinn to Minnesota. On the plus side, Gumbleton DID retire, but he still preaches at various parishes every week, and we did have Flores assigned to us, who is absolutely AWESOME!!!
And blessings on your upcoming wedding!