Today we're hearing more about Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, the new head of the US Conference on Catholic Bishops (CCB). It ain't good.
The newly elected leader of the nation's Roman Catholic bishops says he will draw on his years as a pastor while seeking to reconcile Pope Francis' message of a welcoming church with the conservative ideology of American bishops.
Of
course, "welcoming" and "conservative" don't belong in the same
sentence. The CCB might as well be the Christian Taliban. You won't hear
anything progressive from these guys. But at least AP stated in print
that the American bishops' group has a "conservative ideology".
The article quotes a pastor who says of Kurtz, "He's got a gift for reaching out." Immediately afterward, the article states:
But Kurtz has also used his time as Louisville Archbishop to take strong stands on the kind of hot-button cultural issues the new pope says have occupied too much of the church's focus. Since coming to Louisville, he has joined praying protesters in front of an abortion clinic, donated $1,000 of archdiocese money to a same-sex marriage repeal effort in Maine and joined other Catholic leaders in denouncing a federal requirement for employers to provide health insurance that covers artificial contraceptives.
In other words, he's a dyed-in-the-wool Catholic wingnut. It seems clear that the bishops' group purposely elected a caveman to oppose the new pope's will. They will not succumb to liberal theology. That is what I see from the appointment of Kurtz (and DiNardo as VP).
Short
translation -- the bishops won't go gently into that lavender night. In
fact, they'll kick and scream. What's your take on all this?
