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U.S. Catholic Leaders Implore Bishops to Stop Appointing Dissenters to High-Profile Posts

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - United States Catholic Bishops attending a meeting with faithful Catholic leaders in the United States were given an important message that could apply equally to bishops in North America and indeed the world - 'don't appoint dissidents.'

The Catholic leaders addressed the President of the United States Conference of Catholic bishops and several other bishops at the behest of Deal Hudson of Crisis Magazine. Besides USCCB President Bishop Wilton Gregory, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. and Bishop William Friend of Shreveport and others were on hand to hear from among the best and brightest Catholics in the country.

At a press conference after the event Hudson described one important message delivered to the bishops. "It doesn't help instruct the faithful when publicly dissenting Catholics are rewarded with positions of participation in official roles in the church, when they're asked to keynote Catholic dinners," he said. "We asked them to think about what criteria they are using when they invite ... Catholic leaders who are dissenting, especially on the issue of life."

Princeton University professor, Dr. Robert George, one of the participants at the meeting illustrated the point raising the bishops' appointment of former President Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta to the USCCB sexual abuse National Review Board. "Panetta's record in Congress and then as chief of staff to President Clinton when President Clinton vetoed the partial-birth abortion ban makes clear that Panetta just fundamentally rejects the teaching of the church on the sanctity of human life," said George. "It sends a message we're not taking this teaching [on abortion] too seriously when we turn around and appoint to a position of great trust, indeed a position with which to advise the church on how to deal with a moral crisis, somebody who publicly, very prominently believes what is incompatible with Catholic teaching."

There were nearly 40 Catholic leaders in attendance at the meeting with the bishops. Participants included:
Raymond Arroyo, EWTN News Director
William Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
Dr. Robert George, Professor of Politics at Princeton University
Tom Hoopes, Executive Editor of National Catholic Register
Peggy Noonan, commentator and columnist for the Wall Street Journal
Bernard Dobranski, Dean of Ave Maria School of Law
Patrick Madrid, Publisher of Envoy Magazine
Fr. Terence Henry, President of Franciscan University of Steubenville
Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Kathryn Jean Lopez, Associate Editor of National Review

See the AP and Washington Times coverage:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/08/national202...
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030908-105508-1980r.htm

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