Click to read: ‘I only answer to God. Bishops don’t bother me,’ by Maria Panaritis, Philly.com, March 22, 2016
Excerpt:
“It was like the roots of a tree spreading out,” Foster said. ‘I realized, if I’m just a lay person and just asking a few questions, I’m getting all this information, how widespread and deep is this?””
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160322__I_only_answer_to_God__Bishops_don_t_bother_me__.html#LX7TcBdH7o8aYXZ2.99
Thanks so much to mr. Foster for his perceptions that something was really going on in his Diocese and he had the courage enough to preserve such documentation. He needs to receive the “Whisleblower”award that has been presented to so many by NCAS.
THIS MAN IS TRULY A PROPHETICAL WITNESS TO JUSTICE IN THE CHURCH.
More catholics need to stand up to these bishops who truly believe they are the Church.
Thank you Susan for focusing on thus article.
So happy that article was front page. That is where it deserves to be. Surely his mother, father, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews have to be most proud of this true witness of the “Good News” that people do care for the victims!!
Reblogged this on Voice of the Faithful ®.
God bless George Foster! See or hear something, say something. Silence is not an option.
The passivity of most Catholics is so hard to understand.
Begin by never taking diocesan communications at face value. When it comes to the bleached language of public relations that so often characterizes bishops’ statements, I like to recall the words of Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis near the end of WW II:
“Communicating truthfully means more than factual accuracy…There is a way of speaking which is…entirely correct and unexceptionable, but which is, nevertheless, a lie…When an apparently correct statement contains some deliberate ambiguity, or deliberately omits the essential part of the truth…it does not express the real as it exists in God.” (Pardon if this is a repeat.)
The catechism is also instructive, #2489:
“Charity and respect for the truth should dictate the response to every request for information or communication. The good and safety of others, respect for privacy, and the common good are sufficient reasons for being silent about what ought not be known or for making use of a discreet language. The duty to avoid scandal often commands strict discretion. No one is bound to reveal the truth to someone who does not have the right to know it.”
The real scandal is the lack of accountability for bishops, monsignors, and the law enforcement officials in their pockets — who enabled perpetrators.
George Foster reminds me of survivor Phil Saviano in the film, Spotlight, who gathered dats for years that the Globe finally used in its expose. “Bishops don’t bother me,” Foster says. Amen brother, ditch the deference.
Susan and Kathy, big nods to your efforts!
Thank you Carolyn. This month marks the 5 year anniversary of catholics4change and it coincides with us closing in on 1 million site visits/hits. Susan and I were just saying that sadly the past few months have just been as eventful as when we first started..nothing would make us happier than if there were no need for C4C any longer because that would mean things were better but we know that is not the case.
So what is stopping you and or others from protesting in front of St. John Vianney Center? Plan Parenthood in West Chester gets a daily dose of protesters so why not St. John Vianney?
Just an observation.
Hi Wr, there is nothing wrong with protests/vigils but in the age of the internet a post that is shared can be just as effective in communicating the message to the people..in this case that has been successful..stay tuned.
So many of us are just tired of clerics, and the ‘boilerplate’ response they have to any type of criticism, spinning and denying everything. I believe I’ve become a de facto nondenominational Protestant by default, as I very often find myself going directly to God. The RCCs claim of ontological change found only in the clerical state had worn very thin for me.