“Boston Catholic Tea Party” Against Upcoming Catholic Conference

We’ve had it with the Archdiocese of Boston’s
response to the dissent from Church teachings being permitted that continues to scandalize the faithful. An upcoming Boston conference is still featuring a backer of a pro-abortion politician. If you’re fed up also and want to let the Vatican know, we’ve made it really easy for you.  (Click the “Fed Up” picture to take action immediately).  This is the first move of what we’re calling the “Boston Catholic Tea Party.”  The good news is that we now have a green light from the Boston Archdiocese to take our complaints to the Holy See!

On October 9, the archdiocese is sponsoring another Social Justice Conference, this time featuring Fr. Thomas Massaro, SJ from Boston College along with Fr. Bryan Hehir. Fr. Massaro, was one of 26 signatories to a public letter supporting the nomination of pro-abortion former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration.  Three archbishops in Kansas City (see below for references) have rebuked her for her pro-abortion views that ran contrary to Church teachings, with Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann asking her to no longer receive Communion until she repudiated her stance and make a “worthy sacramental confession.”   Our complaints about Fr. Hehir go back nearly 40 years, including his presiding over Catholic Charities of Boston when they brokered adoptions to gay couples and when they honored the pro-abort/pro-gay marriage Mayor of Boston, and his undermining Catholic teachings on abortion, Catholic conscience exemptions, women priests, and voting for pro-abortion politicians.

This blog reported about the scandal of this conference on August 24 and sent an email to Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Vicar General Fr. Richard Erikson,  and the Cardinal’s two priest secretaries on September 3 asking to have the two speakers removed from the agenda. (This was also a formal response to Fr. Erikson’s request to meet with us in-person so he could tell us how to blog in a kinder and gentler way).  We let them know if we did not hear back by September 8, we would conclude that the recipients felt the  speakers were “acceptable for an archdiocesan-sponsored conference” and we would also “assume that you are comfortable with our taking these concerns to the Holy See as a next step.”  We received no response, meaning the Cardinal and Vicar General have given us the green light to take this to the Papal Nuncio, Congregation for Bishops, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Holy Father.   We’ve set-up a simple form you can complete to send emails and faxes to those people, so just click here to go straight to the form or click on the “Fed Up” graphic.

Below is an excerpt from our email to Cardinal O’Malley and Vicar General Fr. Richard Erikson.

From: Bryan Hehir Exposed

To:      Cardinal Sean O’Malley
            Fr. Richard Erikson
            Terry Donilon

Date:  September 3, 2010
To Cardinal O’Malley, Fr. Erikson, and Mr. Donilon,

We continue to be dismayed by the Archdiocese of Boston’s response to our Catholic blog, Bryan Hehir Exposed….

If the archdiocese cares about building the Body of Christ and preaching the Truths of our faith and a culture of life, why does your upcoming Social Justice Conference feature Fr. Thomas Massaro, from Boston College, a speaker who publicly backed the pro-abortion Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for HHS Secretary?  What message does that send?  Why is Fr. Hehir featured, when his track record of undermining and confusing the teachings of the Church is so well documented and proven?  Has the list of speakers been personally approved by the Cardinal and by Fr. Gaspar, whose name is listed on the archdiocese’s website as a key contact for the event?

In Courage to Be Catholic, author George Weigel said, “Bishops who think of themselves primarily as managers — or worse, bishops who think of themselves as discussion-group moderators whose primary responsibility is to keep everyone “in play” — are going to be unlikely to act like apostles when the crunch comes.”

The crunch is upon us.  Cardinal Sean, do you see yourself as a discussion group moderator whose main job is to travel, make event appearances, blog about your travels, and keep everyone “in play,” or are you an icon of Jesus Christ capable of the sort of bold leadership Boston needs, as seen in Matthew 21:12?  Do you want to be Archbishop of Boston, with the responsibilities of teaching, sanctifying, and governing that are associated with the job, or is being away from the responsibililties of Boston now of greater interest to you?

Please see our recent post on the matter of the upcoming Social Justice Conference.  Based on the widespread promotion of this conference in parish bulletins happening today, it would appear that these controversial speakers are officially approved by the Cardinal and Archdiocese.  To avoid scandal to the Church and to the faithful, we believe both speakers should be removed from the speaking agenda for the reasons listed above, below (ref. blog post), and in our blog since March.  We would appreciate the courtesy of a response regarding removal of these speakers from the agenda by Wednesday, September 8.  If we do not hear back from you, we will assume that you maintain these speakers are acceptable for an archdiocesan-sponsored conference, and we also will assume that you are comfortable with our taking these concerns to the Holy See as a next step.

Thank you for your continuing consideration of our requests that the Archdiocese act on the faithful Catholics’ concerns we have documented.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The bloggers at Bryan Hehir Exposed

We’re not the only ones who have complained to the Archdiocese of Boston about this upcoming event and asked for something to be done.  Both speakers are still listed on the event website. 

The Holy Father recently warned that the “greatest danger” to the Church is not external persecution, but the “negative attitudes” of the world that can pollute and “infect the Christian community” from within. And Cardinal O’Malley and Vicar General Fr. Erikson are telling us by silence and inaction that they approve of both speakers and it’s OK with them for us to take this to the Holy See. 

Frankly, we’re fed up with the archdiocese thumbing their noses at these long-standing complaints.  In addition, Fr. Hehir is scheduled to speak at a Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace’s symposium in Rome, October 15-16.

So we’re asking you to join the “Boston Catholic Tea Party” and help rid these upcoming conferences from “negative attitudes of the world” such as those the Holy Father alluded to.  Today’s the day to start firing away!  Just click on the “Fed Up” graphic to get to a form where you can fill in your name and address to send an email or fax to Cardinal O’Malley, the Papal Nuncio, Prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Holy Father. (your email address is optional, just if you want to be kept posted on the results of the campaign).   We urge people to use your real name, but you can also enter a different name.  After you fill out the form, just click “Sign the Letter,” verify the info is correct, click “Submit” a final time, and it’s done.

Please spread the word to your friends and family members and join us in praying a Rosary daily asking for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to crush Satan and the evil spread by the devil.  We’d like to see at least 100 people complete this by the end of the day today if possible and get 500 by the end of the week.  We’ll let you know when we hear more about any action the archdiocese or Holy See takes.