Contrariwise

Today is the feast of St. Albert the Great, a Doctor of the Church known for his speaking and teaching. Two of my friends are currently in seminary for the Dominican order; one used Albertus Testudo as his Catholic Terps blogging pseudonym for years.

As I’ve tried to find balance in my life again, I’ve been reading Catholic news again. As I’ve read over these last few months, I’ve noticed that the U.S. bishops are more vocal than I can ever remember them having been before. The first surprise was when so many bishops chastised Nancy Pelosi after she tried to be a theologian on national television. I almost missed the whole uproar, but I caught enough. I was so glad to see our bishops fulfilling their role as shepherds and teachers. We have bishops so that they can keep us from falling into heresy and missing out on heaven without realizing it. Similarly, hearing that the Massachusetts bishops decried a billboard that promotes adultery brings me great joy. Bishops and priests got such a bad rap when the sexual abuse scandal broke, but if efforts like these continue, they’ll become known primarily as teachers once again. The media will still see them as out-of-touch old men, but they’re our wise old men.