A bishop must be courageous: Pope Benedict

Vox Cantoris carries the news of the death of Archbishop Plourde. Much has been written about the collapse of the Church in Quebec and the rest of Canada; in part, no doubt to the failure of bishops. Yet, all must take their fair share of the blame. The laity were childish in their Faith and miserably failed when the pastors fell into confusion. Much of this confusion had its nexus in dissent from Humanae vitae; which is a modern-day "litmus test" on orthodoxy. As mentioned in other posts, now ex-Fr. Baum (and other theologians) played a leading role in confusing the bishops and undermining the Faith in Canada. 

Vox's post reminded me of the Holy Father's address to the new bishops' consecrated on the Feast of the Epiphany: the call to be "courageous". 

The Holy Father went on to speak of the challenges that face a bishop today, and the virtues he needs to face those challenges. He spoke of the humility of faith, of sharing the faith of the Church of every age, which will constantly be in conflict with the prevailing wisdom of those who cling to what seems certain. He said, “Anyone who lives and proclaims the faith of the Church is on many points out of step with the prevalent way of thinking, even in our own day.”

“[T]he courage to contradict the prevailing mindset is particularly urgent for a Bishop today,” said Pope Benedict. “[A Bishop] must be courageous.”