The all American clerical culture team

I had never heard of Bishop Dewane, so I checked out the web site for the Diocese of Venice (Florida). The first words next to the bishop's picture (in the Bishop section) are these: "Bishop Dewane, by divine institution, carries on the work of the apostles."

I wonder if this is an example of what my old seminary rector would refer to as the "darkness of self-aggrandizement"?

Thank you! I have not had so much fun in years. God, if only Kennedy were joking: tragically, every word of it's true, and these "mitred bird brains" (as Andrew Greely once referred to the US episcopal bench) are just the tip of a very big (and dangerous) iceberg!

And why were they chosen to be bishops? Because of their allegiance to Christ and their pastoral sensibilities? Or because they played the party line with loyalty to other men of the same ilk?
It's time for a reform! But first, deny them the funds to continue.

these are terrible examples that have become, unfortunately, the arhetype for episcopacy....whatever happened to appreciating and cloning the "good pope john type"? actually wouldn't it be best to allow grace to let peopel we "elect' as bishops to exercise their charism the way God made and not the way they have had to change to be a clone?

Eugene Kennedy's writing used to be refreshing; recently it's just nasty -- and unhelpful.

Being a resident of Venice, FL., the epicenter of the Right Reverand's empire, and as a former employee of that same soft drink company, I can testify the Right Reverand is ever bit deserving of this award....and that does not begin to detail his arrogance and insensivity, and the fear that he has fostered among religious and lay alike. I know the papal nuncio in DC is aware, but like the rest of the moroons, does nothing that would demonstate to us peons that the job is one of serving the peons, and enslaving them.

Please spare us any more of Kennedy's sour grapes...

This article exemplifies why we in Vicariate five of the Archdiocese of Chicago consider ourselves so blessed to have as our Episcopal Vicar Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller. It seems as if he slipped through the cracks in spite of his spiritual wisdom and human compassionand the way he works collaboratively with all in his vicariate, lay people, religious brothers and sisters, deacons and priests. He also works very well with ministers of other denominations and faiths.

It appears that Mr. Kennedy does not approve of Holy Mother Church's return to orthodoxy. It's a shame that he is so out of step.

I love satire!

I laughed so I wouldn't cry. I was particularly tickled by the "Msgr Moron" moniker!!!

What point is there is publishing this kind of mindless, ad hoc drivel in the same paper that offers Joan Chittister's call for a middle ground in public discourse? There seems to be nothing left of Kennedy but bitterness, and no arrow left in his quiver but the insult.

Ah, Gene, what kind of team is this? Even basketball has 5 on it.... But, then again, I suspect all of us could name our own additions to this list. I would like to begin with Bp. Tobin of Providence and Burke of the Vatican. They are at least as worthy as those you have designated here....

You are coming dangerously close to slander or libel. I don't think a court would give you any protection with your status as a "blogger," when your blog is disseminated by NCR.

I have been victimized by clericalism (fired from a job) before, and although I am no supporter of any of the prelates you mention, I don't think this is the way to fight clericalism. This article would be greatly improved by citations of the (pretty bad) assertions you make. Short of that, sadly, nobody will take you seriously, in my opinion. Why give "satan" more of an advantage?

Providing evidentiary citations of these allegations would, perhaps, satisfy a few justice-hungry persons, but in the end, it's not going to make a tinker's dam of difference. Clericalism has to be eliminated from the top down. I think this sort of thing is just making matters worse. The Church simply will not respond to this kind of pressure the way a government or a business does. It takes generations. Why make things worse for those poor souls in Springfield, Venice and Phoenix?

I am sure we could all nominate others for the award! The list could go on and on and on.....

Thank God for you, Eugene Kennedy: Your observations keep us sane and entertained. Although, underneath the humor is a growing sadness for God's People having to bear the burden inflicted by these pathetic men that were "chosen" for leadership positions in the Church.

"The Captain of the All-American Clerics is, by acclamation, Frank Dewane..."
A man for all (liturgical) seasons! An “Ash Wednesday” kind of guy.

"He has eliminated parish councils"
In Frank's defense, that action was taken only because he could not chair each parish council personally. A good move on his part.

"...ruled out women‘s participating in the liturgy in any way when he presides,"
Are his sexual urges that strong that he cannot even LOOK at a woman close up without desiring her? Perhaps all women attending Mass should wear Burkas.

"assigned spy-like agents to make sure that his orders are carried out by pastors,"
Perfect. What good is a cloak-and-dagger game without spies? This IS a game, isn't it?

"...Even parish bulletins must be cleared at the chancery."
Most parish bulletins should be discarded BEFORE being sent to the chancery.

"He has banned well-known Catholic speakers as “dissidents,”
List their names and I will be sure to buy their books and hear them speak in another diocese.

"While building a large home in a location he prefers to keep undisclosed he cut the Catholic Charities budget “for financial reasons.”
Of course, taking from the poor to give to the rich is always the proper action for a man of God. That’s how he got the job. There's nothing like a bishop who listens to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Let us raise our glasses to toast Frank Dewane, The Captain of the All-American Clerics, and the entire All-American Clerical Culture Team, Paprocki, Olmsted, and all Clerical Culture Team hopefuls.

Their achievements give great insight into the mind of the man who appointed them.

Scripsi, scripsi.

Once again, Professor Kennedy, you hit the nail squarely on its head. What a delightful read. Was it Robert Burns who wrote something like "O, the gift he gie us//to see ourselves as others see us"?

Kennedy has it absolutely right about Frank Dewane. Dewane is also a hypocrite. He gave an interview to the Ft, Myers News-Press in which he ducked responsibility for firing some "liberal" church people in Naples by wrapping himself in the principle of subsidiarity. That means, decisions are to be left to the most local, furthest-down-the-chain of command entity. He claimed that the firing was a local decision. Then he visited a parish in North Ft. Myers. He didn't like the color the parish leadership had chosen for the parish buildings. So he made them repaint the structures with a color he liked. This cost the parish about $8,000. Meanwhile, Lee County's migrant workers have to go begging for long-sleeved shirts to protect them from pesticides used in the fields.

I am so glad to see Bishop Dewane on this list as it makes me and others at my church in his diocese feel a little less alone. Complaints against him have been voiced, and even if the folks he kisses up to don't dump him, it's nice to know that his unfitness to serve has at least been noticed. Rather than focusing on what it means to be a Catholic, a Christian, and just a decent human being regardless of faith, he seems to be more intent on coercing everyone to walk in dogmatic lockstep, head down and eyes averted. Is this how he wants us to face the future? Bishops like him are one of the reasons the church is losing members, but his clamping down only leads to defiance. You cannot root out the love in a human heart and the thirst for equality, no matter how hard you stamp your little feet. An excellent post, it's just a pity it had to be written in the first place.

If it weren't so sad, and if I were not so angry, it would be laughable. These men think that they are, as my Mom used to say, "the cat's meow." One of these days we have to overturn all these "birdbrains" and give the church over to the people. We sure couldn't do any worse!

Nasty column (again) and nasty comments. Gene is a bitter old man. Too bad.

Ah, yes, the "return to orthodoxy." We hear this from those who think all of the problems of the Church would go away if only we would say and do things in the Mass that are prescribed and nothing else. But these junior morons can never point to even one line in the Gospels where Jesus insisted on "orthodoxy." Sigh.

Keep up the good work, NCR. You are continuing to publish yourself into irrelevance. If you are going to be ugly, Dr. Kennedy, you are opening yourself up to lots of retaliation. Are you ready for folks to say, "And then there's the former Father Eugene Kennedy, a priest who obviously has a grudge to bear because did not have the spiritual fortitude to remain faithful to his promises to God"?

Thank you for the tears of laughter after so much time of sadness and grief.

Again, we must accept our part in all of this malfeasance. We ENABLE through our plate donations. Please, please cease the funding of these misfits. Contribute your hard-earned dollars to groups and situations that are working with those most in need of compassion and help. Actions do more to spread the gospel. Anything we can do to foster that kind of ministry will be prudent, good stewardship.

It is not truly All American if we find no Spanish speakers.

Perhaps none made the cut for this notorious team for other reasons?

Like knowing of Liberation Theology?

Saxon Catholicism is the vast minority in this hemisphere; its days numbered by its own choice, its own clerical oppression.

Maybe Eugene Cullen Kennedy should get the Moron Award.

No wonder Jesus wept.

I'll reserve comment on the tone, but I can confirm two statements here as fact.
As a former member of the Diocese of Venice Pastoral Council, which was formed by Bishop John Nevins, Dewane's immediate predecessor, we met with Dewane once in 2006 while he was still bishop adjutor. There has been no council meeting since, or at least I haven't been notified of one.
Our parish priest did indeed explain how to game the Bishop's Appeal system so that more money comes back to the parish. I don't know if Kennedy has ever attended our church.

Well, I'll certainly agree with you re Diocese of Venice Fl's Bishop Frank Dwane! We've spent our winter months there for many years -- and although he willingly accepts personal checks from WOMEN for Venice's annual bishop's appeal, he evidently doesn't believe in equality for those same women within the Church! (I quote from the front page of tne March 30, 2010 "Herald Tribune" (a local edition of the Sarasota "Herald Tribune" serving North Port, Englewood and Charlotte FL) entitled "A GENDER DEBATE ON FOOT WASHING: Church Policy: A bishop's letter stirs discussion on a woman's role in the ritual. According to the article, Bishop Dewane sent his "Rules of the Road" letter to all churches in the Venice Diocese on March 26, 2010. In it, he reminded his priests that "ONLY men should have their feet washed" during the Holy Thursday liturgy. Customarily, many of those priests (in addition to our own priests back "home" in upstate NY) have washed the feet of male AND female parishoners for many years. However, quoting church rules, his letter read that "The washing of the feet of chosen men, which according to tradition, is performed on this day, represents the service and charity of Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve." The letter goes on to explain that women were included once, but that was a special case and does not indicate a change in policy. The bishop's letter further fuels an ongoing national controversy over the inclusion of women in the foot-washing ceremony, e.g., Archbishop Sean O'Malley of Boston upset many Catholic women in 2005 by inviting only men to participate in the ritual, because the church rules state that the priest will pour water of the feet of "men who have been chosen"-- despite the fact that The Vatican told O'Malley he could wash women's feet!
This may seem to be a picayune subject, but I wonder if these questionably trusted MEN of the cloth would bypass the Virgin Mother Mary if she were present for their Holy Thursday liturgies! Perhaps we should more rightly be running a garden hose on these "Excellencies" to express OUR needs to symbolically wash them of the guilt of their princely brothers in handling the clerical abuse of children situation, which is a far cry more important issue than that of washing or not washing women's feet!

During the First Bush War in 1991, there was just one US Bishop who publicly opposed War on the basis it was not just. He was Juneau Bishop Michael Kenny, articulate, smart, fit, young (50) and healthy as an ox. A few years after the war ended, in 1995 Bishop Kenny made a pilgrimmage to the Cursed Land, where he died suddenly and unexpectedly of an aneurysm while touring ancient ruins, somewhat reminiscent of the unexpected and unexplained death of Pope John Paul the First, wink, wink. Did this occur shortly after someone served him with a cup of coffee? Now there is not one Bishop who publicly opposes this war-of-atrocity-by-drone-killer-planes now in its 8th-year-of-injustice, all supported by the cuff-link-wearing death-penalty-supporting bishops and their lobbyists George Weasel and Michael Novak and that un-Christian embarrasment Donohue.

Thank you Eugene Kennedy. Not only informative, but an entertaining read.