How the USCCB Meeting Is Received Outside Catholic Power Circles: Igor Volsky at Think Progress

And while those who have the bishops' ear try to spin the current USCCB meeting as all about love and as having nothing to do with a political agenda, here's how the bishops and their agenda are being received among media spokespersons and bloggers outside the inner circles of the Catholic church: Igor Volsky has a report now up at the Think Progress site entitled "Catholic Bishops Unveil New Anti-Gay Marriage Website, Promise to Pray for Marriage Inequality Measures."


The centrist and right-wing apologists can spin all they want.  But the message the current crop of bishops have managed to give to the American public and to their own flock is precisely encapsulated in Volsky's headline, and it's not going to go away with spin doctoring.

And it's an eminently unloving message, despite Mr. Dolan's opening address to the bishops focused on love.  As I've just said in a brief addendum to my last posting about Michael Sean Winters' blog reports on the USCCB meeting, I think that for spiritual inspiration, many of us will be looking everywhere but to the bishops.  Many of us will be looking to the leaders of faith communities like those in Oakland who are expressing solidarity with the Occupy movement, while the U.S. Catholic bishops keep their mouths closed about economic issues at their current meeting, as they do the bidding of their Republican managers and hype up the gay-bashing.