Let's give 'em the benefit of the doubt.
Nope, let's not!
Dictionary says: give someone the benefit of the doubt Meaning in the Cambridge ...
"-to decide that you will believe someone, even though you are not sure that what the person is saying is true..."
Over the years in dealing with our three archbishops, comments, e.g., "Let's give him the benefit of the doubt" have appeared frequently. I humbly submit that this is usually a mistake. Thirty years of giving apuron the benefit of the doubt only allowed that which should have never happened to become common place. Remember how willing we were to give AA Hon the benefit of the doubt until he showed us what a huge blunder that was? And Cardinal Filoni?
Oftentimes when we give someone the benefit of the doubt we are deliberately suspending our well founded sense of disbelief, not out of charity, but in order to make ourselves feel better.
For some undertakings a feel-good extension of the benefit of the doubt just doesn't cut it. When grave (deliberate choice of the word here) responsibility is involved there is no benefit in "doubt." Airline pilots, heart surgeons, ship captains, et al. literally have charge of peoples' lives. We hold them to only one standard and it's a high one; it's life or death.
And bishops deal with our souls.
I'm going to petition the keeper of the Junglewatch style manual, Webster, to banish "the benefit of the doubt" to the JWUseless Phrase Folder along with the now thoroughly discredited phrase "reaching out."
As has been my habit since-ever-since I'm going keep a healthy dose of skepticism handy whenever dealing with any bishop (or cardinal.)
As has been my habit since-ever-since I'm going keep a healthy dose of skepticism handy whenever dealing with any bishop (or cardinal.)
On skepticism:
To quote Dr. Shermer : "Skepticism is not a position; it's a process.
The popular misconception is that skeptics, or critical thinkers, are people who disbelieve things. And indeed, the common usage of the word skeptical supports this: "He was skeptical of the numbers in the spreadsheet", meaning he doubted their validity. To be skeptical, therefore, is to be negative about things and doubt or disbelieve them.
The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity.
It's the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion."
Everyone can help Archbishop Byrnes by being frank and candid with him.
ReplyDeleteYes, the situation is very serious, the eternal fate of souls is at stake! There's no "getting along" with heresy, disobedience, malicious calumny and Liturgical abuse!
ReplyDeleteThe bad dynamics and the bad boundaries give the game away every time. In the UK and elsewhere, we have had an overdose of mysticism and mystique for several generations of archbishops and bishops. As Pope Francis said, God made us mystic enough when He came to live among us. That's His work. Our work is to honour the indwelling Jesus by living straight and fair towards each other in proper, ordinary Holy Spirit power. The fact that the wider Church has underplayed these realities means the NCW can get away with over-egging the lip service while continuing to skimp on the realities.
ReplyDeleteIf you are a NCW member, thank God for any exposure to Scriptures, preferably without itinerants breathing down your neck to distort the meaning, and reject from your affections everything that you have witnessed after you began to see abuse of others acted out under your nose.
God's permitted will that you live among snakes doesn't oblige you to honour what the snakes did for you. In my case I no longer believed in it since 1994. Indeed I knew of many abuses against others before that date.
so Austin you are from UK?
DeleteI put the word "UK" in about every other comment on average.
DeleteYour name is the same as the other anonymouses, who nonetheless make many valuable points.
I will just add - if permitted - that my itinerants (in the UK), early on in their having that role, did good work for a number of family relationships that worked out far better ever after for it. For a lot of years, that far outweighed in my mind the things I did know to have gone wrong, mainly for some onlookers (in which clergy had a very big role). Also that any exposure to Scriptures is a good thing - and necessarily much of it is without itinerants present. Overall, the movement rested on its laurels rather. I wish to not meddle in the church order and other questions on Guam, which frankly speak for themselves.
DeleteMy main ambition from now on is to help think up how relationships can be improved both with those who continue their Bible studies with the "community" and also with those who decide to drop out, partly drop out, etc.
The most damaging thing in my experience was when a diocesan official sabotaged my Bishop's own moves which I was preparing to join in with. Therefore, in your comments please distinguish between individuals of different status according to their actual deeds. Otherwise, opponents actually implement the designed-in dialectic.
Most "community" members will continue to keep each other company (regardless of actual activities) because they are acquainted and have stopped each other getting lonely. Some "community" members I know keep a kindly eye on several elderly members, which maybe not enough other people would do otherwise.
Therefore it's bad influences (and in the Church generally, a lot of those aren't anything to do with the NCW) that you want to be rid of, not good ones (if applicable).
It's terribly nerve wracking when there don't seem to be effective feedback channels. I had quietly dropped out, but something sparked me into reviewing sad events which I'm not going to mention.
Dear Arch Bishop Byrnes. The whole world is looking at you and at Guam, and waiting for your FIAT. Your dark night is at hand we are praying for you. you can see the truth, you can make a difference. follow your heart. we believe in the Church and in the Pope please help us
ReplyDeleteThere should be no room for doubt in certain levels of authority. Transparency, honesty, integrity, and competence must be exercised at all times. Those holding positions of authority should be ready at all times to explain their actions and decisions. Gone are the days of blind obedience.
ReplyDeleteJust restore our Catholic Church back to the Traditional way. Do not allow man' knowledge and curiosity to be practiced on our beautiful, yet tiny island especially in God's house. This is Guam? An island that's Size XS where most people know each other by name or by face. And to think that the Catholic Church is the reason for the division of the laity, and division outside the Church from laity to family and from family to other relatives and friends. What a joke! If only the time has come for man' EXPERIMENTING in God's house be over and be gone out of Guam, we'll be back where we were before.
ReplyDeleteNo benefit of th doubt, Archbishop Byrnes. In other words quit screwing up like appointing Sister Angela and rewarding Adrian for his evil deeds by sending him to Rome.
ReplyDeleteShould Quitugua be rewarded for his grievous misconduct by sending him to study canon law? NOPE! Should we give AB Byrnes "the benefit of the doubt" on this one? NOPE!
ReplyDelete