Bishop Updates Statement on BLM Foundation, ANTIFA

Bishop Updates Statement on BLM Foundation, ANTIFA

The diocese posted the following update on their website:

Dear People of God of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. As a Bishop, my mission is the salvation of souls. Our Church teaches us that every human life is valuable and made in the image and likeness of God no matter our color or origin. The Church also teaches, and I firmly believe, that racism is wrong. 

I support those who choose to demonstrate peacefully in favor of social equality, equity and justice. However, The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and Antifa promote beliefs and stances that directly contradict Catholic Church teachings. I have always opposed these contradictions to Church teaching and have never advocated for any organization that promotes these contradictions. I have never supported those who bring violence to otherwise peaceful demonstrations. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us many things about racism, violence, the human family, marriage and our social and economic systems. I am sworn to uphold all the teachings of the Church that I love, and I do. 

I invite Catholic people to continue promoting racial justice in our society, and we should play an active role in opposing racism. Charity obliges us to work toward ongoing conversion and spiritual transformation of everyone in our presence. As we encounter people in our day to day life, we should help them to encounter Jesus Christ who has taught us that to love Him is to love others.

Bishop Timothy L. Doherty

What is your take, readers? Does this clarification answer your concerns?

30 Replies to “Bishop Updates Statement on BLM Foundation, ANTIFA”

  2. If…..and I say IF, Bishop Doherty supports racial injustice why is he not supporting “his flock” and accepting the petition from 40,000 plus people supporting Father Ted Rothrock instead of closing the chancery office, not answering the doors and closing the blinds? Father Ted Rothrock is being racially discriminated against because of his constitutional right of Freedom of Speech and telling the truth.
    Father Ted is a good priest and deserves better than what Bishop Doherty is doing.
    Divert your diocesan appeal donations to your favorite charity where it will be put to a better use than where the diocese is currently “diverting” your donations.

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    1. Instead of talking about garbage like the BLM movement or Antifa or even Uniting in Heart which is full of deceit, our Bishop should be following his brother Bishops such as those in Wisconsin who have just completed a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Madison. https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/08/15/bishop-hying-and-archbishop-listecki-lead-eucharistic-procession-in-madison-wi/.
      This is an example of TRUE LEADERSHIP IN CHRIST JESUS.

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  4. Tightrope-walking at its finest? This issue in addition to the looming UiH has me concerned that the groundwork is now being established in our diocese that compliments what is now being pushed in the Amazonion area—ultimately giving more authority to the laity (laity in lock-step with more liberal leanings in the Church).

    This just posted moments ago:

    Maike Hickson (@HicksonMaike):
    “I cannot stress this enough. This new ecclesial body in the Amazon was developed with the help of Francis, and he chose its name. It is intentionally open to laity, with authority! That is the future for our Church, if God allows it to happen: lay women running parishes, councils.”

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      1. And yet at St. Elizabeth Seton, there is a deacon acting as administrator. It was my understanding that this is not allowed by canon law unless there is no priest available to act as administrator. Aren’t there 3 other priests at Seton? Why does this Bp. seem to flout canon law and nobody seems to care. Nothing is ever done about it. There is always an excuse made of why these irregular decisions don’t technically break canon law. It kind of feels like how I used to be an apologist for Pope Francis. There was always an excuse, or his words were being misconstrued, etc…Finally I gave up and just realized, we have a bad apple. I’m at the same point with our Bp.

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    2. What the bishop is still missing is this has never been about racism. Fr. Ted’s post wasn’t about racism and neither has the support of him been about racism. It’s been about “wolves in wolves clothing” according to Fr. Ted’s words. Fr. Ted isn’t a racist, his parish is not racist and the Catholic Church is not racist. But the bishop feels the pressure from those screaming that it’s a “race” issue and so he applies the episcopal grease where the wheel is screeching.

      The bishop does well to realize an entire group of conservative Catholic, very well educated, business professionals in the diocese have awoken to his unjust practices of leadership- and aren’t going to stand by silent anymore.

      If the bishop truly suspended Fr. Ted because of the canon he quoted, basically for creating division, then it’s time to suspend, himself, as the pastor of Seton and the diocese, because this divisive mess is a whole lot bigger than was a bulletin article calling out specific organizations for their anti-Catholic beliefs.

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  6. He is trying to court both sides. He knows people are upset about the suspension of Fr. Rothrock, he knows people are going to withhold money. Going to be hard for him to backtrack.

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    2. I support those who choose to demonstrate peacefully in favor of social equality, equity and justice. However, The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation and Antifa promote beliefs and stances that directly contradict Catholic Church teachings. I have always opposed these contradictions to “Church teaching and have never advocated for any organization that promotes these contradictions. I have never supported those who bring violence to otherwise peaceful demonstrations. “

      So, has he reinstated Fr. Rothrock, or is this just an end run around all of the bad publicity coming from around the country and from outside of the Church?

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    4. The bishop, in trying to please everyone, has managed to alienate everyone. The crazy mob doesn’t think he’s woke enough and the faithful don’t think he’s “shepherd” enough. Then, as if the dumpster fire couldn’t blaze any hotter, he releases follow up statements that just add more flammable bags of trash to the burning pile. At this point, I don’t know what to feel. But it’s starting to feel more like pity. I’ll just keep praying…and send my tithe elsewhere until the smoke clears.

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  7. The laity in this diocese have become a bit calloused toward the bishop, different groups for various reasons.
    I, and others, have tried for 15 years to have the Traditional Latin Mass on a weekly basis. We see Spanish Masses all over the diocese but still no weekly Latin mass. In my experience those of us being denied this benefit for our faith have heard the gamut of excuses. We’ve watched those priests who are willing and able to offer the TLM be shipped hither and yonder and who knows what else they suffer.
    We don’t seem to have a good shepherd, at least not for the Traditional Catholics, we don’t fit the progressive agenda. But we will continue to learn the beautiful sacred music, attend and sing the available Latin masses and offer prayers for reparation and conversion .

    By their fruits ye shall know
    them!

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  9. The damage was done when the mainstream news was watching, and I find it hard to believe that this was just some oversight on his part. When the cameras were rolling and the country was watching, he suspended a priest who pointed out these problems with the BLM movement, and if that was not enough, he also said, “Black lives matter.” Black lives do matter. This is a true statement, but the clarification of his position was needed last week and at the Masses last weekend, and he was unable to make a stand. To say, “Black lives matter” without further clarification seems to implicitly support the movement. Why did he not say, “Black lives DO matter, as all lives do, and yet here are the problems with the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation…” ? Weaponized ambiguity strikes again, and this time it hit too close to home.

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    2. Faith, Hope & Charity. The greatest of these is Charity.

      Bishop Doherty has never said he supported Black Lives Matter the organization.
      At St Elizabeth Ann Seton, his message clearly concluded with “black lives matter.” Not sure why you’re misrepresenting the Bishop’s statement.

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      1. ES, I did not misrepresent the Bishop’s statement. If you reread what I wrote, you will see that I said he stated, “Black lives matter,” which we all know is a true statement and makes it challenging to argue with the fundamentals of the organization. However, as the bishop, he has a role of teaching and leading his flock, and he needs to point out the anti-Catholic foundations of this movement. I believe his statement was not clear enough at the outset about the problems with Black Lives Matter, the organization. When he said, “Black lives matter,” he did not clarify the problems with the organization when everyone was watching. He waited until the media storm had died down. He also waited until a Catholic news agency called for his resignation due to his confusing-at-best message. I wish my comment did not bother you, ES, but I stand by it. We need more leadership from our bishop, healthy leadership that leads toward the truth. It is not uncharitable to call a leader to action.

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          2. Come on now, ES. You genuinely can’t see why that impression was created? Priest criticizes BLM by name, bishop immediately suspends and removes him, uses the titular slogan from the pulpit …. you can’t see at all why people took that as his supporting the org? Everyone who thinks so is just mean and uncharitable? Okey doke.

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  10. The Bishop, realizing that he has painted himself into a corner AND broken canon law, tries to recover the trust that he has broken. Sorry, too little, too late.

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    1. Yeah, I kind of agree. I am glad the clarification was made, but it should have been said right from the beginning. It should have been in the statement of whatever discipline he wanted to put on Father Rothrock. It should have been said when the yelling and screaming protesters were at SEAS. It is basically what Father Rothrock said in his own clarification, and he still got the boot. Just kind of feels like now the bishop is in the hot seat, looking like he either broke canon law or lied about using it, donations are being pulled at least according to people commenting here. And the Church Militant people just went after him (which wasn’t pretty). What a crazy mess.

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