...and maybe you do, too. Hearken to the greatest of all American Catholic preachers and men of faith, the Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen:
Perhaps one or two of the things Bishop Sheen excoriates are obiter dicta. The rest of his Jeremiad is purest gold, as relevant today as it was in 1965 when the above broadcast first occurred. It’s what Americans need to hear in these dark times...yet too many “Americans” would condemn Bishop Sheen’s statements as “intolerant,” “unacceptable,” and of course “uncompassionate.”
Choose for yourself.
"Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent." -- Adam Smith
5 comments:
Such plain talk would not be tolerated today. No weasel words in his condemnations.
I recall his TV broadcast, viewed by me at my grandparent's house in the late 50's. We were mainstream Protestants, but greatly valued Bishop Sheen's messages. Since they only got 3 channels, it was a given that one of the major networks carried his show. Fat chance of that happening today.
So many of those stats have essentially not budged. The increases in police budgets, the increasing assaults on civil rights and the freedom to be left alone by government, the massive amounts of money spent on school resource officers, drug education, public aid lawyers, and all of the associated expenses meant to fight crime.
And, yet, although the numbers have dropped (and I have my suspicions about the validity of those numbers - easier to classify something as "not a crime" then to actually reduce crimes), the stats don't look that much different.
I used to watch Sheen. He was not perfect (who is?), but he was a good teacher, a fair representative of the priestly class at that time, and someone who was unafraid to state the unpleasant truth to the people.
I remember finding Sheen ...a long time ago.... and thought he was interesting. I didn't agree with all that I heard (I gave up Catholicism for Lent one year and it stuck) but he was worth listening to. I guess still is.
If someone thinks, after watching this - finds Bishop Sheen to not have compassion, the honorable Bishop has, unfortunately, proven his point.
And before I forget, thanks for finding and sharing this with those of us that may well be the remnant. I know I certainly feel like it, most of the time.
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