We've known for my entire adult life, if not more, that American Catholic bishops are miserably bad teachers of the Faith who end up where they are by politicking and being able administrators. Nothing we've seen lately changes my opinion on this count.
The failings modern, old, and ancient that are once again (and in some cases, for the first time) coming to the surface are of either men who are wicked, or who see themselves as managers rather than teachers, administrators and politicians rather than would-be-martyrs.
In some ways, this is the human condition, exacerbated by the nature of the office, its selection, and the men who put themselves forward for it. Ours is a Church of sinners who aspire to sainthood, not saints who've somehow escaped sin. But we expect bishops to be better.
Not every one can be expected to be Oliver Plunkett. Every one should be expected to aspire to his example.
I've said before that I do not question my Faith over the sins of its ministers. I am not filled with rage at their actions, because when I was a young man, I raged a lot, until I realized rage makes one stupid and sloppy. I sometimes slip still, but I get better as I age.
So I see the problem of quisling Bishops not as a cause for despair, or rage. I see it as akin to identifying the problems in a vehicle of which I'm fond and methodically eliminating them.
Bishops who sin are humans who sin. Confess the sin, make a penance, and avoid the near occasion again. Wallow in the sin, excuse or normalize it, and Christ's admonition about millstones and large bodies of water is best understood as an analogy for our terrifying options now.
