Who's Your Bishop?

Published on by D. G. Hart

I wonder what Christian Smith is thinking today about words he wrote (published in 2011) about his conversion to Roman Catholicism:

I also worry a bit in all of this that, for all of the standard associations of apostasy and error that “Rome” evokes for some Protestants, the same “Rome” may stir up unduly romanticized visions among evangelicals who are contemplating “swimming the Tiber.” Becoming Catholic, we must remember, is not primarily a matter of venturing off “to Rome” to soak up the splendor of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the wonder of the ancient Catacombs, the endless memorials to Christian martyrs, and the like. All of that is good and fine, as long as it is not turned into some kind of “Catholic Disneyland.” But Rome is not ultimately what Catholicism is about.

That is not the impression an observer would take away from matters Roman Catholic since Benedict’s abdication (or from the Callers).

Smith adds:

Rome is certainly an indispensable, authoritative sign of Christian communion, a testimony and instrument of the authentic catholicity of the believers and church which stand in full communion with her. But Rome is not everything. Rome is one thing in one place — as central, indispensable, and valuable as it is. The Catholic Church, by contrast, is nearly everywhere, doing lots of things, in various ways.

In a footnote, Smith explains:

. . . the Catholic Church is an assembly of thousands of distinct dioceses spread throughout the world that are united through the bonds of mutual communion, especially as embodied through their full communion with the bishop of Rome and all bishops throughout the world. It is the latter view, which sees one diocese and parish as one’s true local home, which I wish to emphasize to evangelicals considering my “return to Rome.”

Smith’s brief for the local parish and diocese surely fits with the Roman Catholic doctrine of subsidiarity, the idea that a matter ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest, or least centralized authority possible. I myself have always thought that Protestantism was the ecclesiological embodiment of subsidiarity and that the papacy was at odds with that principle. So while I applaud Christian Smith’s ecclesiastical localism, I am having trouble thinking that he described accurately what we have witnessed over the last four weeks. I even wonder how many of the recent converts to Rome, who are ecstatic about the Conclave and its result, actually know the identity of their local bishop. Did they celebrate when he took office? Did they notice?

20 thoughts on “Who's Your Bishop?”

  1. Darryl,

    I even wonder how many of the recent converts to Rome, who are ecstatic about the Conclave and its result, actually know the identity of their local bishop. Did they celebrate when he took office? Did they notice?

    Yes and yes.

    Here’s a photo in the St. Louis Post Dispatch of my family and I greeting Archbishop Carlson at his installation.

    In the peace of Christ,

    – Bryan

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  4. Bryan,

    Ya gotta laugh with me. There’s the picture, with your profile in it. And then right below is the form for ordering prints. 8×10? 5×7? Matte? Glossy? We’ve got em all.

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  5. DG,

    The “Callers” (I like that handle) will know all of that stuff. Its the other Catholics, i.e. the 95% who grew up RC, and don’t have burrs in the saddles from their tacky fundamentalist pasts, who hardly know their bishops, etc. At least that is my experience with the dozens of Catholics in my family.

    Erik – quit fronting like you don’t already have a Bryan Cross trading card…you can get all of them here.

    PGR

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  6. Is Bryan signing those photos for us?

    Is that Bishop a Cardinal? Wouldn’t that make him the (St. Louis) Cardinals’ Cardinal?

    Pat – I have the whole set. I even have the Jason Stellman error card where he has a full head of hair.

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  7. Dr. Hart,

    Perhaps we know different Roman Catholics, but I suspect that the typical practicing Roman Catholic does know who his or her Bishop is.

    I’m also reasonably confident that the typical Roman Catholic knows more about what his or her Bishop is doing than the typical Presbyterian knows about what his or her Presbytery is doing.

    Best wishes,

    David

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  9. Hey-O! stop the presses, in the span of one week the uber-pietist Richard Smith and Bryan Cross, typically known for his Vulcan-like adherence to logic crack jokes? Is there something in the water?

    Erik,

    It’s a good thing that Bryan is RC, and not EO, there aren’t any 2-D images of him that I know of. Making it even harder to get his John Hancock, seeing as you would also have to make a trip to an iconographer.

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  10. Bryan,

    That earned a chuckle. I guess seeing your photo here regularly is enough for now. Once your Ph.D. is done you need to add a beard & a pipe.

    Erik

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  11. From St. Louis University:

    December 01, 2012

    Rachel Philippone

    314-977-2243

    philipponerm@slu.edu

    Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

    Jessica Murray, a doctoral candidate in pharmacological and physiological science, will defend her dissertation, “Contribution, Modulation and Mechanism of Action of Angiotensin-(1-7) in Sympathetic Neurotransmission in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat,” at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, in Lecture Hall 3 of Schwitalla Hall.

    Bryan Cross, a doctoral candidate in philosophy, will defend his dissertation, “Alasdair MacIntyre on the Practice of Philosophy,” at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17, in room 142 of Adorjan Hall.

    Erik – I would pay for a signed copy of that if you get it published.

    It would have taken a strange person to attend both defenses.

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  12. I have six bishops and know them quite well. I see them nearly every week and have their cell phone numbers.

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  13. Jed Paschall: Hey-O! stop the presses, in the span of one week the uber-pietist Richard Smith and Bryan Cross, typically known for his Vulcan-like adherence to logic crack jokes? Is there something in the water?

    RS: Uber-pietist? Please. Anyway, I have given out many instances of humor on here, but most of them are missed. Dry humor does not always fit well with being a Baptist (though a Calvinistic one).

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  14. Bryan Cross, a doctoral candidate in philosophy, will defend his dissertation, “Alasdair MacIntyre on the Practice of Philosophy,” at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17, in room 142 of Adorjan Hall.

    RS: It seems to me that in the title of this dissertation there is a logical fallacy.

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  15. It’s a paradigm thing, Richard. Performatively. You wouldn’t understand.
    Now, if you could just stomach the holy water, it might be a different story.
    Till then, gaze and gawp as you will, philosophists do not have to explain themselves or their philosophistries to the hoi polloi. Indeed the more unexplainable, the better. So there. Now you know.

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  17. Interesting article mcmark. It’s not 2k IMO. It’s the irresponsible position of a church who because of a commitment to political empowerment and entitlement, played both the fascist card and the marxist card at the same time.

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  18. Interesting. I wouldn’t ever say that the motive for anybody being 2k is a desire to be left alone by the state and thus keep power. I understand that the idea is that “as a church” we don’t play the fascist and/or marxist. But since this means that individual Christians have the liberty to act the fascist/marxist roles, the church has nothing to say about what private Christians do in public. That’s just a bit too “liberal” for some anabaptists.

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  19. I anticipate seeing my 4 bishops tomorrow and I have their e-mails and cell phone numbers. However, I don’t kiss them, bow before them, pray to them, or ask them to sprinkle me with holy water…in fact…I don’t even call them bishops. Typically in the OPC we just call them elders and differentiate between teaching and ruling 🙂

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  20. Even liberal reform-minded Roman Catholics, the one’s uncomfortable with hierarchy, know on which side the papal bread is buttered:

    The depth of reform during the Francis years will depend on time and how successful he is in shaping an episcopacy in agreement with his vision. The longest-lasting reform may be the education that Catholics and the rest of the world are receiving: that the church can and does change and that what may be perceived as chaos in one papacy is, in another, an opportunity for encounter.

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