Thank You Bishop Martino for your Fidelity and Courage
Bishop Martino needs our prayers; that the Lord would restore his vigor and vitality. This heroic man stood up against the “gates of hell”, guarding the flock of God against the wolves.
PrintIt also broke my heart because, as readers of Catholic Online know, he is one of my favorite Bishops. He is a man of tremendous faith, genuine evangelistic zeal, and unflagging courage in the face of fierce opposition. As I watched him speak at that Press Conference I thought of the words from the Apostle Peter which were directed to Bishops and elders in the early Church: “So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, (overseeing) not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5)”
I also thought of the painful defense St. Paul was forced to give of his own apostolic office in his second letter to the Corinthians (See, 2 Cor. Chapters 10 – 13). It has happened many times in our 2000 year history. Good Bishops like Bishop Joseph Martino sometimes suffer the effects that can accompany “bearing the burden” of their exercise of their apostolic office and have to take a different role in caring for the flock. He is now doing just that with the kind of fidelity, dignity and extraordinary courage he has always shown. However, he is obviously tired,in fact exhausted, from the burden of his office.
It is clear, as Cardinal Rigali indicated in his warm affirmation and commendation of his service; Bishop Martino arrived at this decision only after much sincere and significant prayer. After all, Bishop Martino is a man of prayer, a deeply Eucharistic soul. The good Cardinal mantioned in his remarks the Bishop's contributions in restoring eucharistic adoration in the Diocese. However, you could almost feel the fatigue as Bishop Martino expressed these words “For some time now, there has not been a clear consensus among the clergy and people of the Diocese of Scranton regarding my pastoral initiatives or my way of governance. This development has caused me great sorrow, resulting in bouts of insomnia and at times a crippling physical fatigue.”
The Bishop will continue to live in the Diocese of Scranton, at the Fatima Center, a retreat center dedicated to fostering genuine spiritual renewal and the “New Evangelization” which the Bishop is so deeply dedicated to advancing. Sadly, the Press had a “field day” speculating as to the reasons for the retirement. That speculation must now end. The Bishop asked for this early retirement and the Holy Father granted his request. It is unusual to be named a retired Bishop at such a very young age.
This heroic man stood up against the “gates of hell”, doing what all Bishops are supposed to do, guarding the flock of God against the wolves. In an age which Pope Benedict rightly referred to as suffering under the effects of a “dictatorship of relativism”, this fine man insisted that Catholic Universities and institutions stay faithful to the truth. For doing so, some even in the Catholic media sought to paint him as some kind of “zealot” using highly charged words such as ‘right” and “conservative” to paint a caricature of this man far different than what he really is.
It was false reporting, period. They should be ashamed. Bishop Joseph Martino is simply a faithful Catholic Bishop. He was appointed by the late Servant of God John Paul II and is deeply committed to the “New Evangelization” of the Church in this new missionary age, the Third Christian Millennium. He began his Press Conference - and then ended it - with these words “May Jesus Christ Always be praised!” Those words characterize his evangelical mission, his life committment and his true character.
The Bishop was correct to challenge the poor judgment of Misericordia University, a Catholic College in his Diocese which sponsored, through its scandalous “Diversity Institute”, an advocate/activist of the movement among some practicing homosexuals to obtain a legal equivalency between homosexual paramours and those who are married. An activist leader came to the Catholic College campus and spoke on the very matters which orginally raised the Bishops proper concerns.The school was given explicit directions to not host the ...
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Ask the Blessed Mother to protect our Church, Our Bishops and our people wherever they maybe.
Also to look out for this Bishop.
We all know what this is about.
Its the destroyers last chance to have his final hoorah.
Pray to the Lord in these days of The Rosary and our Lord allowing His Mother to send us loving guidance for many years.
This is definitely the time of the Mother.
We love our Mother and she will take care of her "sons" all of them including those in the laity.
She will take care of her "daughters" both professed and laity alike as well.
Just ask.
Sometimes people get to a place where the Lord is trying to guide them.
Were in uncertain times which call for certain measures our Lord gave to us.
Eucharistic Adoration, reconciliation, Mass, prayer(s) for everyone.
Love in Christ brothers and sisters everywhere. You know who you are.
Father Sebastian we pray for you also. Thank you for giving us your perspective and reminding us of we could loose.
Thank God people here are speaking out.
Lets hope we win this.
We already won at the end of the Good Book its the world that doesnt know or want to know.
We have no excuse I guess.
Dear God’s People. I read about Bishop’s retirement with deep sadness and disgusted. Growing up in the communist country I never saw people treating their bishops for teaching the truth like that. I cannot understand Holy Father’s decision . I believe you need to show up at Kennedy’s funeral to win his favor. Shame, shame, shame! Good luck to Catholics in America, the time of purification in the Church is near. How long you are going to stay passive when good priests who teach the truth cannot find place to minister. All you expect from your priests is fundraising! God will not tolerate this for long.
Pray for more Bishop Martinos!
"It has seemed to us that one of the saddest fruits of rationalism, the fatal error and great plague of our century, the pestilential sources from which our revolutions and social disasters arise, is the absence of the sense of the supernatural and the profound neglect of the great truths of the future life."
Bishop Martino needs our prayers; that the Lord would restore his vigor and vitality. This heroic man stood up against the “gates of hell”, guarding the flock of God against the wolves.----- I think he may be devistatingly sad with the above realization quoted above from "The End of the present world" by Father Charles Arminjon.
Pat
Many of us in the Catholic Church had been praying for a strong and uncompromising leader to emerge in the Catholic Church. I believe that Bishop Martino was such a man. Not perfect, but perfectly carrying out the true doctrines of the church. The defense of the unborn, respect for the dignity of life at all stages, and the solemn unity of one man and one woman in marriage, these are issues that he championed. The bishop also talked about reverence for the Eucharist. All these issues have become mostly forgotten in a secular world and in some cases a secular movement in the Church. Thank you Bishop for your clear leadership. I only hope our new Bishop continues this work and does not give into the status quo...
I most heartily agree with the comments expressed in favor of Bishop Martino.....this Godly man was and has been speaking the truth....a reference not accepted by many today, in particular the cafeteria Catholic who knows his faith to the extent of a thimble filled with water.....Bishop Martino truly has faced the evil of relativism, ignorance and complicity within the ranks of The Church - trod by those who would compromise with hell to serve their own purposes and comfort. Bishop Martino will be vindicated in the end because his arbiter remains the fullness of Truth which he so gallantly professed. God Bless him for it and comfort him.
Mr. Drabik,
As soon as I saw your name, I knew you'd be here attempting to drag Bishop Blair's name through the mud. For the sake of your own soul, I pray that the Lord gives you whatever peace it is that you need, and that you will stop calumniating our Bishop!
I pray that God blesses and restores the stamina of His good and faithful servant, Bishop Martino.
You comment guys are as bad as the rumor mongers in the press. Has the man ever been "politically correct" or otherwise lied? He's weary of the battle. The Pope is a loving shepherd who is as truthful as the Bishop. He has compassion for a worn-out warrior.
Let it be. Give the man (and the Magisterium) a break and know that God will do something great with this!
-Martha
My heart is saddened by the news of Bishop Martino's retirement. He is indeed truly a servant in the vineyard of Christ. Upon several occasions, I have written to applaud Bishop Martino's courage speaking boldly on the teachings of Christ and the Church. We need more Bishops like him for he will be sorely missed. He did his utmost to UNCONFUSE us Catholics especially when it came to scandals withing the hierarchy and the subject of abortion. We pray for fidelity and unity within the church...and we pray that the hand of God will be over Bishop Martino's future. May the good Lord enlighten his mind, strengthen his body and protect his soul. Amen. Thank you, Bishop Martino. We love you!