The Boston Herald‘s editor apparently don’t like the fact that Massachusetts’ bishops are backing off of statements last week and are going to stick to the Church’s teaching on same-sex unions.
But it’s unfortunate that by doing so, the church will likely no longer be a party to an important public policy discussion on Beacon Hill in the coming days - a discussion that will go on with or without church input. And so, at the end of the day, it is another missed opportunity for church leaders.
I guess, according to the editors, “being part of the discussion” means a priori conceding your own position. The bishops aren’t welcome to be part of the debate if they don’t accede to special rights for non-married couples in advance.
Jerry Holbert concludes:
“Well, presumably church officials and The Pilot’s editors can redefine and reinterpret the bishop’s reference to “benefits’’ any way they see fit. But it’s unfortunate that by doing so, the church will likely no longer be a party to an important public policy discussion on Beacon Hill in the coming days – a discussion that will go on with or without church input. And so, at the end of the day, it is another missed opportunity for church leaders.”
I’m sure I’m reading this differently from what the editorial writer intended, but I have to agree with him…it IS a “missed opportunity for Church leaders.”
Look, they said one thing. A week later, they denied it. They screwed up. And, instead of just saying “hey, we screwed up”—as if they didn’t have enough practice in saying this—they instead, as the editorialist and as other journalists and even ordinary people like me have recognized, “blamed the headlines.”
The Massachusetts bishops DID miss a great opportunity. Others have said it before me. Rather than “join the discussion” in the first place, they probably should’ve just handed the state the “Considerations” document issued last summer. That is unambiguous. Unlike the bishops.
And I don’t buy that the bishops wouldn’t have been—well, maybe not “welcomed” but at least, albeit in a cursory manner—listened to, had they, from the beginning, stated the Church’s position clearly and truthfully.
Holbert is correct as far as he goes. Last week, in Massachusetts, we witnessed our Church leaders “missing an opportunity.”