Ed Peters is on the case of the kerfuffle between Arbchishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis and Cardinal Glennon Hospital for Children over a fundraiser featuring Sheryl “One-Square” Crow.
The archbishop resigned as chairman of the major fundraising event because of Crow’s notorious abortion advocacy and the hospital’s refusal to disinvite her at his request.
What astounds me is that the directors of a fund-raiser for a venerable institution for children could have been so clueless as to invite Sheryl Crow, a notorious abortion advocate, to headline their event; worse, the directors were so willful as to reject what were obviously many private entreaties by their chairman Abp. Burke to drop the mad idea before it all blew up in their face.
So now, it’s blown. How sad. All the sadder for having been so easily avoidable.
But you know, I’ve seen this happen before: Catholic movers and shakers, flush with their own funds or with easy access to others’, too often measure success in philanthropic undertakings in terms of media splash, dollars donated, and the number of glitteratti chatting around banquet tables, while they completely forget the fundamental religious, and even the human, values that make their efforts worthwhile in the first place. This time, even the clear words of a very thoughtful archbishop could not pierce the commotion which the organizers of this event confused for progress.
Crow is suddenly all over the media in the past week, and not in good ways. First was her bizarre accosting of Karl Rove at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last weekend; then her weird diatribe that she wants to pass a law requiring people only use one square of toilet paper for each visit to the bathroom; and her environmentalist hypocrisy for using four buses, six cars, and three tractor-trailer trucks to conduct a “Stop Global Warming College Tour,” the use of one bio-diesel bus for two weeks as a publicity stunt notwithstanding. Of course, back in 2003, she was protesting the War in Iraq with the slogan “No enemies, no war.” How could we have missed it? If only we clicked our heels and repeated over and over “no enemies, no enemies,” al Quaeda and Saddam and the Taliban and the rest would come to their senses and no longer seek to do evil.
So who was the brain trust at Cardinal Glennon Hospital who thought inviting Crow of all people was a good idea?
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Hi Dom,
I think the reason for Burke’s move is that Crow was such a vocal opponent of the Church in MO re: Amendment 2 on ESCR. [Billy Crystal is here this year. I suspect that many pro-abort entertainers have helped raise funds for the foundation over the years.] Having Crow there after last year’s heated campaign is an affront to the Church and the bishop, in my mind. The hospital itself did not sponsor the event, a foundation supporting the hospital did—though it is the same effect in that a Catholic institution invited an abortion & ESCR proponent to entertain. Bob Costas’ name is on this event. I don’t know if he’s Catholic or not (his name sounds Greek to me). He’s from STL and has retained ties to the community over the years.
I don’t mean to take anything away from the rightness of Abp. Burke’s move. I’m with him on this. I just wanted to add some particulars for consideration.
“So who was the brain trust at Cardinal Glennon Hospital who thought inviting Crow of all people was a good idea?”
Don’t blame it all on the hospital. Bob Costas is responsible for this benefit, which funds the Bob Costas Cancer center at the hospital. Mr. Costas, who has adopted St. Louis as a hometown, wields a lot of influence here, not only as a sportscaster but as a philanthropist. Sheryll Crowe, from the Missouri bootheel, is also very popular here, and to someone whose primary concern is making money for a good cause, she would be a very logical “big draw.”
I’m not defending Mr. Costas or the benefit organizers. I wish they had backed down when the Archbishop raised his objections. Please pray for the Archbishop – he has been repeatedly excoriated by the local media, including a “Catholic” talk show radio host on the biggest station in town. Each time it happens it gets worse, yet he continues to take principled, reasoned and public stands in spite of the costs. I may not always agree with him, but the man has as much backbone as anyone I’ve ever met.
Considering the number of bishops whose mitres are stiffer than their spines, this is welcome news. Huzzah for Burke.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a poll and blog about this matter, so please go there to express support for Archbishop Burke.
“So who was the brain trust at Cardinal Glennon Hospital who thought inviting Crow of all people was a good idea?”
And who are they accountable to…if not the Bishop!
Karen
Here is one more vote of support for Archbishop Burke. The way institutions, whether educational are medical, which are Catholic regularly trash Church teachings is a major scandal and shows how a religion’s values can be swallowed up by the surrounding society unless there is strong Episcopal example and leadership.
Aack. The Foundation that sponsored this event is SEPARATE from the hospital. The Archbishop has no quarrel with the hospital and has reiterated his support for the work they do. The hospital has in the past recieved significant funds from the annual archdiocesan appeal.
This event was Bob Costas’s darling. To make things even worse, major media outlets are also sponsers of the event – their coverage has been less than even-handed. This is the second time the Archbishop has offended major media here – he wouldn’t support the local Komen Foundation Race for the Cure (also sponsered by major media) because the Komen Foundation at the national level has supported organizations affiliated with Planned Parenthood.
Today was a hard day to be Catholic in St. Louis. If the rumors are confirmed that the young Cardinal baseball player who was killed in an auto accident earlier this morning was attending this event (Mr. Costas invited the team), they will have an excuse to drag out the Catholic bashing even longer.