Thomas Aquinas on correcting bishops

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:58 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Thomas Aquinas on correcting bishops 2016-09-30T15:58:33-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

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Some insightful and important words from Diane over at Te Deum laudamas:

If all of us spent as much time with our noses in the Summa as we do perusing Catholic commentary about current events, we might actually become holy witnesses for the faith. Some of what is out there is downright disturbing and a danger to any soul humbly pursuing holiness and virtue. There’s nothing like adding water in a gas tank to make it go nowhere fast. One such spiritual danger is the sport of bishop-bashing. Paul rebuked Peter just once, not daily.

If you think members of today’s episcopacy is more plagued with problems than bishops of past centuries, you don’t know your Church history. It was just a few decades ago that it took weeks or months for us to learn what a pope said, and it was only periodic that something was deemed worthy to disseminate more publicly. Now, a bishop can’t burp without someone tweeting it. As one of the priests at my parish recently pointed out: Who knows what seemingly outrageous things popes did or said outside of official business that would have scandalized us if the technology we have today, had been in place then?

After explaining that we may not correct a prelate as a matter of justice, but only as an act of charity, Aquinas says (emphasis mine in bold):

…a virtuous act needs to be moderated by due circumstances, it follows that when a subject corrects his prelate, he ought to do so in a becoming manner, not with impudence and harshness, but with gentleness and respect. Hence the Apostle says (1 Timothy 5:1): “An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father.” Wherefore Dionysius finds fault with themonk Demophilus (Ep. viii), for rebuking a priest with insolence, by striking and turning him out of the church.”

St. Thomas is telling us that we can slay a priest with the sword of our tongues! We get to engage in fraternal correction, but we do not get to do it our way; rather, it has to be done God’s way. This does not involve mocking bishops and making them the butt of disrespectful jokes and commentaries, even when we believe them to be in error.

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