Weakland: Economy and Catholic Social Teaching

On Friday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel saw fit to publish the opinions of the disgraced former Archbishop of Milwaukee, Rembert Weakland.

Retired Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, who led the drafting of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ 1986 pastoral letter “Economic Justice for All,” comments on the bishops’ failure to draft a new letter this week, in Commonweal magazine.

Meeting in Baltimore this week, the bishops could not come up with enough votes to pass an economic letter titled "The Hope of the Gospel in Difficult Times," which some bishops criticized for ignoring the roots of the current economic crisis and not suggesting solutions provided by Catholic social teaching, according to coverage of the bishops' conference from the Religion News Service.

...He offers a history of Catholic social teaching on economic justice and explores the myriad factors that would shape any new statement today. Weakland says, in part:

“Almost every aspect of human life is touched by economic concerns.

“As markets have become increasingly international and interdependent, economic questions have become more complicated and more difficult to answer. But that does not mean we can just sit back and let market forces determine our future. Rather, we should continue to reflect on the values of solidarity that the church has begun to inculcate—even if that virtue demands we make sacrifices that might force us to re-evaluate aspects of our American lifestyle. In short, we must become truly Catholic."

Weakland was archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002.

Why is Weakland cited as an authority on Catholic teaching of any sort?

Although the article notes that "Weakland was archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002," it makes no mention of the scandal that caused him to retire in disgrace. It makes no mention of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that southeastern Wisconsin Catholics indirectly and unknowingly paid in hush money to his lover, Paul Marcoux; nor does it mention the untold amount of money spent on legal bills.

We are supposed to value Weakland's comments on economic issues, but there is no mention of his role in the child abuse scandal that rocked the Church.

Weakland preaches that we may need to "make sacrifices that might force us to re-evaluate aspects of our American lifestyle. In short, we must become truly Catholic."

I'm sorry. Given Weakland's history here as archbishop, the scandal and his astronomical failures as a Church leader, I don't think it's right for the Journal Sentinel to present his judgment on the actions of Catholic Bishops of the United States without providing the reader with information about his background.

Why does the Journal Sentinel cut the disgraced Weakland so much slack?

"We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature."

--REMBERT WEAKLAND