For the last 40 years the U.S. Catholic Bishops, to a great extent, have ignored the elephant in the room. The problems have now compounded to the point that it takes two elephants to carry the load. However, it appears that the bishops have finally seen the elephants and have garnered the courage to tackle some of the problems. Just look at the following headlines.

Bishop Blasts Pro-Choice Politicians
US bishops warn Obama on abortion issues
Catholic bishops plan to forcefully confront Obama
Bishops Fire Warning Shot Across Bow of HHS Obama
Bishops Call Obama-Supported Abortion Rights Bill a Threat to Catholic Church
U.S. bishops swiftly and forcefully respond to pro-abortion policies from Obama

These headlines are just a sample of the dozens I found, and they are all from the same day. Unfortunately for unborn millions, it is too little, too late. The most pro-abortion candidate in history has been elected to the most powerful position in the world.

These are encouraging signs because it seems as if there have been more outspoken bishops in the last 40 days than in the previous 40 years.  

In 1968, after Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life), there was an outcry of dissent from hundreds, including bishops, theologians, priests, and others condemning the encyclical and the Pope. Arguably, this dissent fostered all the problems noted in the picture above, and many others as well. 

Imagine how different the world would be if the bishops had responded in 1968 as they have in these last 40 days. If they would have courageously supported the Pope, disciplined the offenders, properly catechized the laity, and continued to do so through the years, I dare say that there would be no elephants in the room today, and the scandals that have plagued the church for so many years would never have happened. Oh, and we would not have killed 50 million unborn babies. There is no questioning the fact that a well-formed Catholic laity could have changed the world.

It is my hope that the bishops will not only stand united in their efforts to protect life, but also come to realize that in order to form properly the conscience of the person in the pew there needs to be, once again, constant teaching from the pulpit. Get back to the basics. A 40 year diet of feel good homilies has contributed to most Catholics having a poorly formed conscience. We need sermons that teach, instill, inculcate the truths of the faith about the Real Presence, Church authority, heaven and hell, sin, importance of Confession, redemptive suffering, the right to life, just to name a few. For a longer list, just open the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The bishops must also make it a priority to reach out to the millions of fallen away Catholics by outwardly encouraging and supporting Catholic radio, EWTN, and the myriad of faithful Catholic apostolates found on the Internet.

During this most recent bishops’ conference, St. Louis Auxiliary Bishop Robert Hermann said, “Any one of us here would consider it a privilege to die tomorrow to bring about the end of abortion.” I would hope that is the case, but if there were a secret ballot he may find a few no votes.

The Catholic faithful do not want their bishops to have to die so that the unborn may live. What we want is to see and hear the bishops unified and outspoken in their support for life throughout the year, not just on Respect Life weekend or at election time. We want to see them exercising true pastoral affection by disciplining dissident Catholic politicians and theologians who insist on publically disputing the truths of the Faith, and if they refuse to repent, to protect the unity of the Church by barring them from the sacraments. In short, we want leaders.

I call upon every Catholic to make a promise to your bishop: that you will pray for him every day. Pray that he has a listening ear to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and the courage to follow them. Go ahead, write a letter or email him – today.

Take courage, my friend.