Bishops: Mediocrity Is No Virtue
Gurpegui mentions 'the worrying lack of an intellectual, philosophical, and theological aristocracy' among the bishops.
The qualities that were once basic requirements for elevation to the episcopate — judgement, doctrinal clarity and systematic thinking — have been replaced by 'diplomacy', 'management skills', 'photogenic smiles' and 'mastery of pastoral PowerPoint presentations'.
Unsurprisingly, an analysis of patterns of interaction with clergy reveals a devastating finding, writes Gurpegui: 'Less than 10% of priests with whom one converses regularly display truly clear, distinct and systematic ideas in philosophy and theology.'
The rest mix a little of everything, like a postmodern paella, or repeat clichés with a beatific air and a lost look.
The bishops are not much better. They are not on the philosophical-theological level of the average Roman Rite priest.
Many bishops graduated from the 'standard post-conciliar seminary' during the intellectual wasteland of the 1970s–1990s, resulting in a sentimental, ambiguous hierarchy incapable of distinguishing a permanent doctrinal principle from a fashionable occurrence involving balloons.
Due to their lack of knowledge, their understanding of the faith and the magisterium is painfully superficial, leading to decontextualised interpretations with quotations from the Gospel of Matthew alongside UN statements on immigration.
The average episcopal language is ambiguous and saccharine, lacking theological content. There is a lot of “walking together”, “listening to the cry of the Earth” and “pastoral care of tenderness”, but little ability to clearly state doctrinal facts.
An example? ‘Try asking if hell exists and if it is inhabited. You will be answered with a poem.'
Gurpegui explains that the episcopate should be 'an elite of theological intelligence, doctrinal virtue, and the courage to teach, correct, and govern with clarity and charity'.
Instead, in many cases, we have bishops who are poorly prepared for the doctrinal combat that the Church demands today. Changing this would require years of training.
For Gurpegui, the most serious thing is that mediocrity has been promoted as a 'virtue'.
Those who do not rock the boat, who do not speak clearly, who are skilled at double-speak and who know nothing about theology are considered candidates for the episcopate: "And so here we are."
Gurpegui warns: 'Mediocrity is not a virtue.'
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