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March 10, 2000
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL Most Reverend Joseph A. Fiorenza Bishop of Galveston-Houston 1700 San Jacinto Houston, TX 77002-8291
Dear Bishop Fiorenza:
This refers to my letters of November 28 and December 29, 1999 concerning the Church’s failure to afford an adequate level of protection for its principal source of revenue: the Sunday collection. Copies of those letters as well as copies of correspondence previously submitted with them are herewith.
I am now in the process of preparing a petition which will be transmitted to the Holy See, and I am wondering if you wish to remain characterized therein as the third NCCB President who chose to stand mute and allow the thoroughly discredited response of a subordinate to represent his position on the topics of revenue protection, embezzlement and unnecessary temptation within the U. S. Catholic Church. If so, your decision puts you in the company of two prior Presidents: Cardinal Keeler and Bishop Pilarczyk. Only your immediate predecessor, Bishop Anthony Pilla, deemed the subject to be of sufficient importance to warrant his personal attention.
Being, as we are, in the Lenten season of the year in which our Holy Father has issued a call for Church-wide apology and atonement, it would appear to be both timely and appropriate for the hierarchy you represent to acknowledge that a vulnerable Sunday collection system constitutes a great temptation to sin which can and should be neutralized through the implementation of readily available, low-cost security systems and procedures. Continuation of the NCCB’s evasive and disingenuous treatment of this critical issue is inexcusable and renders suspect the sincerity of their pronouncements on other subjects. You need only review the case of Rev. Walter J. Benz to know this issue has compelling moral implications.
I look forward to hearing from you, Bishop Fiorenza. As I have advised every prelate with whom I’ve corresponded in my ten-year quest for corrective action, I stand ready to assist the NCCB in achieving this moral and fiscal objective in any way the Conference may deem appropriate.
Most sincerely,
[signed] M. W. Ryan
enclosures (4)
RESPONSE SUMMARY
While no reply was received from Bishop Fiorenza, the same NCCB Associate General Secretary who replied to the author’s letter of November 28, 1999 also replied to this letter on March 27, 2000. He acknowledged receipt of the letter to Bishop Fiorenza and stated that he (the AGS) would be meeting with a group of bishops in April “to discuss accountability and the canons which are applicable.” The author’s reply to that letter may be accessed by clicking on the menu bar button entitled Assoc. Gen. Secy. 2. |
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