A stunning moment of silence filled the U.S. bishops’ annual meeting when Bishop Joseph Strickland urgently called on his brother bishops to confront a growing public scandal, only to have his concerns brushed aside, according to LifeSiteNews.
During the November 12 USCCB Plenary Assembly, Strickland spoke plainly about the widely publicized Confirmation of ABC News correspondent Gio Benitez, a man who openly lives in a same-sex relationship and whose ceremony was celebrated by Father James Martin. “I don’t know how many of us have seen on social media,” Strickland warned, “priests and others gathered, celebrating the Confirmation of a man living with a man openly. And it just needs to be addressed,” according to LifeSiteNews.
Benitez had publicly thanked Father Martin for welcoming him back to the Church “exactly as I am,” and his partner, Tommy DiDario—referred to as his husband—served as his Confirmation sponsor. The event, promoted online, left many faithful Catholics deeply troubled.
Despite the obvious gravity of the issue, Strickland’s appeal was met not with discussion, but with dismissal. Session chair Bishop Daniel E. Flores acknowledged him only briefly, saying “Thank you, Bishop,” before immediately moving on to the next topic without allowing debate or response. LifeSiteNews reported that no other bishops spoke up at that moment.
The refusal to engage the matter stands in stark contrast to the courage Strickland displayed by raising it. Instead of being supported, he was further mocked online by prominent papal commentator Austen Ivereigh, who sneered on X, “On the day that disgraced Bp Strickland stood up at USCCB mtng to denounce @JamesMartinSJ for receiving into the Church a gay man in a relationship, Pope Leo warmly received a gay couple…” according to LifeSiteNews. Yet the report also notes that the papal audience Ivereigh referenced did not occur on the same day, but in October.
The Catechism’s teaching remains clear. Marriage is defined as “the matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life… raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.” It further states that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved,” according to LifeSiteNews.
For many Catholics, Bishop Strickland’s willingness to speak out reflects precisely the leadership needed in times of confusion and public scandal. His intervention underscored what countless faithful are thinking: silence is no longer tenable when Church teaching is publicly contradicted and sacramental life is used to affirm lifestyles incompatible with the Gospel.
Whether the bishops will eventually confront the issue, or continue to avoid it, remains to be seen. But Strickland’s clarity has already given many Catholics the voice they felt was missing in the room.
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