I do not want to judge the appointment of Bishop Samuel Aquila based on a single, unfortunate statement he made in the past. Nonetheless, regular readers may recall this post of mine when Bishop Aquila rolled out the Nazi analogy.
I was especially pleased to note then, as I note now, that while I do not think the bishops are engaged in a war against Obama, comments like Aquila's make it hard not to believe that the White House thinks negotiating with people who compare the president's actions to nazis and communists are not people with whom it is worthwhile to negotiate. Yes, the White House has made a mess of the HHS mandate and nothing anyone else has said excuses that mess.
Let's hope the cool mountain air of Colorado will clear the bishop's mind and memory and he will be able to find more proximate analogies to make his points. And it is time for the Congregation for Bishops to think about the long-term effects on the U.S. Church of routinely promoting culture warrior bishops to prominent sees.
