Are there no Catholic Billy Mitchells?

This is a great article I read on WND:

Are there no Catholic Billy Mitchells?
Posted: October 15, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By James Welsh

The recent blasphemous reception of holy communion by two homosexual "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" in San Francisco, actually administered by the archbishop of San Francisco himself, has set a new low in the sorry history of pastoral care and example that United States Catholics have received in the recent past from their apostolically appointed shepherds.

There is no need to list the numerous scandals that the Catholic laity have had to bear and finance in the last 20 years (some would say longer). For the "average" Catholic, the cry is repeated, "How long, O God, how long?" We suffer, but it seems no one on this earth listens to our laments.

The offending or, occasionally, incompetent bishop or cardinal will continue to promote this or that questionable liturgy or liberal policy or abuse blithely dismissing orthodox or traditional or conservative (take your pick) complaints as the rantings of malcontents or, even worse, bigots or haters. And what can we do? We occupy pews, they sit in chairs.

Oh, yes, the Internet is full of websites and blogs that list the latest outrages. They do yeoman's work for us. And we need them to stay informed. But we need more. We need the voices of the more powerful of our faith to lead us. Our pikes and plowshares are not enough. We need knights and ladies to rally us to follow them and to publicly confront the clergy who are squandering the inheritance our Catholic forbearers bequeathed to us.

Many of our Dioceses are now in hoc to pay for sexual scandals. The beautiful churches and schools that our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents built with money they really could not afford to give (somehow they would always survive the inevitable next "pledge") are closed and empty. And there is no end in sight and, as the saying goes, "And the band played on."

Now, what does this have to do with Billy Mitchell?

For those unfamiliar with Billy Mitchell, or who are too young to have seen the film "The Courts-Martial of Billy Mitchell" starring James Stewart, he was a decorated Army Air Force pilot who, after World War I, tried in vain to convince the civilian and military leaders of our country that air warfare would be the deciding factor in future wars. His efforts to have more military investment in fighter and bomber research were repeatedly rebuffed by his superiors. In frustration, in 1921 and 1923, against orders, he equipped aircraft with large bombs and, in full view of a large group of high civilian and military officials, sank several large German warships that had been seized after WWI. His efforts to work within the Army were rebuffed and ignored.

In 1925 Mitchell went public with charges of incompetence and "almost treasonable administration of the national defense." Rather than reexamine their prejudices against Gen. Mitchell's prophesies of future warfare, Mitchell's superiors in the Army brought charges against him and court-martialed him. He was found guilty of insubordination and left the Army Air Corps in disgrace.

Through the '20s and '30s, the Army Air Force (and Naval air units) became a backwater of our military establishment. On Dec.7, 1941, a large force of modern Japanese naval aircraft attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor( as Mitchell had prophetically predicted). Much of our Pacific fleet was destroyed. The rest is history. Billy Mitchell had been vindicated, but at great price for himself and for his country. It is true that Mitchell had many faults, but no great man is perfect. We must ultimately judge them on their singular greatness.

And what does Billy Mitchell have to do with the average Catholic? Nothing because this writing is not directed to average Catholics. Few of us ever achieve high rank in life. We live, by God's intention and design, ordinary lives. But for some, He has given special talents in politics, arts, communications and finance. It is to that distinct group of our Catholic brethren that I address this question:
Are there any of you willing to publicly begin to stand up to the continuing lack of pastoral care by our clergy, both hierarchal and ordinary, and begin to publicly call for those offenders to be recalled and replaced by Rome?

The second part of the question is the issue at hand. Certainly many (most?) have at times been publicly critical of actions and policies of Episcopal authorities. But calling for removal and replacement? A strong question, I acknowledge. Perhaps even shocking. Maybe even outrageous. Who are we to call for a bishop's replacement? Well it is our church also. It does not just belong to the hierarchy. There was a time when temporal authorities had influence on canonical appointments. I will acknowledge there were abuses, but in light of actions such as recently occurred in San Francisco and the woeful state of the church in the United States in general, would more input from the lay faithful be worse?

Now, who are these Catholics that I address these words to?

You are the Catholics who are elected to political office and are faithful to the magisterium, but are silent when an outrage is perpetrated by a bishop such as described above. You are the Catholics in the media who often defend the church from attacks from without but are publicly silent when the outrage is from within. You are the Catholics who occupy esteemed positions in think tanks and educational institutions who often bring to light abuse, but never call for penalties for those who allow them. You are the Catholics who are CEOs and board members of corporations that often raise monies for diocesan organizations that are diverted to questionable or even sometimes immoral activities. You are the Catholics in powerful Catholic fraternal organizations who regularly meet and socialize with pastoral shepherds who permit scandal within their dioceses and say nothing.

I will not name any Catholics who are among the above groups. You know who you are. And average Catholics know who you are. We look up to you to carry our banners in the public square. It is now the time for you to do more, to answer the second part of the question. You are the potential Catholic Billy Mitchells.

Our church is a hierarchal organization, and we are taught and conditioned to respect our superiors. We understand the difficult situations and scorn and contempt that public appeals to Rome will put upon you. But as Christ says, "To whom much is given, much will be expected." We are properly taught reverence and obedience to our superiors just as was Gen. Billy Mitchell. But Mitchell knew that his superior's blindness to the future required his sacrificing all that he had achieved for a greater good – that of his country.

So we arrive at the question: Are there any among you, individually or in group, who will now say "Enough is enough" and begin to publicly appeal to Rome for relief from hierarchy and clergy who subject us to the outrages such as occurred in San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2007? Yes, you may lose access to the chancelleries. You may lose prestige among your peers. You may face cancellation of your columns from diocesan publications. You may be dismissed from your board chairs in Catholic charities and organizations. All these may happen. But who else, at this point, can carry our pain to those in the seats of power in our church.

Will you accept your commissions in this great battle for the soul of our church?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58141