Catholic leaders unduly disparaged

Carmine A. DiFazio, North Las Vegas

Sunday, June 26, 2011 | 2:03 a.m.

Regarding Maureen Dowd’s recent column, “The archbishop vs. the governor”:

The Catholic Church attracts dedicated people to the religious life. Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church and vicar general of the Las Vegas Diocese, and Timothy Dolan, archbishop of the New York City Archdiocese, received and followed the call to religious life.

Much more is expected of Catholic priests, pastors and bishops today than ever before in church history, along with more oversight of the church’s administrative and ministerial activities. In addition to their spiritual and sacramental responsibilities, priests, pastors and bishops are accountable for the success of the business operations of churches, schools, outreach efforts and missions.

Maureen Dowd believes, in my opinion, that people ordained to the priesthood and religious life are also endowed with superhuman qualities: Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. (This is an underlying tenet for Dowd’s anti-Catholic rantings.)

There’s a basis for having such a belief. Past, and hopefully present and future, Catholics demonstrated superhuman qualities. They are, and will be, called saints. But I suspect there won’t be any more saints if priests, pastors, bishops, parishes and dioceses are burdened with more rules and regulations of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; Generally Accepted Auditing Standards; state, county and local governing authorities.