www.byzcath.org
There's a list at CatholicVote of all the US bishops who've spoken against the HHS mandate being maintained by the AmericanPapist Thomas Peters. He says at the bottom of the list "There are 195 dioceses in the U.S. So over __% of U.S. Bishops who are the head of a diocese have spoken out so far."

A number of Eastern Catholics commented on the article with their bishops' names, as the author asked people to do if their bishop wasn't listed but did speak out. The author is responding to others and actively adding bishops from comments, but he's ignored every Eastern Catholic.

I assumed oversight and goodwill, so I sent him a message on G+. He didn't respond, so I assumed he's not active on G+ and I went where I know he's active and responded to a Tweet. No response. I commented in the article again, sent another G+ message, and sent another tweet, but all are ignored without response, as were the messages from fellow Eastern Catholics.

I shared my frustration and an Eastern Catholic friend said she had a similar experience with the AmericanPapist Thomas Peters a couple years ago with him intentionally leaving out Eastern Catholics and refusing to respond to her and she's not followed anything he's done since.

I called CatholicVote and the lady wanted to know if the Eastern Catholic bishops were included in the 195 bishops he's listing. It made sense that they had to be if the military ordinariate was included, but I went to the USCCB website and counted all the dioceses.

http://www.usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses.cfm

My counting might be off, but I came up with 197. Either way, the Eastern Catholics have to be included among his 195 count. And yet he's refusing to publish American Catholic bishops' support on an American Catholic website about an American political issue even when he specifically included them in the count of potential respondents. It is false, misleading, and undermines his own cause. But CatholicVote confirmed that he intended to only list Roman Catholic bishops, making it appear his silence on the east was intentional shunning.

The lady at CatholicVote kindly told me that after talking to her, he'll now include Eastern Catholic bishops on the enumerated list. He's added more Roman Catholics, some 20 minutes after they are suggested, but he still hasn't responded to the Eastern Catholics or included them on the list.
After I posted the above, he updated his page with special rules for Eastern Catholics, many of whom have no web presence at all.

Quote
Is your bishop not on this list? Please check with your diocese to see if a statement has been made by your bishop, and if not, respectfully ask him to do so!

NOTE: If you would like a statement by an Eastern Rite bishop to be included please send me the link/document or post it in the comments! Thank you.
He's finally responded!

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=640257

There is no apology and he stands by the requirement that the text must be online for Eastern Catholics. He also says that many other Eastern Catholics wrote him messages to make the same complaint.

Fr. Michael O'Laughlin, who has been on EWTN with Fr. Groeschel, tweeted him about Bishop Dino, but he and all the other Eastern Catholics mentioned since Bp. Kudrick are still not there. He said he is under time constraints, but later-mentioned Roman Catholics are still being added. He said, "Silence on a subject does not imply animus. Would that I had more time to sing the praises of the Eastern Rites."

I asked him to accept the word of Eastern Catholics, especially trustworthy ones like priests, without requiring an online copy. He would not discuss it publicly.

He did update the page's note to reflect the same stance with softer wording.

"NOTE: If you would like a statement by an Eastern Rite bishop to be included please send me the link/document or post it in the comments! Thank you. I’m trying to provide documentation for all the bishops I list and Eastern Rite bishops have been harder for me to find. Thanks for the understanding!"
And this attitude comes as a surprise to you?
Yes, the Cinderella story continues ...

I have to say, I'm not at all surprised now that Bishop John posted the letter on the main page of the Eparchy of Parma's website. I'm sure he figured out early on that his support for the cause would not be included in the official tally otherwise.
Originally Posted by DMD
And this attitude comes as a surprise to you?

I'm spoiled. smile
Yeah, I can certainly understand how difficult it must be to track our 18 jurisdictions versus the 180 or so Latin ones.

Thank goodness the Copts, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Russians, Italo-Greek-Albanians, Slovaks, Croats, and Hungarians don't have their own hierarchs in the US - it would absolutely overwhelm the system. Pretentious twerp!
A NJ Roman Catholic bishop's link just goes to the bishop's bio. There's no mention of the HHS mandate at the link. He accepted the word of a parishioner for that Roman Catholic bishop, but still requires an online statement which he vets before he'll include an Eastern Catholic bishop.

He complained that after my attempts at private and direct contact that I posted publicly, telling me to email him like "your Eastern Rite friends," which I did at his request. He added Bp. Richard Stephen, but he didn't respond to any of my private messages, not even with an acknowledgement of receipt.

He says he thinks this is a fair "deal" for the "Eastern rite" and that he expects "more understanding and charity." In charity, I assume he doesn't understand that he's created an oppressive double standard.
He's lucky I haven't paid his site a visit. . . yet.
As I read the OP's latest post, I can't decide whether to be sad or angry. I guess anger is not appropriate as treatment by some within the Roman Rite led my family away from Eastern Catholicism three generations ago.

It does sadden me to see that there are still those, I suspect probably a majority of ill-informed people who nominally self identify themselves as Roman Catholic, who still have neither the consciousness of the existence in any real sense of the Eastern Catholic world, or if they do, they are more often than they should be either dismissive or condescending.

It's OK for the organizers of the March for Life to parade a few token Orthodox bishops to the podium with the Roman Catholic bishops and let them say a word or two, but would they do the same for your bishops? Probably not - they either wouldn't be aware of them and if they were, they would be afraid of alienating their new Orthodox friends.

I remember a local Irish Catholic politician my age from here who was well educated in Catholic schools and colleges and was aware of the bitter history between my Orthodox parish and the neighboring BCC church. He would tease me about belonging to the 'Junior Varsity along with your neighbors.' He thought he was being funny, but I always felt that under the surface that his culture and his Catholic education had programmed him to react that way without ever noticing how offensive that was.

We all make choices in life and as you know, I respect those of you who are able to be loyal to the Holy See and protective of your Eastern heritage. With that in mind, I would urge the OP and other Eastern Catholics who are equally perplexed by this to write the Nuncio in Washington, the Chairman of the USCCB and your own Diocesan bishops to protest this treatment and ask for better public education on your behalf.

In my mind's eye, I can't help but think of a joyous celebration back in 2008 in Johnstown, PA on the 25th anniversary of the late Metropolitan Nicholas' consecration as an Orthodox bishop. An image of his dear friends, the retired Roman Catholic Bishop Adamec of Altoona/Johnstown and the late Metropolitan Basil of Pittsburgh standing together as friends and colleagues at the end of the banquet came to my mind. Those are the things that count in the end, not the self-centered behavior of some activist with his own agenda.
Originally Posted by StuartK
He's lucky I haven't paid his site a visit. . . yet.

biggrin
Originally Posted by DMD
It's OK for the organizers of the March for Life to parade a few token Orthodox bishops to the podium with the Roman Catholic bishops and let them say a word or two, but would they do the same for your bishops? Probably not - they either wouldn't be aware of them and if they were, they would be afraid of alienating their new Orthodox friends.

Yes they do. Metropolitan Stefan Soroka spoke at the March a few years ago, so we are represented at least sometimes.


Quote
In my mind's eye, I can't help but think of a joyous celebration back in 2008 in Johnstown, PA on the 25th anniversary of the late Metropolitan Nicholas' consecration as an Orthodox bishop. An image of his dear friends, the retired Roman Catholic Bishop Adamec of Altoona/Johnstown and the late Metropolitan Basil of Pittsburgh standing together as friends and colleagues at the end of the banquet came to my mind. Those are the things that count in the end, not the self-centered behavior of some activist with his own agenda.

Another occasion to remember was the attendance of Cardinals Rigali and McCarrick on Philadelphia at the 100th Anniversary Liturgy for Bishop Soter Ortinsky's appointment.

Every year, Metropolitan Basil and the RC Bishop of Pittsburgh would get together to bless the Nativity display at Steel Plaza.

Alas, there are plenty of ignorant folks out there.

I didn't really want to get into this but I see the thread continues to make criticisms of this blogger and moving on to it somehow representing a general lack of respect for ECs, and Orthodox.

I encourage you to read the thread in CAF. Tom Peters/American Papist enters here: http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=8898226#post8898226 (I think CatholicVote is more like the host for Peters and other bloggers)

I think Tom is being unfairly represented.

He added a clear statement to his blog about how to facilitate getting EC Bishop's statements up. I found the statement an objective statement aimed at improving the representation of EC bishops.

When I looked this afternoon at the American Papist blog being referenced [catholicvote.org] I noted he had added "131. Archbishop-elect William Skurla, Eparchy of Pittsburgh (better link needed)" so I guess he was making the compromise of posting a Eparch where at this time there is no statement in evidence at all re the HHS, having searched the Eparchy site myself again just now.

I really don't want to fan the flames of division. I do encourage you to read Tom's response on CAF [forums.catholic.com] and consider if some charity would not be an appropriate response.
Well, I generally stay far away from CAF as I have always found it to not be a welcoming place for Orthodox - even us reasonable folks.

Frankly, I did not see any real response to the basic complaint raised by the OP here, rather a deflection to the ramblings of an agenda-driven Orthodox priest, Fr. Hans Jacobes and his friends at Monamarkos. When all else fails, quote a Catholic 'defector', Rod Dreher, who has his own agenda and found himself neck deep in internecine Orthodox in-fighting last year. Yeah,right....

I will be the first to concede that trying to get a joint statement out of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of North America on anything other than what day of the week it is, and even there the calendar issue would probably get in the way, is a real problem. However, the constant whining by the political conservatives within the Orthodox Church about the supposed 'liberalism' of the non-OCA Bishops on social and moral issues is a red herring and a pile of you know what.

Sorry, I appreciate that this isn't the place for me to air my wash on inter-Orthodox problems, but I felt that I had to comment since readers here were referred there.

Going back to the first point which started this thread, the OP really speaks to the respect issue - one which I know that many,many Eastern Catholics and Orthodox whose roots trace back to Eastern Catholicism face when dealing with the majority influences in our respective communions. Hence, I relate to the OP's concerns and share them in my own way.

None of this has anything to really do with the issue at hand, which is freedom of conscience and the short-sighted and scientifically misguided justification for the actions of HHS. I have little doubt that this rule will be checked by a Temporary Restraining Order and the ensuing litigation will probably attain landmark status.



Originally Posted by DMD
None of this has anything to really do with the issue at hand, which is freedom of conscience and the short-sighted and scientifically misguided justification for the actions of HHS. I have little doubt that this rule will be checked by a Temporary Restraining Order and the ensuing litigation will probably attain landmark status.

Yes, time to bring in the lawyers! And as it directly relates to the spirit of the OP, I am quite certain that when it comes to funding this now inevitable legal effort, the Eastern Catholics will not be forgotten.
The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops posted this statement this afternoon on its website. http://assemblyofbishops.org/news/releases/protest-against-hhs


"The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, which is comprised of the 65 canonical Orthodox bishops in the United States, Canada and Mexico, join their voices with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all those who adamantly protest the recent decision by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and call upon all the Orthodox Christian faithful to contact their elected representatives today to voice their concern in the face of this threat to the sanctity of the Church’s conscience.

In this ruling by HHS, religious hospitals, educational institutions, and other organizations will be required to pay for the full cost of contraceptives (including some abortion-inducing drugs) and sterilizations for their employees, regardless of the religious convictions of the employers.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. This freedom is transgressed when a religious institution is required to pay for “contraceptive services” including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization services that directly violate their religious convictions. Providing such services should not be regarded as mandated medical care. We, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, call upon HHS Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration to rescind this unjust ruling and to respect the religious freedom guaranteed all Americans by the First Amendment."

As I was reminded by another, "This statement has been in the works for over a week now. When dealing with multiple jurisdictions and bishops these things take time. Without the EA this statement would have taken even longer."

No conspiracy, no 'soft on abortion' as alleged by certain in the Orthodox community who are always stirring the pot.
Slava Isusu Christu!

Thanks David for posting this. I linked on on the "Eastern Pro Life" Facebook page.

Traditional American Christianity is uniting with this issue. Perhaps time will prove President position as foolishness rather than strength.

Let us pray that we may stand united and discern God's will.
Truly, we must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately.
David,

Thanks for posting that. It's an excellent statement of the Assembly's stand. May God grant many years to the hierarchy of our Sister Churches!

Many years,

Neil
I couldn't come back until today. I am happy to report some improvements since I started the thread and since I linked the Catholic Answers reply.

As DMD noted, none of his public responses address the issues I raised. His actions have changed, though.

Catholic Vote said he only intended to include Roman Catholic bishops, but after talking to them he began including Eastern Catholics.

After I brought up the wording of the notice he placed on his page, he changed the wording to be less offensive.

After I brought up the double standard, he started allowing Eastern Catholics to be linked with someone's word.

He also added a notice about the Orthodox bishops' statement.

He has not written me privately. A simple, "I'm so sorry! Let me fix that!" or "I learned something new! Thanks for pointing it out to me. I'll take the word of Eastern Catholic priests and make sure they're included." Anything responsive like that would have been appreciated. In its absence, the actions being changed are at least improvement.

Realizing that this is as good as the situation is going to be this time around, I didn't mind the Catholic Answers thread drifting to what Easterners can do to band together. I was the one who posted the two articles likeathief mentioned. I did not know they were controversial. One I knew about from an Orthodox priest. I shared without any more than the stated intent and I'm sorry that they weren't the best choice. I went to post the statement of the bishops for the same reason but it was already there, which I was happy to see. I'd much rather focus on our shared mission.
You did a real service because the other material on that site referencing a supposed lack of response by the Orthodox and an alleged quiet on oc.net, as well as links posted on CAF to some scurrilous intra-Orthodox attacks on several Bishops, led me and others to 'beat the drums' and the release of the joint Orthodox statement the other day probably was hurried along due to that attention.

If you hadn't gotten my attention about the feelings of disrespect for Eastern Catholics that you were getting there, I wouldn't have ventured in to CAF as Orthodox voices are not really welcome there.
I don't know why the bishops waited until now to protest the intrusiveness of government in our lives.
Because they like some kinds of intrusiveness and opportunistically attach themselves to certain policy prescriptions which they believe are consistent with Catholic doctrine, and only get bent when government intrusiveness crosses paths with their doctrinal orthodoxy. Put another way, too often the USCCB can be considered the Democratic National Committee at prayer. They liked Obamacare's takeover of the health sector of the economy because they thought it would provide universal insurance coverage for all. They never looked at the down side, and took all of Obama's promises at face value.
Mess with the bull and you get the horns.
It was Gerald Ford, of all people, who said, "Government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have". He was speaking of money, of course, but it also applies to freedom. Put a different way, "He who pays the piper gets to call the tune".
Originally Posted by StuartK
Put a different way, "He who pays the piper gets to call the tune".

I think not.

Lots of very loud pipers are paid by taxpayers, but taxpayers certainly are not calling the tunes.
Originally Posted by StuartK
They never looked at the down side, and took all of Obama's promises at face value.

Like so many other voters last time around ...
Originally Posted by Two Lungs
Originally Posted by StuartK
Put a different way, "He who pays the piper gets to call the tune".

I think not.

Lots of very loud pipers are paid by taxpayers, but taxpayers certainly are not calling the tunes.

That's a lovely fanciful idea, but you've got it all wrong. America's long since moved past any sort of system whereby free people make free decisions. Taxpayers are only paying the bills like a dead cow feeds a vulture anymore. You're a serf. Adjust your thinking accordingly.
Wanted:

Serfs for binding to the land.

No chance of advancement, but job security offered.
Will wonders never cease, just posted on the Washington Post this afternoon. Having worked in politics and government for far too many years, I never cease to be amazed at how inept even the highest levels of government may become - regardless of party affiliation. This whole episode seems to have come out of the Twilight Zone (Rod Serling did go to my high school...hmmm....)Doesn't the left hand know what the right is doing, or the other way around depending upon which party is currently in power in DC????


Obama advisers seek compromise on contraception rule
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...2012/02/06/gIQAlUwrwQ_story.html?hpid=z2
Originally Posted by DMD
Obama advisers seek compromise on contraception rule
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...2012/02/06/gIQAlUwrwQ_story.html?hpid=z2

From your link [washingtonpost.com], DMD,
Quote
“There are conversations right now to arrange a meeting to talk with folks about how this policy can be nuanced,” said Pastor Joel C. Hunter, a Florida megachurch pastor who has grown personally close to Obama and advised his White House on religious issues. “This is so fixable, and we just want to get into the conversation.”

???

Originally Posted by DMD
...Doesn't the left hand know what the right is doing...

clearly not

Quote
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York [catholicculture.org], the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), met with President Barack Obama at the White House on November 8. ... Archbishop Dolan said at a November 14 press conference that he left the meeting “a bit more at peace [about religious liberty] than when I entered” and that he believed the president to be “very open to the sensitivities” of Catholics about religious liberty.

See more recent comments [tinyurl.com] by the same Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan
Quote
head of the U.S. bishops' conference, says the Obama administration has revoked the religious freedom of groups that do not regard women's fertility as as "disease".... an unprecedented incursion into freedom of conscience”


Anyone who watches Cardinal-designate Dolan knows that he's very personable and he is clear on truth and we can be certain he was absolutely clear with the President about the ""sensitivities” of Catholics about religious liberty."" at that November 8th meeting. The word "betrayed" came up in the press regarding Dolan after the HHS announcement was made.
There is no compromise offer coming from the Administration. In effect, they are telling the Church it has three months in which to figure out how to square its faith and principles with the regulation issued by HHS, or face the consequences. That's the Chicago way. "Nice little Church, ya got there, Bishop. Shame if anything were to happen to it".
I am happy to report that recent updates to the CatholicVote page seem to intentionally try to mention Eastern Catholics correctly and with respect.

"I am no longer able to find a single Roman Catholic bishop who has NOT spoken out against the mandate publicly. It is also my presumption that this conclusion applies to all Eastern Rite and Sui Iuris bishops in the U.S.)."

http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=26957
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