Bishop John Nienstedt was in a tough spot. Someone in his diocese had asked him to comment on a theology book co-edited by his predecessor, the late Raymond Lucker.
Lucker had served as a beloved bishop for 25 years in New Ulm, Minn., before his death in 2001. In the book's introduction, he wrote about "changing formulations of church teaching." Lucker believed Catholics should have a dialogue about the ordination of women and married priests and should review the church's stance on the morality of same-sex unions.
Nienstedt's brand of theology had little room for such dissent. Writing in the diocesan newsletter two and a half years after Lucker's death, he denounced the late bishop's views and warned that questioning church authority places a person "spiritually in peril of losing eternal life."
"It was a really unnecessary and deep insult to a man who had recently died, a man who had given his life to the church," recalled Thomas Roberts, editor in chief of the National Catholic Reporter. "Just months after a person has died and you come into a diocese and declare him theologically suspect?"
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But some priests in the archdiocese already are unhappy with the appointment.
"He's so self-righteous," said the Rev. Michael Tegeder, pastor of the Church of St. Edward in Bloomington.
"It's what (Popes) John Paul and Benedict want to see - a smaller church, a more militant church, a less-open church, a church of followers. 'Just march in step and we'll lead you to the Promised Land,' " Tegeder said. "This man is a bully, he's a spiritual bully. It's going to be that constant hectoring, and we're going to have so many demoralized people, and we're going to have so many people leaving."
As a homework assignment, list as many was as you can of biased reporting in this article. For extra credit, guess the author's side in this article.
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