Guardians Of The Catholic Faith

Bishop Clark's Time Remaining

Bishop Clark Must Resign

Bishop Matthew Clarks's reign in Rochester has been riddled with controversy.  For the spiritual welfare of his Diocese, he should seriously consider resigning.

Our Catholic Faith

    As Roman Catholics, we are proud of and love our Catholic Faith.  It is our most cherished possession.  We have been redeemed by Jesus' tremendous sacrifice on the cross, who paid the price of all our sins.  If we remain faithful to our Catholic beliefs, we believe that someday we'll be rewarded the gift of eternal life with Almighty God.

     We also believe that we have a responsibility to defend this sacred Faith, in the same we would if our family or country were attacked.  In the Gospels, Jesus clearly reminds us; "For he that shall be ashamed of Me and My Doctrine, in this adulterous and sinful generation: the Son of Man shall also be ashamed of him, when he shall come in the Glory of His Father" (Mark 8:38).  In the Epistles, St. Paul challenges us to: "Fight the good fight, run the good race, and keep the Faith" (II Timothy 4:70.  Defending attacks on our Catholic Faith is never an option.

Our Concerns Regarding Bishop Clark

• The Bishop has frequently allowed liturgical abuses in parishes, such as open reception of Holy Communion by anyone, with no concern as to whether the person was in the state of grace or even a Catholic.  He has allowed the use of inclusive language at Mass, which rearranged sacred scripture and hymns.  Distractive and provocative liturgical dance have also been performed during the Holy Eucharist.  Finally, perverted processional crucifixes with no corpuses or even a male/female corpus have not unusual at local Churches.

• It is well known that Bishop Clark has strong associations with such nationally known dissenting clergy as Father Charles Curran, Father Richard Vosko and Father Richard McBrien.  All have a long history of rebelling against the Vatican and being unfaithful to Roman Catholic teaching.

• For many years, his Saint Bernard's School of Theology has been questioning, challenging and outright attacking Roman Catholicism.

November, 1986 - Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XIV) demanded Bishop Clark to remove his imprimatur (Bishop's approval) from a book entitled "Parents Talk Love: The Catholic Family Handbook About Sexuality", by Susan K. Sullivan and Matthew A. Kawiak.  According to the priests, Cardinal Ratzinger objected to the lack of clear condemnation of homosexual conduct.

November 5, 1990 - The Bishop wrote a chapter in a book entitled: "Slayer of the Soul: Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church".  "In this chapter on Pastoral Reflections on Child Sexual Abuse in the Church, the Bishop wrote that he thinks of priests who abuse children as an afflicted person rather than a sinner" (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle).

November 21, 1995 - Sister Joan Sobala displays the blasphemous Christa Cross, depicting a transgendered (male/female) Jesus, in Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle.  Even after the news article, the Bishop continued to allow this desecrated crucifix to be used indefinitely as a processional cross at St. Marys Church.

October 17, 1996 - The Bishop allows dissenting theologian Father Richard McBrien to speak at Transiguration Church, as part of a presentation of St. Bernard's Institute.  St. Bernard's Institute is Bishop Clark's Diocesan School of Theology, which has be questioning, challenging and attacking Roman Catholicism for years.  In addition, many American Bishops have removed Father McBien's controversial columns from their Catholic newspapers, but not Bishop Clark.

March 1, 1997 - Conducted a Gay Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, never mentioning that homosexual activity is immoral.  In fact, he actually stated; "I'm afraid the Bible is used in ways that are not life-giving, but destructive, as it's quoted about gay and lesbian people.  I think we need to learn from the human sciences..."

March 8, 1997 - Was the key speaker at New Ways Gay Conference in Pittsburgh.  On the topic of same-sex marriage, Clark stated: "My best fallible, pastoral judgment at this time is that most places we're not there yet, but I hope one day we will be.".

August 28, 1997 - The rebellious Bishop proclaimed that he needed more authority [to redefine our Roman Catholic Faith].  He actually stated: "I'm simply not a branch manager of the Pope" (Rochester's Catholic Courier Newspaper).

October 5, 1997: The Bishop held a Solidarity Sunday at Sacred Heart Cathedral.  After the Masses, rainbow ribbons were distributed, in support of people who were "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and straight".

October 22, 1997 - Vatican officials along with Cardinal O'Connor question Bishop Clarks ministry to gays.  The Bishop seems more concerned by approving sodomy than saving souls (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle).

November 4, 1997 - The Bishop allowed author Christopher Hitchens to verbally attack Catholic icon Mother Teresa, who had just died.  Bishop Clark betrayingly stated "a university is a place to hash such things out".  He never offered one positive word in her defense (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle).

January 13, 1998 - The Bishop finally held a Pro-Life Mass, after much pressure from local Catholics.  However, in his sermon, he never once mentioned the word abortion.  Bishop Clark has a poor record of Pro-Life involvement.  For years, he has hidden behind the mask of Consistent Life Ethics, never stating that without the person's fundamental right to exist, all other social issues are irrelevant.  He has never been seen praying in front of an abortion facility or attended the National March for Life in Washington, as so many other Bishops have done.

April 29, 1998 - Bishop Clark allowed Carol Love, the director of the local Planned Parenthood (America's largest Abortion provider), to speak at St. Mary's Church, even after being notified in advance. Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger who spoke several times before the women's division of the Ku Klux Klan on her "Negro Project", in which it was reported that she made a comment: "Abortion should be illegal for Caucasian races, but mandatory for the Negro".

September 17, 1998 - Hosted a national "Catholic" Gay Conference in Rochester.  There was nothing mentioned that sodomy or homosexual activity was in any way sinful or immoral.

October, 1998 - The Vatican intervened at Corpus Christi Church.  For years, the Bishop had allowed Father James Callan to perform same-sex marriages, have Open Communion and con-celebrated Mass with woman priestesses.

December 1, 1998 - The Bishop held a closed door session on Homosexuality with our youth at Transfiguration Church.  Parents were not allowed to attend.

October 29, 2000 - The Bishop allowed pro-abortion candidate Hillary Clinton to actually use the altar at St. Michael's Church to promote her political endeavors.

June 3, 2001 - The Bishop supported the national Rainbow Sash Movement.  These were publicly open Gays, who would wear rainbow sashes at Sunday Mass and then challenge the priest to deny them Holy Communion.  This very sacred part of the Mass, became a Gay promotion.  Bishop Clark was one of the only Bishops in the United States to allow this desecration at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

March, 2002 - It was discovered that the Bishop had secretly transferred problem pedophile priests to new parishes, where they could further jeopardizing the welfare of our youth.  Bishop Clark claimed that he had never looked at their files.

July, 2003 - He needlessly gutted out beautiful Sacred Heart Cathedral and hid the Blessed Sacrament.  The cost was estimated at a lavish $18,000,000.  [The justification given for all this destruction was to honor his 25th anniversary as Bishop (Catholic Courier 3/8/01).  A petition with over 7,000 signatures opposing the project was totally ignored.  The Cathedral now looks more like an Opera House.  Numerous other Diocesan Churches have also been needlessly renovated, with the tabernacles removed, that contain the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, removed.

Sacred Heart Cathedral was the only Cathedral of world-renowned Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1966-1969).  The Vatican is now studying his cause for Sainthood.  Tragically however, the Archbishop's furnishings, such as his ornate confession pulpit, chair and altar (which were sacred mementos and potential relics have been needlessly eliminated by Bishop Clark.

June 13, 2005 - The Vatican and numerous Bishops strongly condemned the starvation of Terri Schiavo, calling it cruel, barbaric euthanasia, and a form of murder.  However, Bishop Clark washed his hands and did not even take a position.  he feebly stated: "In the days and weeks to come, all Catholics are encouraged to make an effort to more fully understand and contemplate our Church's teachings on the dignity of every human life and to ensure that family members and health care providers know and understand their beliefs and wishes regarding their care" (WF-F.org/TerriSchiavo_Church.html).

November 12, 2005 - The Bishop challenges the Vatican's new document, "Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies, in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders", which banned homosexuals from the Priesthood.  The Vatican document stated that "while the Church profoundly respected the persons in question, could not admit to the seminary or to Holy Orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called gay culture."  In referring to the Church's recent sex scandal, it also stated: "when such foundations are lacking in Priests, the consequent suffering and scandals are devastating."

February/March, 2007 - A statistical survey of the United States' 176 Catholic Dioceses was published by Reverend Rodger Hunter-Hall and Steven Wagner entitle: "The State of the Catholic Church in America, Diocese by Diocese".  The survey stated: "Three sets of official Church statistics were used: a diocese's number of ordinations as a proportion of the total number of active Diocesan Priests; the increase in number of active diocesan, clergy over a 10 year period (1995-2005); and the number of adults received into the Church as a percentage of the diocese's population."

"The better known orthodox Bishops and dioceses - such as Archbishop Chaput (Denver) and Bishop Bruskevitz (Lincoln) ranked well, while long-time liberal Dioceses, such as Milwaukee, Albany and Rochester fared very poorly."  The Diocese Rochester was ranked almost dead last in the survey, at 174 out of 176 (Crisis Magazine).

"You will know a tree by its fruit" (Matthew 7:16).

December, 2007 - There are now hardly any vocations to the Priesthood in the Rochester Diocese.  According to the Catholic World Report, the Rochester Diocese was rated as one of the worst in the Country.  Rochester's Seminarians to Catholics Ratio is rated 167 our of the 176 Dioceses in the United States.

February, 2008 - Bishop Clark ordered 13 Catholic School closings, even though in some cases, parents were ready, willing and able to operate the schools themselves.  In fact, the parents and teachers were not even part of the decision making process.  In recent years, his Diocesan school system's Catholic curriculum had become watered down and undermined the Faith.

March 8, 2008 - "The Wall Street Journal examined the winners and losers in a recent survey: [Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (2/2508) by noting that 'religions that demand the most of people are growing the fastest'.  Want proof that the dynamic described is at work in the Catholic Church?  Take a look at Mass attendance figures for Denver, whose shepherd (Archbishop J. Chaput) is a model orthodoxy: 'Mass attendance in Denver Archdiocese is higher than that of the national average, was shown in a recent survey commissioned by the Denver Archdiocese.  The survey also shows that a majority of Catholics in the Archdiocese, 51% are 'fervent' or 'faithful' in their belief.  A total of 45% of local Catholics polled said they attended Mass in the prior wee, compared to 32% nationally.'"

Want more proof?  The inverse of Denver is Rochester, whose shepherd, Bishop Matthew Clark, serves the same weak tea as the mainline Protestant denominations.  There, Mass attendance is in free-fall, dropping almost 20% since 2000" (InsideCatholic.com, Why are they Leaving? - An Inside Catholic Symposium by Rich Leonardi 3/11/08).

Let us listen to the prophetic words of a former Bishop of Rochester, Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1966-1969) who is now being considered for Sainthood:

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (6/15/72)

Please pray that Bishop Clark humbly resigns.  A strong new bishop is desperately needed to restore the dying diocese.  Please pray that the new bishop will be faithful to the Vatican and not afraid to clearly proclaim and defend the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.