From a July 19 Newsmax TV appearance:
Father Gerald Murray said Sunday the Vatican was justified in excommunicating bishops associated with the Society of St. Pius X, saying the church had little choice after they participated in unauthorized episcopal consecrations.
He added, on Newsmax’s “Sunday Agenda,” that further defiance could deepen divisions within the Catholic Church.
“The penalty applied to these four bishops, the six bishops involved, it’s a just penalty,” Murray said. “The problem, of course, is that we need to resolve splits like this in the church.”
The Vatican recently declared bishops involved in consecrations without the church’s consent excommunicated, renewing tensions with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, or SSPX, which was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Uh-oh — better not tell Newsmax columnist Bill Donohue about this. He’s a right-winger who’s probably best known around these parts for writing at the former CNSNews.com — Brent Bozell, former leader of CNS’ parent, the Media Research Center, sat on the board of directors of Donohue’s Catholic League — and for trying to excuse priest sex scandals. As a right-winger, he likely opposes Vatican II supports traditionalist movements like SSPX — yet we could find him having an opinion on this issue, even in his columns at Newsmax.
That’s strange, because Donohue is not known for holding back on his opinions. But will Newsmax tell him about Murray?