Obama's New Patriotic Catholic Association

Back in 2009, when President Obama gave the commencement address at Notre Dame and received an honorary doctorate, I was far from the only one pointing out the left's desire to replace as the leaders of the Catholic Church the Catholic bishops with a new, more liberal set of teachers: liberal academics, theologians, journalists and politicians.

It's nice to see that the Archbishop of New York and President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan, has likewise gotten the memo:

At a recent meeting between staff of the bishops’ conference and the White House staff, our staff members asked directly whether the broader concerns of religious freedom—that is, revisiting the straight-jacketing mandates, or broadening the maligned exemption—are all off the table. They were informed that they are. So much for “working out the wrinkles.” Instead, they advised the bishops’ conference that we should listen to the “enlightened” voices of accommodation, such as the recent, hardly surprising yet terribly unfortunate editorial in America. The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so, taking a cue from its own definition of religious freedom, now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers. [Empahsis added.]

Look at that quote again:

"The White House seems to think we bishops simply do not know or understand Catholic teaching and so... now has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers."

One more time:

"The White House... has nominated its own handpicked official Catholic teachers."

Now then. Having recognized the game, the ball is in their court. What will be the bishops' play?

I think it's time to start culling out from the Catholic Church every priest, theologian, academic, journalist, politician or anyone else with an audience who fails to submit to the Ordinary Magesterium of the Church. Anyone who stands up and says, "I'm a faithful Catholic, but the Church is wrong about [fill in the blank inerrant teaching]" should be formally excommunicated. This may sound harsh to some.

But if the bishops are to be fined by the federal government for upholding Church teaching, what consequence will attach to those Catholic teachers and leaders who deny Church teaching?