05.05.2009 12:23 pm
Do you have questions for St. Louis’s new archbishop?
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Archbishop-elect Robert Carlson speaks at the press conference to announce his appointment last month. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)
I’ll be traveling to Saginaw next week to talk to Archbishop-elect Robert Carlson, and we’re wondering what questions you’d ask him given the chance.
Pope Benedict XVI named Carlson the 10th bishop of St. Louis last month. His installation date has yet to be set, but will likely happen sometime in June.
Send us your questions by using Civil Religion’s comment feature, and I’ll take them with me to Michigan.
Tim Townsend has been the religion reporter at the Post-Dispatch since June 2004. He previously covered personal finance and consumer news for The Wall Street Journal. He holds master's degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and Yale Divinity School. In 2005 he won the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year Award, given by the Religion Newswriters Association. 
My questions:
What do you hope to accomplish in your first year “on the job?”
How will you determine if you’ve succeeded?
How do you plan to resolve the issue of St. Stanislaus Kostka parish?
What do you wear under you robe?
If God is all-powerful, can he microwave a burrito until it is so hot, that even he couldn’t eat it?
Arhbishop Burke’s time in St. Louis was marked with controversy and confrontation- the St. Stanislaus Kostka impasse, the purging of directors at Catholic Charities, and the political statements that certainly implied that if someone voted for a Democrat who was pro-choice, that person was in effect no longer a Catholic. Frankly, some of these positions seemed to be based more on replacing declining revenue from a Catholic community which rejected Archbishop’s Burke’s positions. Do you think this confrontational approach should change and will it?
Bard - please do not assume that God is male. But then again, what female would ever eat a microwave burrito. Definitely a guy thing.
Yes, I would like to know if Rev. Carlson is going to meet with Sen. Claire McCaskill a supposed fellow Catholic and ask her if she is going to change her mind about not allowing Catholic hospitals and Christians to opt out of being forced to perform abortions in their jobs as doctors. Shouldn’t people be allowed the same choice that she believes pregnant women are allowed?
Many Catholics are hurt by the priest sex abuse scandals and many more Catholics are questioning the validity of the Catholic Church. Do you plan to work towards healing your flock?
I would ask the Bishop what he would do if like Notre Dame, SLU offered to confer an honorary degree to a politician such as Barak Obama whose personal beliefs and body of political work run counter to core tenets of the Church.
I wish him the best in his new position.
Who should Notre Dame start in the Back Field this year?