When Will the COVID-Era Bishops Be Held Accountable? | A Crisis of Catholic Leadership

About this sermon

The Catholic Church still has not fully confronted one of the most consequential questions left over from the COVID era: What happened when churches closed, public Masses disappeared, Catholics were separated from the sacraments, and Church leaders embraced unprecedented restrictions—and who will take responsibility for those decisions? Catholics across the world experienced closed churches, suspended public Masses, difficulty receiving Confession and Anointing of the Sick, and months without ordinary access to the Eucharist. Years later, where is the serious Catholic after-action review? Where is the examination of what went wrong, what should have been done differently, and what must never happen again? But this discussion isn't merely about pointing fingers at bishops. It's about leadership, responsibility, repentance, and Extreme Ownership. Steve highlights the extraordinary example of a Catholic priest who publicly asked forgiveness for leaving Catholics without the Eucharist during the pandemic. Rather than hiding behind circumstances or institutional language, the priest acknowledged failure and declared that he would never willingly participate in something similar again. That is leadership. Drawing upon the principles of Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership, Steve explores a radically different approach to Catholic leadership: A weak leader asks: Whose fault was it? A real leader asks: What was my responsibility? And the Christian goes further: What must I repent of, and what must I do differently next time? Because ultimately, Catholics cannot build their spiritual lives around endlessly complaining about bad bishops, bad priests, bad popes, politicians, institutions, or the failures of the culture. You can become a saint under a bad bishop. You can become a saint under a bad pope. 00:00 The Catholic COVID Reckoning That Never Happened 01:36 When Will COVID-Era Bishops Be Held Accountable? 02:21 Remembering Censorship & the Early COVID Years 03:16 Catholic Life During the Pandemic 05:03 Priests Who Refused to Go Along 06:07 Fear, Lockdowns & “Clown Planet” 07:37 Will Anyone Ever Be Held Accountable? 08:03 Churches Closed & Catholics Lost the Sacraments 09:00 Priests Who Kept Confession & Mass Available 09:55 Where Is the Church’s COVID Post-Mortem? 11:05 What Should the Bishops Have Done Differently? 12:01 Will Any Bishop Honestly Listen to Catholics? 12:31 Months Without Sunday Mass 13:31 Did Catholics Ever Fully Return to the Pews? 14:08 Did Livestream Mass Change Catholic Sacramental Life? 14:53 Businesses Stayed Open While Churches Closed 16:21 Why Has the Church Avoided This Discussion? 16:50 “The Church Dropped the Ball” 17:25 Other Church Leaders Admit Mistakes 18:32 Catholics Were Separated From the Sacraments 20:35 The Real Issue: A Crisis of Leadership 21:55 What Makes a Good Leader? 22:02 Jocko Willink & Extreme Ownership 22:51 A Catholic Priest Publicly Apologizes 24:34 “I Ask Forgiveness for Leaving You Without the Eucharist” 24:56 “We Failed You” 25:16 Could It Happen Again? 25:33 “I Will Never Again Be a Party to Something Similar” 27:19 The Leadership Catholics Needed to Hear 27:52 What Would Happen If the Church Simply Admitted Failure? 28:51 A Priest’s Extraordinary Promise 29:22 No Excuses: Own the Failure 30:03 “We Failed You” vs. Protecting the Institution 30:30 Why Taking Responsibility Builds Credibility 31:43 Extreme Ownership Through a Catholic Lens 32:24 What Must I Repent Of? 32:58 Pray for Better Catholic Leaders 33:22 We Must Become Better Catholics First 33:39 Stop Pointing Fingers & Look in the Mirror 33:52 You Can Become a Saint Under Bad Bishops 34:12 Final Thoughts & God Bless https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/when-will-the-covid-era-bishops-be-held-accountable?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=novashare https://www.leilamiller.net/blog/2021/4/2/a-priest-begs-forgiveness-we-abandoned-you 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 ✝️ SUPPORT THE MISSION 🙏 Donate https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 📬 Free Catholic Newsletter https://sensusfidelium.com/newsletter/ 📰 Read on Substack https://sensusfidelium.substack.com/ ──────────────────── 📺 WATCH & READ 📺 Sensus Fidelium App https://sensusfidelium.tv/ 📚 Sensus Fidelium Press https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ 👕 Official Merchandise https://sensusfidelium.com/merchandise/ ──────────────────── 🤝 PARTNER WITH US 📣 Advertise on Sensus Fidelium https://sensusfidelium.com/advertise-with-sensus-fidelium/ 🎤 Invite Steve Cunningham to Speak https://sensusfidelium.com/speaking/ ⛪ Parish Formation & Consultation https://sensusfidelium.com/for-parishes/ ──────────────────── 🌎 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ✝️ Trusted Catholic Businesses https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 #Catholic #CatholicChurch #CatholicNews #CatholicFaith #CatholicLeadership #CatholicBishops #CatholicTradition #CatholicMen #Eucharist #HolyMass #Catholicism #E

Topics

• Leadership
• Strength in Hard Times