There is a very troubling article at U.S. Catholic about a so-called ‘Vatican hit list’ that sounds very disloyal to Pope Benedict and his brother bishops on the topic of re-affirming our Catholic identity here in America.

It seems that no one is safe from Vatican scrutiny these days. And all of these calls for more oversight of Catholic groups have come in under three weeks, so this may only be the tip of the iceberg. Add in Pope Benedict’s warnings to those who dissent from church teaching in his Holy Thursday message and one can only wonder who will be targeted next (I’d wager a guess for Catholic hospitals, since they’ve already had their share of scrutiny in the U.S.).

Here is some important context on the warning from Pope Benedict:

“Are you resolved to be more united with the Lord Jesus and more closely conformed to him,” which entails a renunciation of oneself and “of the much-vaunted self-fulfillment,” the pope asked.

Being Christ-like means not to be served but to serve, not taking but giving, he said.

I have Bipolar Disorder. I can’t give anything even remotely close to perfection in my actions, but I can most certainly give an obedient heart. I offer myself to the service of the Church, and one cannot do that without being obedient to the Magisterium. If the Holy Father believes that I am on the wrong path, I do hope that he will add my blog to the proverbial “hit list” so that I can get my act together. That goes, as well, for my own bishop, Bishop William Medley of the Diocese of Owensboro.

Mind you, I’m sure neither the Pope nor Bishop Medley would ask me to shut my blog down. I’m not an apostolate, a university or a Catholic institution of any other kind, and people are aware of that, I am sure. I’m just an individual and I speak for myself, not a Catholic institution. I would be very surprised if I heard from either of them at all, but if I were in charge of a Catholic institution, certainly, I should expect to be told if I am on the wrong path and that I should correct myself if I hoped to continue on under the name “Catholic.” Unfortunately, it’s the disobedient ones who will not relinquish the name “Catholic” if asked to do so by a bishop. I suppose this is an occupational hazard for our bishops.