Catholic Culture on the new bishop in Kansas City

Catholic Culture has an interesting piece up about the new bishop of Kansas City.

Here's a semple of the article (click the link above for the whole piece):

The conventional wisdom is that if you’re a bishop who wants to reform his diocese, you have to take things very slowly. You need a five or ten year plan with limited objectives. You must proceed with great caution and sensitivity. You’re wise to avoid adverse reactions. At least that’s the way it’s always been done, when it is done at all. But not in Kansas City. Reform in Kansas City is moving at Internet speed, under Bishop Robert Finn.

Better than a Magic Lantern Show

Finn, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and a member of Opus Dei's Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, served as coadjutor of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese for about a year beginning in March 2004. On Raymond Boland’s retirement, Finn took sole charge of the diocese, of which he was made ordinary by Pope Benedict XVI in May 2005. Since taking charge, Bishop Finn has:

Dismissed the lay chancellor and replaced him with a priest.

Dismissed the female religious who served as vice chancellor and replaced her with a layman with a track record in Catholic apologetics.

Cancelled the diocese’s programs for training lay people for pastoral ministry.

Increased the staffing of the vocations office from a half-time priest to a full-time priest with a half-time priest assistant.

Ordered a new study of adult catechesis under the leadership of the new vice chancellor.

Cut the budget of the Office of Peace and Justice in half and established a separate Respect Life Office.

Removed the diocesan sponsored master’s program from Aquinas Institute of Theology (run by Dominicans affiliated with the Jesuit St. Louis University) and placed it with the Institute for Pastoral Theology at Ave Maria University.

Ordered the editor of the diocesan newspaper to drop Fr. Richard McBrien’s column.

Established a pattern of reviewing the contents of the newspaper prior to publication, sometimes cutting stories which appear to undermine Catholic teaching.