The slightly older priest revered church tradition as a living connection between believers and Jesus Christ, established through a succession of priests tracing back to St. Peter himself. That priest, a Milwaukee native ordained in 1960, has had a storied career and went on to become the eighth bishop of Lincoln.

The younger man visualized the church as a champion of social justice, embracing all people and ending discrimination. John Krejci, a South Omaha native ordained in 1962, grew disillusioned. He left the priesthood in 1971 to become a professor of social work.

Three decades later, Bruskewitz and Krejci crossed paths again in Lincoln. Their clash of values ended with Bruskewitz excommunicating Krejci and other local members of a Catholic reform group known as Call to Action. One of their strongest areas of contention: the role of women and girls in worship services.
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A Dream Bishop Rallies His Troops

"But these represent just one aspect of the war that is being waged in our country, led too often by the courts, the legislature, and the policies and bureaucracies of the executive branch of our federal government, against the gift of life, and against the importance to the social order of belief in God and the natural law; yes, even against the very witness of Christ and His Church-a witness that values do not find their sources in the decisions of men, that spiritual good does not originate in the State, and that morality in the service of life is a most precious gift.

"I begin with an apology. For years I have focused our public policy efforts on peripheral issues while politically ignoring our country's long slide into secularist hostility to Christian principles. I have put my trust in the political values of enemies of the truth, I have enjoyed being the token bishop in their deliberations, and I have cherished the first place at banquets with the rich and powerful. I have played the game, as it is said, and have lusted for recognition as a player at the highest levels.

"Meanwhile, I have neglected the Church. For years, outstanding lay people and exemplary priests, deeply concerned about the decline of Catholic values in both the Church and the culture, have tried to tell me that we needed better preaching, more reverent sacraments, faithful schools, health care that did not compromise Catholic principles, and an insistence on fidelity among clergy, universities, religious communities and even parishes. But I have ignored and even deliberately stonewalled these people, repeatedly dismissing their pleas for help. I took refuge in the various imperfections I found in them. I preferred to blame them for the abrasive specks in their eyes so that I could pretend not to see the log in my own eye (Lk 6:42).
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Press Release by Fr. Michael Rodriguez

In an 89-page ruling that cited William Shakespeare and Marilyn Monroe, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote, "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples."

In 2008, California voters approved the state constitutional amendment defending marriage by a margin of 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker, who is in a long-term homosexual relationship, ruled in August 2010 that the measure "both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation."
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Pfleger taking on duties at new parish while serving as co-pastor at St. Sabina

Pfleger was named the temporary administrator of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish at 99th and Throop streets, the archdiocese announced in a statement on its website. A new pastor for St. Margaret will be named on July 1 and the Rev. Daniel J. Mallette will remain there as pastor emeritus, the archdiocese said.

Pfleger has also agreed to serve as the archdiocese's representative for "newly developing anti-violence initiatives that will include a particular focus on issues surrounding gun violence," the archdiocese said.
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ANNOUNCEMENT FROM FRANCIS CARDINAL GEORGE, OMI ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO REGARDING CLERGY APPOINTMENTS