Without Armor

Roman Catholic bishops who hold all power in a diocese are officially called the "Ordinary". The Ordinary, auxiliary, and retired bishops in the United States gather twice each year in a clandestine meetings as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). On the agenda of an upcoming meeting is a controversial proposition with an even more controversial amendment that a powerful Cardinal in the Vatican vehemently opposes. A bishop climbing the rungs of the hierarchal ladder has positioned himself to mediate between the proponents and opponents of the proposition and amendment to avoid a "schism". He hopes to curry favor with the powerful Cardinal and others in the Vatican. Before the bishop leaves for a meeting of the USCCB his life long friend, a priest in his diocese, comes home from his "Garbage Heap Church" where he ministers to desperately poor people. As a friend of the bishop the priest can say things to him that other priest and laity would not dare say to their bishop. The priest challenges his friend the bishop to recognize that Church policies and the lifestyle of Catholic hierarchy are not consistent with the life and teaching of Jesus. He challenges his friend the bishop to go into his world without armor; to become an "Extraordinary" bishop. People and events in New York have a dramatic impact on the bishop. He returns to his diocese a different person, a different bishop.