Some parishes in the Gaylord Diocese have been handing out, free of charge, The Little Black Book – Six-minute meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent. This book was originally produced by the disgraced late Bishop Ken Untener. He titled one of his books, Call Me Ken. His leadership at the Diocese of Saginaw was tainted by multiple scandals (including issues of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups). This book is now continuing to be produced and updated by the Diocese of Saginaw, MI.
Concerns have been raised over the content of the book. A brief selection of excerpts from the book speaks for itself:
- “You can use this Little Black Book anywhere. That’s why there’s no title on the cover – so you can even use it in a dentist’s waiting room without broadcasting that you’re reading a religious book.” Should we be ashamed of reading religious books in public? People read bibles all the time in airports. Should they stop doing so?
- “Sometimes it’s hard to resist the temptation to approach faith only as something fixed and finished. It seems to involve less risk and pain.” Really? Actually, it’s just the opposite. Accepting Church teaching with faith is often hard for those who do not want to accept the way of living that is demanded by Catholicism.
- Regarding Judas Iscariot: “Judas was a good person. That’s worth repeating: Judas was a good person.” (Although it is seemingly unbelievable to some of our readers, yes, this is a direct quote of the April 9 page of the Little Black Book).
The Little Black Book highlights Catholic Relief Services, an organization with a long history of scandalous, anti-Catholic activities. The Book has as parts of its reading such topics as The Salvation Army, a protestant denomination that at times has actively attempted to evangelize Catholics away from the Church. You can also read about the White House Easter egg roll.
With the volume of holy, spiritual, meaningful, and grace-filled writings of thousands of saints, why would any Catholic Church settle for the Little Black Book?