Flesh And Bones

A local bishop is talking about when children should receive Confirmation and how that relates to Holy Communion.  This is an internal matter of my church, as is who and how our liturgical services are done.  This is only one part of what Church is supposed to be.  Many bishops focus most of their remarks on this.  If they get outside of these issues it is usually about sex.  I call it the bones of the church. The Pope is trying to put some flesh upon this body by talking about outside issues that affect everyone.  These are ecological and economic.  People who are not at all upset about liturgy and sacrament edicts get quite upset about the Pope and his "flesh" agenda.  Why?  We have no say about internal matters and/or they don't affect us much, unless we are involved in the specific internal issue.  We all are involved in ecology and economic issues as the Pope presents them.  We don't want to change.  Plus, we have very specific opinions about them.  The Pope is hitting on the sensitive issues of money and lifestyle.  A balanced church needs to be involved in both flesh and bones to be a sustainable body.  This is the church at its best.  It is OK to disagree with the Pope, but to say that the church should be silent on these "flesh" issues, is to say it should not be church.  That is not your call.