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"The Pope of Hope" was a nickname given to Bishop Paul Cordes who was
the head of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 1991. When the leadership of the
community ran into trouble with the local Church, Bishop Cordes was contacted. He offered
encouragement to resolve differences. However, the community members were led by the
leadership to believe that Bishop Cordes was advocating for the People of Hope. He was
seen as the Vatican Bishop who would straighten out the community's relationship with
local Church leadership and assist in gaining the Church's approval.
The following are two letters which indicate that Bishop Cordes had no
intention of refuting the authority and jurisdiction of the local bishops. Here Bishop
Cordes encourages someone to work with Archbishop McCarrick's liaison to the community --
Monsignor Paul Hayes:
As time progressed, Bishop Cordes came to the realization that the leadership's
contact with him was being portrayed as an implicit approval the the community. In the
following letter to Mr. Bob Gallic, Bishop Cordes states the community does not have
official recognition of the Church and contact with him implies no recognition by the
Church is guaranteed.
Do you think community members ever knew of the content of this letter???
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