As
some of you may know, I am one of 24 Hourly Adoration
Coordinators who assist the Perpetual Adoration ministry
in my parish in the Framingham/Natick area. My long
acquaintance with a community of Benedictine monks
placed in me a love for the Catholic Church that our
blessed Lord Jesus founded and for Eucharistic Adoration:
a gift for which I would like to personally thank them.
Thanks, guys!
The
Church crisis is obviously something I have meditated
on during my Adoration hour from 11pm to midnight.
Although no one with any common sense will condone
the many abuses by Catholic priests of their holy calling,
the bigger scandal, I believe, was and still
is today the action or rather lack of action taken
by Church leaders, particularly bishops, who discovered
the abuses. It was always my understanding that one
of the primary responsibilities of ANY bishop of ANY
archdiocese was the spiritual well-being of his priests
and religious. In what we can factually call "a cover-up" by
some Catholic archbishops and bishops, the shepherds
of the Catholic flock in America have failed to fulfill
this responsibility.
But
how did this happen? and why did this happen, not from
the world's viewpoint, but from a theological viewpoint
and from a Church viewpoint?
- Lack
of a personal prayer life among the clergy, especially
among the Cardinals and bishops.
- Lack
of a sacramental life among the laity.
The
result: a "covert al-Qaeda-like strike" (will be explained
later)
Lack of a personal prayer life
Most
of the problem, I believe, has come from a misplacement
of spiritual priorities. No matter what state of life
we have been called to, our first obligation is to
meet the spiritual needs of our own soul. This is especially
true for priests. Whether he is a religious priest,
diocesan priest, or bishop, every priest
has to first meet the spiritual needs of his own soul.
Regular daily prayer INCREASES virtues in our souls
and DECREASES vices. The Catechism tells us:
1804
Human virtues are firm attitudes, stable dispositions,
habitual perfections of intellect and will that govern
our actions, order our passions, and guide our conduct
according to reason and faith. They make possible
ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally
good life. The virtuous man is he who freely practices
the good.
And
also:
1774
Emotions and feelings can be taken up in the virtues
or perverted by the vices.
The
Catholic Encyclopedia says:
Prayer
is an act of the virtue of religion which consists
in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more
general sense it is the application of the mind to
Divine things, not merely to acquire a knowledge
of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means
of union with God.
A
soul, especially that of a Catholic priest, that has
no personal prayer life welcomes plenty of vices,
including a lack of courage to stand up and take action.
As
Eparch John A. Elya of Newton has said:
"Growth
in prayer and virtue are at the heart of our Christian
Life. 'Prayer is by nature a dialog and a union of
man with God. Its effect is to hold the world together.'"
Satan
is out to sift our Catholic priesthood like wheat.
If
our diocesan priests and, for that matter, seminarians
are not seriously trained in safeguarding a regular
disciplined prayer life, the spiritual state of the
Catholic priesthood in America IS in danger.
In
view of the crisis in the Church, I thought these paragraphs
from the Catechism would also be important reminders:
1839
The moral virtues grow through education, deliberate
acts, and perseverance in struggle. Divine grace
purifies and elevates them.
1806 Prudence is the virtue
that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance
and to choose the right means of achieving it; "the prudent man looks where he
is going." "Keep sane and sober for your prayers." Prudence is "right reason
in action," writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle. It is not to be confused
with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation. It is called auriga
virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by
setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment
of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance
with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to
particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve
and the evil to avoid.
If
our priests don't have wills and hearts that want to
take time for personal prayer, their priesthood may
start off well, but due to a lack of habitual virtue,
over time it will end up like that of the defrocked
priest John Geoghan, whom I knew personally for a year
and a half.
I
can hear a few rebuttals now, especially from my brother
priests:
- I'm
too busy in the parish and don't have time for personal
prayer
- There
are not enough priests here to allow me to say the
Divine Office.
- I
have no time for Adoration.
- I
offer daily Mass: that's enough.
I
truly believe that all priests reading this have been
called by the Lord to serve as one of His priests,
but I can't accept the above excuses that rationalize
away what our Lord Himself did a lot of -- that is,
to PRAY -- and like you, he was 100% human!
I
would say to all my Priest and Bishop brothers:
With
the turn of the millennium, private personal prayer
is a MUST . . . FOR YOU!
For
a solid, stable Catholic Christian priesthood: you
will be able to discern truth better, read up on current
Catholic issues via encyclicals from the Vatican, have
time to meditate on difficult decisions and more.
My
personal prayers from the heart I always find most
effective. Try this one:
(My recommended prayer for priests)
Eternal
Father, I know you would never put me in a situation
where I would not have time for a good prayer and
adoration life. I am currently having a hard time
finding one now. Please hear my petition and give
me the ability in my current priesthood to set time
aside for a solid prayer life. I ask this in the
name of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Jesus,
have mercy on the inadequacies of my priesthood,
and bless my priesthood that it may be a reflection
of yours.
Amen.
top
Now what about the laity?
As
Catholic Christians we also have the primary responsibility
of saving our own souls first. We can't save other
souls until we first have our own soul cleaned up.
This again requires a life of prayer:
For Catholic Christians
For
Catholic Christians it starts with daily prayer.
I strive to stay young by saying the rosary; on Sundays
I try to say all 20 decades; daily I try to
at least say 5 and live a sacramental life by trying
to get to daily Mass. As Catholics we believe sin
is not only an individual issue, but a theological social
issue as well. When I sin, my sin not only effects my
soul but it also affects the body of Christ itself and
body of validly baptized Christians. At this point,
I'd like to share with you my five petitions I pray
for all priests on a daily basis. I believe if more Catholics
started praying for these specific petitions, we would
see a noticeable different in priests currently serving
us and the Church today:
- that all priests will grow in the personal prayer
life they currently have.
- that all priests will grow in knowledge of the Roman
Catholic faith and their priesthood.
[ Note: Just as we didn't learn everything in CCD
we need to know until our judgment
day; we and our priests must always be open to growing
in the faith as well.]
- that all priests will be pastorally sensitive to
the spiritual needs of their parishioners { as Vatican
II states they should be } and not close-minded with
a "my way or the highway" businessman-like attitude.
- that priests will obey all the teachings of the
Church, preach on all teachings of the Church and liturgically
obey all the sacrament laws of the Church in reference
to the form and matter of the sacraments.
- that all priests will be priests of COURAGE and ACTION,
manifested by their actions and the actions of
the ministries within their Church.
For non-Catholic Christians
For
non-Catholic Christians, and for
that matter Catholics, it starts with a daily prayer life and
an openness and willingness to develop our conscience
and knowledge of Holy Scriptures, Christian history,
especially the Early Church from 33AD to 850AD, sacred
theology, and of God Himself.
For non-Christians
For
non-Christians it starts with a daily prayer life and
an openness and willingness to develop our conscience
and knowledge of God Himself, but they MUST go further.
It
also entails:
- acknowledging that they did not
create themselves, but a higher being did;
- using their God-given MINDS to discern
good from evil
- ensuring that one's actions correspond
to the nature law of do good, not evil.
- challenging any thought or
action that goes contrary to the natural good that
is written on the hearts of all mankind.
This
is what was greatly lack in people like Mohamed Atta
and other extreme religious people. Islam means "To
submit" . . . but to what? . . . to Islamic religious leaders
that demand obedience at the price of no reason or
rationale that discerns good from any evil they are
saying?
This
differs a lot from the Catholic view. There are two
predominant things Catholics respect, that Muslims don't
are: Reason AND Free Will. Catholics believe Jesus is
the Way, the Truth and the Life. Catholics also believe
that Our Blessed Lord has bound Himself to His One Church
and that on issues-teachings of Faith and Morals the
Church cannot err. Because Christ, who is True God
and True Man, will never lie (Matt 16:13-20) nor deceive
the faithful of His Church, the practicing Catholic
can always trust the Church on issues of official faith
and morals, even during scandalous times when Catholics
whose behavior should represent the Church, DON'T.
When the Catholic obeys the Church, he is obeying Christ
Himself. This Church will always reveal the Truth Christ
wants us to have at any point in time, BUT because God
gives EACH man FREE WILL to choose good or evil, mankind's
actions, including those of cardinals,
bishops and priests,
can scandalize The One Church that has the fullness of
Revealed Truth.
top
More than you think? Yes: A kind of covert "al-Qaeda"-type strike
Besides
a lack of personal prayer on the part of Church leaders
and the laity, I also believe the Church Crisis exists
due to a non-reported
set of "al-Qaeda"-type attacks that occurred in the
1960's or 70's in Catholic seminarians. Seminary professors
who were never interested in teaching Catholic doctrine,
were allowed in Catholic seminaries to teach. Religious
Sisters were allowed in that taught new age and feminist
trash. I personally know of two close friends WHO LEFT
the seminary in disgust due to things they saw and
heard, including mistletoe in the seminary?
When I say "Al Queda",
I obviously don't mean this in the literal sense; ALTHOUGH
seminary professors, vocational directors and religious
sisters who dissent from the Magisterium of the Church
YET teach in these seminaries ARE al-Qaeda-like people
working in the Church; many getting paid by the Church.
They are true terrorists to the Way, the Truth
and the Light of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and
His One Church.
When
the head of the NCCB, National Conference of Catholic
Bishops, Bishop Wilton Gregory, is on the record as
saying:
"IN
MANY CATHOLIC SEMINARIES THERE IS A HOMOSEXUAL
ATMOSPHERE."
We have a problem!
Question:
What single, practicing male Catholic, age 25 - 40,
would want to be trained in a seminary with a homosexual
atmosphere?
In my opinion, only one without a brain!
P.S. I don't know about you, but I don't want a brainless pastor.
Any
Catholic would agree we have a major problem here!
Since 9/11 America has been fighting:
"The
War On Terror"
What
Cardinal Wilton Gregory and the rest of the Bishops
in America have to decide is weather they plan
to strike back in this:
"Spiritual
War against America in Catholic seminaries"
And
we wonder how the Church could give us a priest like
Fr. John Geoghan or Fr. Paul Shanley?
If
you need more proof try this:
Goodbye Good Men by Michael Rose with comments
In a letter I wrote to several Vatican congregations,
I tried to explain why, even if Cardinal Law resigns,
it wouldn't be enough. Quote from my letter below:
You
may be asking: Why wouldn't his resignation be enough
then? Let me give you an analogy. Clinton, the former
president of the USA, destroyed the moral fabric
of America for 8 years. I think, Holy Father, you
would agree that President Bush is far more of a
practicing Christian than Clinton. BUT after Clinton
left, President Bush became our new president.
QUESTION: Were
all the immoral Clinton appointees gone when Bush
first entered the Oval Office? No, of course not.
The Clinton system, loaded with immoral people was
still AND probably is still with us, especially in
the State Department.
Your
Holiness, there is a similar problem with the people
who support Cardinal Law, the decision maker’s
that assist him and former Cardinal Medeiros. They
have no courage and in some cases are not loyal to
the Magisterium!
The
point I tried to make later in the letter was that, "someone" has
to clean THE cover-up system that
fears being caught WITH a
system of courage and truth that "acts quickly and
correctly" when scandal is found. This especially is
true for the toilet waste we see in many Catholic
seminaries in America today! This will include reviewing
and if necessary replacing rectors of seminaries, professors
and textbooks.
Side note: At most Masses I attend
there is always a petition to pray for vocations to the
priesthood. With the condition of Catholic seminaries
in America today, I don't want vocations
to the priesthood! If you gave me the option
of a scandalous, poorly trained, sexually immature priest
or NO priest, I'll take NO priest!! During the "petitions
of the faithful", when the priest asks to pray for
vocations to the priesthood, my reply, while others are
saying,
"Lord hear our prayer", is "ONLY when
the Al Queda are killed in Catholic seminaries in America
and holiness is encouraged."
top
Should
Cardinal Law have resigned and why should any Cardinal
resign?
How
can any Cardinal, Bishop or Priest who allows children
to be homosexually abused by other priests, command
any moral authority? How can any Cardinal or Bishop
like this, be pro-life? His Eminence has said that
he trusted the psychiatrists and psychologists along
with their evaluations. This truly baffles me!! Since
when do you need the secular sciences to tell you that
a priest that is sexually abusing minors IS rehabilitated and
can go back into the ministry, when the CATHOLIC FAITH
tells you he should be thrown out!! Just because
a killer confesses to a murder doesn't mean you should
let him back into other parishes to do more possible
killing.
I
recently read a Pentecost letter by His Eminence where
he explains his action in handling the Fr. Shanley
case. In the 7th paragraph from the bottom, which starts, "I am
certain that as time goes on." He says:
"Mistakes have also been made when
facts which should have been before me were not. I
often have made decisions based on the best information
available to me at the time, only to find that new
details later became available which some may argue
I should have had previously. Obviously, I wish that
I had been aware of all pertinent facts before making
any past decisions."
If
what His Eminence says is true, then several questions
MUST be asked:
- What
people or group of people were responsible for ensuring
that all the pertinent information on such "priests" was
in front of you?
- Why
were they covering it up? I don't see the relationship
between holiness and covering-up
the sins of a priest?
- Have
they been FIRED/REMOVED from this position?
- Did
a brother bishop give you bad information and if
so did you follow-up with him?
(Quotes below are from "Alan Keyes
is making Sense" on MS-NBC
10:00pm Monday through Thursday)
In
his deposition Cardinal Law was asked:
Question: Okay.
What was the practice that you had in place in 1984
when you were Archbishop to deal with this kind of
Allegation when it comes in?
Answer: I
viewed this as a pathology, as an illness, obviously
I viewed it as something that had a moral component.
It was, objectively speaking a gravely sinful act
and that's something that one deals with in ones
life, in ones relationship to God. But I also viewed
this as a pathology, as an illness, and so consequently,
I, not being an expert in this pathology, not being
a psychiatrist, not being a psychologist, my modus
operandi was to rely upon those whom I considered
and would have reason to consider to have an expertise
that I lacked in assessing this pathology, in accessing
what it is that this person could safely do or not
do.
As Alan pointed out, it is sad that the primary problem
that the Cardinal saw was a physical problem, a pathology,
an illness. It was the moral part that was a sub-component
of the bigger problem. As a predominant spiritual
leader within the Catholic Church in America, a Catholic
prelate is suppose to be make spiritual judgments
isn't he, not physical.
Amb. Keyes goes on to say, "The nature
of the sin was not just about the individual committing
it but the harm done to the individual (in this case
John Geoghan) suffering the sin, about the moral and
spiritual attack on his welfare. This consideration didn't
enter into his response. Also not a word was spoken about
the other side of this grave sin: the assault on the
moral and spiritual life of the youth."
Serious
doubt is being raised about whether someone who was
in a position of spiritual leadership was actually
making judgments according to spiritual priorities
versus worldly or earthly priorities.
If the spiritual assault of the youth
is taking second place to earthly priorities then what
confidence can the faithful have now or in the future
in any cardinal or bishop who prioritizes issues in this
manner? Remember Our Lord Jesus said that it's the one
that destroys the soul and body that does more harm than
the body. (Matthew 10:28)
Not only should Cardinal have resigned,
but so should any other cardinal or bishop that has such
misplaced priorities.
top
Defenders of the Cardinal
or . . . of the Church?
I
have heard several priests and lay people defend Cardinal
Law and his actions. I am truly saddened by this. Why?
Because my brother Catholics are putting their faith
in a sinful man, not in THE Church that will not err
on issues of official faith and morals. My fear is
that too many of the Catholic faithful will put their
faith in a bishop or a Cardinal but when that cardinal
or bishop falls from grace, they will loose the faith,
fall away from the Church or join another Protestant
sect with the same faults. To this practicing Catholic
it has been truly disappointing the NO priests have
come out to chastise the Cardinal during this time.
Does Holy Obedience mean I have to
defend the actions or inaction of a negligent Cardinal?
Does becoming a priest mean I can't criticize my local
bishop when he needs correction? If St. Catherine of
Siena, Doctor of the Church, implored Pope Gregory XI,
to:
- leave
Avignon and go back to Rome,
- reform
the clergy and the administration of the Papal States,
does this mean a priest in the Church today can't
correct the local bishop or even speak from the pulpit
on an issue that needs correction? This is not right!
God gave this Catholic a brain and I don't think it was meant to be parked in
idle!
My position: I am a CATHOLIC CHURCH
apologist, NOT a CATHOLIC CARDINAL apologist!
top
The other main problem
arising from this crisis:
True
Christianity is scandalizing other Christian faiths
not in union with us.
This
crisis is truly an embarrassment for the One Church
that should be holding up Christian values. As many
of you know, Catholics and Orthodox agree on many,
many doctrinal issues where other Protestant Churches
will disagree with us. My Coptic Orthodox friend at
work has told me that the newspapers in Turkey publish
embarrassing headlines about the Catholic Church with
it's terrible priests! This has opened the door for
criticism by three possible groups:
- non-Christians,
like Muslims, who hate Jews and Christians alike
- professional
anti-Catholics, like James White and Lorraine Boettner,
who make a living off of falsely attacking the Church.
- Un
catechized "catholic" support /action groups
This last bullet, Un catechized "catholic" support/action
groups, is especially a problem in the Boston area.
So far there are two groups that have sprung up. Voice
of the Faithful and Coalition of Concerned
Catholics. The problem with these groups is that
they falsely believe they should change the Church.
The fact IS that the Church, through the sacraments, should change US.
Yes,
Catholics have the right and obligation to make their
needs known to the pastor AND have the right to start
organizations on own to build the CATHOLIC faith within
the community. To that extent they should be applauded
and encouraged. Where they go wrong is when they allow
a democratic process to develop within their group
that:
- does
not respect the Pope and Magisterium
- does
not respect current Church doctrines and teachings and
- encourages
changes in the Church, that can never happen due
to the nature of the Church and her Divine Teachings.
(Example: women priest.)
Guys,
the Catholic Church is not a Democracy! The Episcopal
Church is, but not us! Our teachings and disciplines
come from Christ Himself. Surely, the Church may need,
like today, a reformation from WITHIN, but we don't
need another Protestant revolution! NO ONE will disagree
with you, that we need changes in the Church. The point
is that we have to obtain change the
correct way, by
holding on to what we believe as Catholics and making
suggestions that fall within correct doctrinal parameters.
Jim
Mulluer, president of Voice of the Faithful, will make
reference to a vague theological concept called the "sensus
fidelium" -- about taking what ordinary Catholics already
believe on some open doctrinal question and using that
to help the Magisterium make a firm decision about
it. But:
- it
doesn't apply to closed questions (e.g., women
priests),
- the "sense
of the faithful" is not measured by polling or
voting, or expressed in public pressure campaigns.
Some
of these dissenting types think that as long as they
can dress up their agenda in a Latin phrase, then they
can fool the more "conservative"
(i.e., orthodox) Catholics into accepting it.
What he's really up to is this:
- we'll
build an organization, and we'll get some power;
- and
*later* we'll ask the members what the agenda should
be.
- You
can just **trust us 'till then.**
Joseph
Gallagher Jr., cofounder of the Coalition of Concerned
Catholics in Boston is one of several groups that is
asking the United Nations to intervene in sexual abuse
of children by Catholic clergy, and hold the Vatican
accountable. Obviously Joe is more interested in bringing
the Church down then restoring and building it up FROM
WITHIN. I have no idea where he thinks the U.N. or Ungodly
Nations will
help.
Obviously
both these groups are great opportunities to pull away
uncatechized Catholics from the faith and get new members
for other Protestant Churches as well.
What
I would support.
What
is needed in this area THAT I WOULD SUPPORT is a Boston-based
support group for abused children and families that
would:
- respect
the Papacy or Pope and
- base
its mission statement, feedback, and suggestions
within current and future Catholic teachings
I believe working within the Church
in a constructive manner is the only way to ensure
this does not happen again. I understand souls of "once children" have been
morally and spiritually hurt and that families have
been wounded. What is needed are people who can forget
the past and build a plan to prevent this scandal from
happening again. If you ARE one of the "once children" that
has been sexually abused by a Catholic priest, you
have to ask yourself a question:
- Do
you want to be part of a process to strengthen Jesus'
ONE Church, or part of a process to destroy God's
Church?
- Do you set aside time for daily prayer
? or will hold a grudge to your judgment day?
top
The Good that can be pulled
out of this
As
we know, there is nothing bad that God permits, that
a greater good can't be pulled out of. I believe their
are several very good things that can be pulled
out of this Crisis:
- Priests
including Cardinals and Bishops will strive more
for a TRUE daily prayer life.
- Seminaries
will be restored to a Christ like environment.
- There
will be an opportunity to correct misconceptions
about Catholic beliefs, especially between the terms
infallibility and impeccability.
Infallibility
(ihn-FAL-lih-BIHL-uh-tee): The inability
to err in teaching the truth. In theology, it refers
to: 1) the Church, in that she preserves and teaches
the deposit of truth as revealed by Christ through
the Pope.
Impeccability
(ihm-pehk-uh-BIHL-ih-tee ): The impossibility
of sinning, which both Jesus (because of His divinity)
and Mary (because of the Immaculate Conception)
enjoyed, but the Holy Father, Cardinals, bishops,
priests, deacons NOR I enjoy.
Note: The pope,
his cardinals, bishops and priests are NOT impeccable
(they obviously can sin); The Pope IS infallible
and so are the bishop when they teach in union
with him.
God willing with time, the Vatican
will require more strict standards for rectors of seminaries,
vocational directors, professors, religious sisters and
the review of all textbooks used in seminaries. I recommend
Scott Hahn audio tapes and books be used.
top
What won't work
Before
I go on to my recommendations, I first want to briefly
address what won't work. In many Catholic discussion
circles there has been some talk about allowing priests
to marry.
First
let's clarify that in the Latin or Roman Church, celibacy IS
NOT a doctrinal issue . It is a disciplinary issue
and can change. (This is unlike the issue of
women priest, which IS a doctrinal and theological
issue in nature and CANNOT change.) In the universal
or Catholic Church WE DO have married priests! I believe
they are in the Eastern Church in areas like Egypt
and Asia. There has also been an Anglican
and Lutheran dispensation allowed
to married Protestant ministers who convert to the
Catholic faith to be a priest in the Roman Rite.
The
Western Church or Roman Rite will probably never change
the current disciple for VERY
GOOD reasons.
In
the Church, different people are called to different
vocations. Some are called to the married life, a very
holy vocation; some are called to the single life,
also a holy vocation; some are called to be a religious,
like a nun or brother, and some are called to a special
vocation: to act in the place of Jesus, the priesthood.
In a REAL sense they ARE MARRIED. They are married to the CHURCH, the Bride of
Christ. Their children are the parishioners of their local parish. Their time is
used to feed the faithful with the Word of God and the Eucharist and to develop
ministries that help them grow in holiness.
An
important point to remember here: IT IS THEIR CHOICE!
They pray over this decision and understand what is
behind this lifetime commitment.
Jesus,
the role model for all priests, HIMSELF was celibate!
If God himself is celibate, I would hate to be on the
other side of that disagreement :)))
A
married priesthood IS THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE NORM.
A
married Roman Catholic priest would be forced to choose
between: their spiritual family: the parishioners of
his Church & his natural, biological family.
Seeing
that the problem of pedophilia among Protestant denominations
exists at high rates, I believe a change
the current disciple is a false argument and unlikely.
top
If
Pope Benedict XVI put me in charge of all Catholic
seminaries in America, this is what I would do:
- CLOSE
ALL Catholic seminaries that don't have Perpetual
Eucharistic Adoration.
- Kick
out ALL SEMINARIANS that have no interest in weekly
Adoration of our Blessed Lord.
(Remember, we as Catholics believe the Eucharist is the source and summit of
the Catholic Faith! If we are suppose to believe it, shouldn't our future
priests?)
- IMMEDIATELY
FIRE all teachers that don't have time for
one hour of Eucharistic Adoration a week.
(Are you are a current seminary professor that has no time for one hour of Eucharistic
Adoration a week OR don't understand why you have to do this? You're
fired!)
- I
would advise the Holy Father to recall and, if needed,
replace Cardinals and/or Bishops that:
- provide no
oversight for Catholic Catechesis in
their diocese, especially in their own
Catholic seminaries.
- allow
non-Catholic doctrine to be taught
- allow
scandalous non-Christian sexual behavior within
their diocese
- ARE
NOT firing OR removing:
- Advisors
or assistants in local diocesan administrative offices, OR rectors
of Catholic seminarians who are found to be covering up scandalous
actions of any diocesan priest or seminarian.
(If you work for a bishop in a Catholic diocese and are found covering
up grave scandal of a local priest, YOU'RE FIRED IMMEDIATELY! <no
strikes> Are you a diocesan priest yourself? I would recommend to
the Holy Father that this priest be sent to a contemplative Catholic
religious monastery for a minimum of 1 year of prayer and penance.)
- Fire
all teachers that are teaching anything not
in line with Catholic Doctrine (femi-nazi theology,
New Age, Liberation Theology, etc.)
- Kick
out ALL SEMINARIANS who are or have been involved
with any homosexual activity in or outside the seminary.
(no strikes allowed)
- Kick
out ALL SEMINARIANS who are or have been involved
with any illicit sexual activity with women, inside
or outside the seminary.
(no strikes allowed)
- Entrance
restrictions for all seminarians:
- Any
man who has an interest in being a seminarian
but who does not have an interest in regular
Eucharistic Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament and of developing a private prayer
life for oneself would be barred from
entering.
- Any
man who has an interest in being a seminarian
but has any history of homosexual activity
would be barred from entering. Any seminarian
who has participated in the homosexual lifestyle
will never understand the family life and family
life counseling issue that will arise in any
future priesthood. (no strikes allowed)
- Dealing
with future allegations of sexual abuse by a priest:
What the news
media does NOT tell you is that MOST Catholic priests humbly do their job
and live a holy, celibate life. And again, we have to say THIS IS BY THEIR
CHOICE! False accusations against good priests in the Church cannot and
should not be tolerated.
I would tell
the Holy Father that ALL priests are innocent until proven guilty by canon
law, but set diocesan policy such that any priest accused of sexual abuse is
treated as if he were guilty for the safety of the faithful and
until the local diocese has more to evaluate each case on. I know this
may seem like a contradiction, but we have to strive to protect ALL PARTIES:
the children, the family and the priest. This is not an EITHER OR resolution
we have to reach but a AND BOTH resolution.
Diocesan policy
also HAS TO BE SET so that possible phonies, who just want to make money
off the Church, will see that their attempts will be fruitless.
- Dealing
with the reality of possible pedophile priests still serving
in the Church:
- If
there is a pedophile priest serving in the
Church who either:
- wants
to forget the past abuse he has committed
- doesn't
believe he did anything wrong
- believes
he is "reformed"
- or
some other excuse
he
needs to talk to his bishop and turn
in his collar. My concern here is that,
like the alcoholic, he is in denial.
- The
prelates of the Catholic Church in America
have to regain the spiritual strength and courage,
I believe they have lost. My question to the
prelates of the Church is this:
If you know of a priest that has sexually abused a minor in the past, but
is still in the ministry:
- Is
your inaction, a decision:
Jesus
would approve of?
Our Blessed Mother and Joseph approve of?
the saints in Heaven approve of?
- Are
you prepared with a reply on judgment
day to account for your decision or lack
of one?
Side note: Despairing thoughts are not an option, courageous decisive
actions and strict diocesan policies accompanied by prayer ARE!
- top
Staples, the Office Superstore
Background: I have been in Hi Tech most of my career. Only recently has the economy
forced me to start working retail sales. We have a great team in the Natick,
Mass store due to our General Manager and the team environment he promotes. This
has made the Natick, Mass. Staples "number 1" nation wide!
In
corporate, I believe they have a great idea that can
help sustain holiness in Catholic seminaries for years
to come. Every month Corporate Staples sends someone,
unannounced to all our retail chains and verifies that,
indeed, we are giving great Staples customer service.
They call this being "mystery shopped". After
the mystery shopper has been through a retail Staples,
he or she records the responses to about 10 questions
that are asked to the employee being mystery shopped.
These answers are reported back to Corporate for review.
Random employees are asked questions in different Staples
departments. e.g. Front End/Cashiers, Greeters, Electronics,
and Merchandise.
Example:
- Were
your greeted kindly?
- Were you assisted quickly?
- Was your need for coming to Staples met?
- Did the Staples associate ask questions about your
needs?
Based
on the results of the mystery shop, the vision of Corporate
toward that retail store can be very positive
or very negative. In certain situations this can help
the employees, as a team, financially.
The Church
Let's
turn to the situation in the Church now. By now most
informed Catholics know that the Vatican is thinking
about having Apostolic Visitations to Catholic seminaries
in America. This idea is headed in the right direction
but is not good enough. What do I mean?
If
you, and your spouse, if married, plan on having someone
over for dinner and you know what time they
will be coming, are you going to leave the house in
the mess that it currently is? Let's take the Smith
family. A well-rounded family of five that strives
to practice their Catholic faith.
- If
the Smith family knows ahead of time that the deacon
is coming for dinner, how much will they clean up
the house?
- If
the Smith family knows ahead of time that the pastor
is coming for dinner, how much will they clean up
the house?
- If
the Smith family knows ahead of time that the bishop
is coming for dinner, how much will they clean up
the house?
- If
the Smith family knows ahead of time that the Holy
Father is coming for dinner, how much will they clean
up the house?
I
think you see where I'm going here. Apostolic Visitations
to Catholic seminaries in America by the Vatican is
a good start, but if "those demonic" people
who have allowed a gay subculture into the seminaries, know Vatican
officials are coming, of course they are going
to "clean the house up", but only temporarily!!! As
soon as these Vatican officials leave, it is back to
the gay sub culture that was present before the Visitation.
No,
what is needed is a "Vatican Mystery Shop". I
have to confess that I don't know exactly how
to implement the program, but this is where the Vatican
has to "be creative" within orthodox
boundaries. This would inevitably have to involve not
a mystery shopper like at Staples, but one of three mystery
evaluators:
- a
mystery seminarian
- a
mystery seminarian professor
and
- a
mystery diocesan chancery employee
Hey
guys, God gave us a mind to be creative with didn't
He? Canon Law SHOULD NOT protect seminary professors
or chancery employees that are priests if they
are encouraging a gay sub culture or teaching unorthodox
things. If it does IT SHOULD BE CHANGED!
In the same way a properly trained Staples associate has nothing to fear about
being mystery shopped in an unannounced manner, . . . an orthodox seminary professor
or diocesan chancery employee has nothing to fear of being evaluated by someone
in an unannounced manner representing the Vatican. Obviously this
seminarian, professor, or employee will report ONLY
directly back to the Vatican on issues like:
- what
he has been taught (mystery seminarian)
- what
he has been allowed to teach (mystery
seminarian professor)
- what
has been going on (mystery diocesan chancery employee)
"Mystery
shop" evaluators would also have to be rotated in and
out of Catholic seminaries and chanceries in America seeing
that liberal Catholic bishops would be talking to each
other about who, at any one time, is the mystery shop
representative from the Vatican. This approach will guarantee ACCOUNTABILITY,
HOLINESS and ORTHODOX TEACHINGS in the seminaries and
Catholic chanceries.
Now on to YOUR objections:
- The
bishop has authority over seminaries, not the Holy
Father.
You're correct the bishop does have authority over his seminaries as the Holy
Father has responsibility over seminaries in the diocese of Rome. But due to
the Petrine Privilege the Holy Father has, if he knows of a bishop that is promoting
scandalous teachings or a perverted sub culture in the Church, he has the right and
obligation to remove that bishop from office and, if necessary, excommunicate
him. Although not reported in the main stream media this has happened in America.
- Your
suggestions show a total lack of trust in the bishops
of America, those chosen by the Pope himself.
First let me start by saying I don't believe ALL
bishops in America are liberal. Many are, but
not all of them. Just look to Lincoln, Nebraska
for an excellent bishop.
I don't believe any papal review process for choosing bishops would knowingly
ordain a bishop who would allow a gay sub culture like those we have in our
seminaries today.
[If this is a possibility, I would recommend to the Holy Father that we
go over the review process for choosing bishops.]
So the question: What happened between the time of a bishop's ordination and
now, where they are allowing unorthodox teachings and a non-Catholic sub culture
into their seminaries. I believe this goes back to a lack of a personal prayer
life on the bishop's part but it's more than that. Let's remember here,
Bishops are not divine. They are just as human as you and me. Even orthodox
bishops hire those priests that they believe will help them to help
the diocese, but:
- they
may unintentionally make some bad choices and
- over
time, due to a lack of courage, they may fall
into "clicks" among fellow bad priests that
only make the problem worse.
As
a means of justifying priestly "clicks" within
the diocese I have heard St. Cyprian totally misquoted
here:
"The
Church is indeed connected and bound together
by the cement of priests who cohere with one
another."
St. Cyprian of Carthage to Donatus.
I
believe the intent of St. Cyprian here was to "cohere
with one another" in Truth and Orthodoxy, not in
scandal and cover-up. Duh!!
Because
bishops are human and can make mistakes, I believe
having a set of mystery evaluators would only
be a help and assistance to orthodox bishops. Why
should an orthodox bishop worry about anything? All
bishops would receive the results of their mystery
visit periodically straight from the Vatican on
a periodic basis, I recommend every 3 months.
top
I
recently read an article in a Catholic newspaper
where George Weigel listed his suggestions for a
healthier Church. I thought George had some great
ideas. He suggests the following have to be addressed:
- The
reform of seminary recruitment, so that effective
discipleship, not certain scores on the Meyers-Briggs
Personality Profile, is the first thing we look
for in a candidate for the priesthood.
- The
reform of seminarians, so that new priests are
intellectually and spiritually equipped for the
rigors of counter cultural religious leadership
in the 21st century.
- A
vigorous investigation of religious orders where
problems of sexual identity and conduct remain
quite serious.
- New
criteria for the selection of bishops criteria
that put the emphasis on a man's apostolic zeal
and demonstrated pastoral effectiveness in calling
people to live the fullness of Catholic truth.
- The
development of criteria by which the Holy See will
know when a bishop has lost the capacity to govern
his diocese.
- Confronting
the sorry effects of the therapeutic culture on
Catholic institutions including vocation offices,
seminaries and novitiates.
- Redesigning
continuing priestly education to focus more on
theology and far less on psychobabble.
Along
with no. 7, I personally would like to see, especially
in America, priestly education redesigned so that
new priests will encourage lay Catholics, like me,
who have a strong calling to lay Catholic
apologetics in the work place. Catholic Apologetics
should be taught and encouraged EARLY in
the CCD education of young Catholic children. Priests
working in union with the Holy Father should look
at Catholic Apologists in their parish as co-disciplines,
working with them and their sacerdotal ministry to
bring other non-Catholics to the fullness of the
Christian Faith that can only be found in Jesus'
Catholic Church.
I
would rather have a few strong prayerful, pastoral
and orthodox "religious-order like" priests coming
from the seminaries then a billion "Judas priests" rushed
through that were poorly trained through no fault of
their own.
Some
may believe these standards are too pure, too tough
or too rigid. My reply: If we are REALLY partaking
in the Divine Nature God Himself, and we ARE, how
pure do we want to be in union with Him? If we don't
want the best, we will be lead to the worst. And I don't
like Hell.
(PS
Please don't reply by saying God would not send anyone
to Hell. Of course He wouldn't. WE SEND OURSELVES THERE!)
top
Although
I firmly believe that The Faith has not been lost among "catechized" Catholics,
I do believe that a good measure of trust has been.
What is a Catholic to do? How does a Catholic know
whether his weekly donation will go to pay off high
legal fees, to settles sex abuse law suites OR to fund
the local parish school. The Bishop DOES have control
of MOST OF THE money in the diocese, AS HE SHOULD.
Just because we run into one or two bad bishops doesn't
mean we should forget that ALL BISHOPS are the successors
to the Apostles. We do have some very good bishops
in the Church in America as well. Until I see some
of the similar actions taken above in "My recommendation
and solution" section, I personally can't just give
to the diocese of Boston, knowing there is a high probability
that it will be going to pay off HIGH legal bills OR
support seminarian professors or employees that should
be fired.
My solution: I will put as many dollars in the Sunday collection as the number
of seminarian professors, teachers and others responsible for this scandal that
are FIRED.
Example: If the Archdiocese of Boston
fires 3 seminarian professors or seminarian employees
promoting this "gay sub culture", I'll put 3 dollars
or a multiple of 3 dollars in the basket. Let's get HOLINESS
BACK INTO THE SEMINARIES!!!
Like I said earlier: God gave this Catholic a brain and I don't think it was meant
to be parked in idle!
Now
my dilemma:
I've
been talking with a priest-friend of mine and he has
informed me that due to the Crisis in the Archdiocese
of Boston, his parish will not be receiving funds from
the Archdiocese of Boston for their parochial school
(they have both a grammar and High School)
Where do you think those kids may HAVE to go. That's right, the public school,
the place that passes out condoms and has books like "Heather has two Mommies"?
I have been praying over this dilemma and I believe Bill O'Reilly, though he
sways from Catholic teachings periodically, has the solution. Don't give to
the Sunday collection. WHAT EVER MINISTRY INTERESTS YOU THE MOST, DONATE BY
HAND. PUT THE CHECK, PUT THE MONEY RIGHT IN THEIR PHYSICAL HAND.
Will
the Church go poor? No. Like I heard one priest say,
paraphrasing, "The Church and their good priests will
always be around to serve the people, even if Sunday
Mass services have to be out of the garage of a local
parishioner."
I
know some of what I say may be controversial, but that's
OK. An exchange of constructive ideas and recommendations
from good hearted practicing Catholics is our best
weapon toward a resolution. As always, I submit my
private, personal views to the Holy See for their /
Jesus' correction and/ or approval. (Matthew 16:13-20,
1 Tim. 3:15)
Side note: With
time I will be posting the comments I have receiving
from my commentary. And I have received comments! Thanks
guys for your feedback. I believe is it extremely
important in the year 2002 that non-Catholic Christians
as well as non-Christians, see lay Catholics not only
as a Faithful people of God but also a "thinking, rational
people". Faith and Reason should not be EITHER
OR talking terms, but AND BOTH talking terms. That's
what apologetics properly done in charity is all about.
FINAL
NOTE. It would be appreciated if someone could forward
my suggestions to an official in the Vatican. If someone
is interested in publishing my commentary in a newspaper,
magazine, Catholic or secular, here in America
I would be more then interested. I can be reached here.
top
Mike
Humphrey
