On Sunday I went to Mass. I went to the Beach Mass. About 150 people came to celebrate the Mass on the Beach as the Sun set on one of the last days of Summer. It was just a simple service with the deporables who didn't need a big church or a fancy vestment or gold and rubies. Just your faith.
Beach Catholics and proud of it.
I was able to follow the Mass from the Boardwalk with a bunch of other old farts just like me. The youngsters were all down on the sand worshiping and displaying their faith for all to see.
There is a pretty simple answer as too why the Church is in Crisis. It is discussed very cogently in this article called "Catholic Cold War Turns Hot."
The problem boils down to one thing. The liberal elements of the Church embracing and tolerating homosexuality.
The first three paragraphs sums it up nicely:
"One of the enduring mysteries of the contemporary Catholic Church is why so many priests know about practicing homosexuals in the priesthood, but don’t do anything about it. An egregious example comes to mind from when I lived in New York City under Cardinal John O’Connor, and then Cardinal Edward Egan. A gay-friendly parish downtown used to hold pro-gay events all the time, many of which could not be justified in any authentically Catholic sense. I recall them once advertising an LGBT-oriented sex toy event in the church basement, though I can’t remember whether that was under O’Connor’s reign or Egan’s. It didn’t matter. That parish was going to do what it was going to do no matter what, and the chancery wasn’t going to stop it.
There are a liberal Catholic priests, both gay and straight, who know who the sexually active conservative closet cases are, and won’t out them. There are conservative Catholic priests, both straight and chastely gay, who have no obvious interest in protecting the closet, who nevertheless don’t out liberals who are sexually active. Why is that?
A gay Catholic friend told me that it’s because both sides live under a Cold War policy of Mutually Assured Destruction. They will snipe at each other in proxy wars, but when it comes right down to it, they will not turn on each other directly, because once the first missile is fired, there’s no stopping them. Both sides know that such warfare could destroy the institution that they both depend on. So they practice restraint, despite mutual loathing."
I remember when I was in the Boy Scouts back in the 1970's and 1980's. Our troop was a little different. It was run by old timers who had been in the Scouts in the 1930's and had gone off to war. They came back and wanted to recapture some of the camaraderie that they had when they served. The one thing they were very aware of was the fact that there were predators out there and they kept a close eye on who came in contact with the kids under their care. They were old school guineas. In fact a couple of them were half a wise guy and we had the kids of a few mobsters in the ranks. One of them had to go home from Summer camp because they tried to run over his father and got his little brother by mistake. One of them is doing fifty years for gun running. But thats another story.
I used to have to go open the Church hall every Friday night before the meeting. I would go to the Rectory and the priest on call would give me the key. It was often the pastor who as you might remember was great friends with the Vatican Secretary of State at the time. They came from the same village and he often stayed in our rectory to have some old fashioned Italian food. Anyway I was pretty close with the pastor. He knew me since I was born. He Baptized me. One time there was a new priest assigned to the parish. The pastor took me aside and told me to never let one of the Scouts be left alone with this priest. He didn't come out and say it but I knew what he meant.
It has been a problem for a long, long time. Don't fool yourself. Until and unless we purge the homosexuals from the church we will be tainted with scandal and sin.
In the meantime we can only worship in simplicity and humble faith.
16 comments:
When I was in college, one of my professors listed the reasons why Christianity has endured for 2,000 years so far. Intolerance was a top reason. Of course, that's a dirty word these days (except for the things the lefties are intolerant of), but he was right. And he went on to explain himself. The Church has not allowed itself to be mingled with other religions and philosophies. As much as it has kept its orthodoxy, it has survived. All bets are off, once it starts to dilute itself. He was right.
Child molestation should get you immediately booted out of the group and turned over to the authorities for prosecution, whether it's the Church, any church, or a school, scouts, etc. It is completely antithetical to the stated purpose of all of the aforementioned groups. Yet somehow, the pervs keep on perving.
The Pope is in a world of trouble and so is his global warming/immigrant swarming agenda.
But also, the mere allegation/accusation is not enough by itself because it's so toxic it's actually a weapon. This is the worst thing you can accuse a person of doing, worse in the eyes of society than murder and rape.
You nailed it. I think I said it here (I know elsewhere) a lot of this began with the chi-chi Andrew Greeley types wanting to look "inclusive". And I will say what I've been saying all day, Frank is the Church's worst mistake since Cesare Borgia.
Beach Catholics and proud of it.
So were those fishermen 2000 years ago.
I was too ill to walk on the sand and get communion
Dude, God doesn't need you that bad. Watch yourself in this weather. It can really sneak up on you.
Amartel said...
Child molestation should get you immediately booted out of the group and turned over to the authorities for prosecution, whether it's the Church, any church, or a school, scouts, etc.
There's a reason going up the river is a death sentence.
PS I mean it about taking it easy. You are important here.
There's a church in Chicago that was let to rot in a very poor crumbling area. I don't think they even had the money to install the reverse altar that came about after Vatican II.
A certain priest took it over and restored not just the Latin Mass, but the whole works, Vespers, Matins, Rosaries Evening Prayers. People came from all over the area to participate. The Church was filled every Sunday. There are Sacred music concerts scheduled throughout the year. The Church was not only saved but completely restored to it's former Polish cathedral glory.
Then a few months ago the Archdiocese announced the removal of the priest and ending his ministry . Something about mumble mumble,inappropriate behavior with men, mumble mumble. The parishioners are shocked angry and disbelieving.
I don't know what's going on, but the recently installed Archbishop is Pope Francis's man and they are both opposed to Latin and anything with a whiff of pre-vatican II theology. It makes you go Hmmmmm?
In the meantime there is a white loudmouth priest on the southside who's church is in a black area. Many of the attendees aren't Catholic and don't intend to convert and this priest has no intentions of trying to. The priest struts and shout's like he's Father Divine. He's been in his parish over 35 years, He defies and threatens the Archdiocese when they talk about relocating him. He adopted 3 kids in defiance of the Cardinal. Two of them are now dead. He's invited Reverend Wright and Al Sharpton to deliver speeches at his church. He broke the law by occupying and shutting down a major interstate recently. He was joined by the chief of Police and had the full blessing of the mayor. It makes you go Hmmmmm?
I went to school with a guy who went into the priesthood. He is now the Bishop of Springfield IL. He recently barred Dick Durbin, a Catholic in his diocese, from receiving Communion. He also is refusing sacraments to Catholics involved in Same sex marriage. Look for him to be gone soon.
ND
He also made sure to say racism is a sin but never mentions casual drive by murders.
The last liberal Cardinal, Bernadin, had a molestation claim made against him and it went down the rabbit hole too.
Troop, you need to lose weight. I somewhat reduced my carb intake back in April, I think, and I have lost 10 pounds.
In Scouts there's a 'two-deep' policy, meaning always have two adults present. It is not always adhered to. Maybe some really pissed of dads need to always be present around priests.
I hear you Sixty. I have lowered my carbs big time. The problem is water weight I gain from the heart problem.
If I don't take a water pill I gain ten pounds. I can't take the pill that often as it really lowers my blood pressure and interferes with my breathing. So I only take it once a week or so.
If I took it every day I would lose about ten pounds.
It is a vicious cycle.
And by "water pill" you mean "diuretic", right? Because taking a pill made out of water seems, well, silly.
amp, you must be referring to the disgusting Fauxfather Phleger? President of the Clowns for Obama Fan Klub. His 2008 performance (in church) as Black Man Reacting to Hillary Clinton still reverberates and induces puking.
Trooper:
1. People think we priests know each others' secrets. Not really, no. I can imagine some of my fellow priests are behaving badly, but I don't know that to be true; I'm just assuming someone is, because of human nature. Over the years I've heard about So-and-so quitting to get married, or So-and-so being under investigation, and I was stunned. Some priests love to trade in gossip, so I guess they will know; but I don't see that as a praiseworthy thing to do.
2. If I learned about a priest engaging in seriously wrong behavior -- a girl- or boyfriend on the side, or financial shenanigans or any other crime -- I would in the case of a non-crime, confront them. In the case of a crime, I would turn them in.
3. Since 2002, reporting any word of child abuse to law enforcement is the law (church law) in the U.S. for all bishops, priests, functionaries, employees and volunteers, down to the parish and school level. We all get drilled in how to do it. I've made many reports over the years; not about priests per se, but just regarding information that comes to me. For example: someone may come to talk to me about a problem; I don't know what to expect. In the course of the conversation, the person may reveal that s/he -- or someone else -- was molested or harmed as a child. That triggers my requirement to report it. I'm under no legal obligation to inform this person of my reporting requirement, but I think I'm ethically bound to do so; because this person assumes our conversation is confidential, and has a right to know I'm calling the prosecutor or sheriff right after s/he leaves. So I tell them. By the way, NONE of this applies to the confessional. The seal is absolute. I'm talking about people seeking advice. That's "confidential," but not under a strict seal.
4. I'm sorry you're not doing well. I hope someone brought you Holy Communion.
5. No offense, but I'm not a fan of beach Masses, or outside Masses in general.
6. The bishops, and the pope, need to be held accountable. I don't know what the full truth is about these latest accusations. Some of it has the ring of truth, but I just don't know and I'm waiting to see what else shakes out.
7. My faith isn't in the hierarchy; no ones should be.
8. No question the Church needs to be purified. Disordered sexual attractions are definitely a problem.
9. There have been stories about perverted behaviors being tolerated in high places, even in the Vatican, for a long time. Priests do hear about that, even in far away Ohio. On one level, it absolutely baffles and even frightens me, because I cannot fathom being a priest and living that sort of immoral life on an ongoing basis. I've thought a lot about the frame of mind that takes. I can only think of four:
a) You stopped believing and you are only pretending to believe.
b) You have given up on restraining your sexual disorder, and you reached a kind of compromise: "I'll only do this and this, but not that."
c) You are deluded. You tell yourself you're going to change, and maybe you are trying, and any little victory is "progress," but for whatever reason (pride, shame, fear), you don't get help, so you don't make much progress; or you even get worse while still kidding yourself.
d) You have actually surrendered, knowingly or not, to evil.
I do not believe the Catholic Church is more prone to sexual abuse of minors than any other organization where children are present. Predators seek out children. Anyone who has involvement with church or youth activities knows everyone has to take youth protection training and renew it on regular basis. It is something that everyone has to be on guard for.
The problem with this scandal is the covering up of it and the possible promotion of someone to a position of high authority. If true, it is devastating, especially given the timing of it.
Salena Zito wrote a good piece this week, linked on her Twitter. Her parish/school priest was named in the grand jury report.
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