Is it me or do some of these paintings by a local priest posted on his parish’s web site seem ... inappropriate? Especially the “Man Emerging” series and the Seasons2 series.
He says, “As my style has evolved I am finding that I am expressing myself in an increasingly abstact manner.” Not abstract enough, I think.
Apparently, he also leads a “GLBT Spirituality” group at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Boston.
Gay, Lesbian, Trans-gendered? Looking to fill that Spiritual Gap in your life? Join us for reflection, mutual support and fellowship, in an inclusive, affirming and loving setting for GLBT Christians. We meet the third Wednesday of the month from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. at St. Anthony Shrine, room #4, second floor. Facilitator: Fr. Michael Parise. For information, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Handicapped accessible.
If you draw any inferences from all this, you’re just a typical judgmental person who has no charity in his heart.
I affirm that I don’t like his art. I’m pro-choice. I choose not to like it—abstract and non-abstract alike.
I infer he got strange training as an artist. I don’t want to speculate on what else he got strange training on. I guess I gotta go to confession now. <sigh>
Hi! I’m a typical judgmental person who has no charity in his heart.
The inference I draw from this is that Father likes naked guys. A lot.
I’m just a typical judgmental person who has no charity in her heart.
Well what do you expect? It’s cold and windy and it’s snowing again.
Looks like an example of the servant who was given one talent.
Well, aside from the fact that he’s a lousy artist, his preference for naked men is pretty obvious. Poor Billerica.
But what’s with that argyle sweater?
Yawn.
Fr. Parise’s paintings have been on the web for some time on his personal web sites, and have been exhibited in a couple of galleries. I’ve dithered about whether to write about them, and it’s probably a failing on my part that I didn’t.
On one side, there’s the content, which seems to be obvious homoeroticism. Even besides the paintings of men’s butts, some of the abstract ones are “gay” material: e.g., #12, his “Agape”. I call it the glorification of a pink triangle. One friend saw the pictures and said, “You have to tell the bishop. This man’s a time bomb.”
On the other side, I’ve seen him celebrate Mass a few times in the 20 years he’s been a priest, and it’s obvious from that that he has a sincere and touching reverence for our Eucharistic Lord. At some level, he even cares about Catholic doctrine: he used to write about apologetics, and his parish, when I visited it, had a Catechism study group.
Yet he seems to have some blind spot in relation to understanding sexuality and affectivity, and he’s had some strange ideas about pastoral approaches for people with sexual problems.
On an old web site where the paintings resided, he had an anonymous advice column (no last name given) where he dispensed puzzling advice about topics such as homosexuality and “naturism” (i.e., nudism), alongside some answers on other topics which were perfectly sound and praiseworthy. On transsexualism, his advice seemed to be (at best) “don’t get an operation rashly”.
Maybe this is one priest who needs to learn some Theology of the Body.
Thanks, Dom, for bringing the matter to light.
I guess the artwork is a real hit:
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Unfortunately writing about the activities of those who represent the Church and also represent non-Catholic interests, be they communities of women religious or priests with an art hobby, ultimtely brings them publicity. As Lee Penn pointed out in a recent article in the Journal of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, it’s an axiom of marketing that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
But what is the alternative when the shepherds are so lax or alternatively so corrupted?
RC, I agree with you about the “gay” or at least sexualized content of the “abstract” pieces. The one called “Ressurection” was a little off as was the one called “annunciation”. I’m sure Father thinks he’s being subtle.
Uh..yeah….here is a link to something called “Calender of Queer Art Events”, and guess who’s the fifth item down?
And he’s listed as “Michael Monti Parise”….no mention of his “Father”-hood.
My daughter, who also paints, found a few of his paintings listed on the internet for sale through some gallery. He’s asking $1500.00 each for some of the “Man Emerging” pieces.
Honestly, I didn’t give his work that much sight or thought to consider what “homoerotic” imagse were being evoked. To me, it just didn’t make sense, period. Too disjointed and disconnected.