They’ve gone and done it. Parishioners at St. Albert the Great in Weymouth, Mass., have filed suit against the Archdiocese of Boston. (I won’t use the inaccurate language of the AP story: the parish itself is not suing because the parish is an extension of the archbishop himself.)
It’s interesting that the lawsuit appeals to the recent claims of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, that it doesn’t own the parishes as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. What they’re saying is that you can’t have it both ways. Either the parishes are part of the archdiocese or they are not. Either the archbishop has authority over the parishes or he does not. I think I’d rather stick to the idea that the Church is a unity.
The lawsuit also appeals to a Supreme Judicial Court ruling that the Archbishop of Boston serves as trustee of the archdiocese. I’m not sure what the point of that is supposed to be. And, once again, we are faced with the ultimate question: Even if they convince a courtate>Sun, 29 Aug 2004 09:01:44 -0500
Mr. Berres quotes Fr. Michael Crosby, a Capuchin priest, spiritual director and author. The article makes it appear that Fr. Crosby is a diocesan priest of the archdiocese of Milwaukee. He is a Franciscan Capuchin, which is why he is speaking at the gathering in Ft. Worth. There are, no doubt, other reasons why he is speaking to that crowd, and if one is familiar with his work, one could rest assured that he preached to the choir, and they heard no words from him that would in the least bit challenge their “progressive” notions.
Please forgive me, but I’ve read his books, and he led the most recent priests’ retreat here in the diocese of Kalamazoo. Fr. Crosby would be a wonderful character on “That ‘70’s Show.”
These people are still on the lecture circuit, and a lot of Catholic personnel who schedule these things are still dumb about what goes on. They cannot discriminate between ******** and what should go on at a retreat.
I’m in the same diocese as you, and I’ve seen my share of crap also. Thanks for the heads up on one to avoid.
Thanks, Dom, for pointing out another actual live Roman Catholic in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee!!