It’s almost a trusim. If Eileen McNamara, columnist for the Boston Globe, or indeed any of her Catholic colleagues at Morrisey Boulevard, praise something in the Catholic Church then it’s probably (a) not orthodox and/or (b) liberal as all get out and/or (c) a relic of the Sixties. I think we have that here in her latest column on the final goodbye of a priest at a closed parish.
She profiles Fr. John Fitzpatrick, former pastor of St. Anselm in Sudbury, one of the places where 24/7 sit-ins were held. Fr. Fitz, as they call him, has a white ponytail and rides a motorcycle with a sidecar for his little dog. He travels about the archdiocese now, offering support to those protesting the various decisions by the archbishop.
Reading the column, you detect the telltale signs of liberalism and a dislike for the institution of the Church as she has existed for 2,000 years: “empowered laity;” “a new church, a better church, are here in these wonderful people who won’t leave their church;” and a reading from Maya Angelou at his last Mass in the church. (I get the sense it wasn’t taking the place of one of the three Scripture readings, but you never know; nevertheless… Maya Angelou?)
I take comfort in the fact that a certain generation of priests is being supplanted by a new generation of young and orthodox clergy.
