In the post about the LA seminary, John Hearn posted one of his ditties and it’s among the best yet. So funny.
How do you solve a problem like Mahony?
How do you catch an eel and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Mahony?
An irritant! A dissident! A clown!Many a thing you know you’d like to tell him,
Many a thing he ought to understand.
But all he does is stay,
He will not go away,
Until the Holy Father has him banned!Oh, how do you solve a problem like Mahony?
How do you get a moonbat off your hands?
How do you solve a problem like Mahony?
How do you catch an eel and pin it down?
How do you find a word that means Mahony?
An irritant! A dissident! A clown!
Many a thing you know you’d like to tell him,
Many a thing he ought to understand.
But all he does is stay,
He will not go away,
Until the Holy Father has him banned!
Oh, how do you solve a problem like Mahony?
How do you get a moonbat off your hands?
Wonder who was the seminary director over this time period, especially 1966 and 1972? Who was the diocese’s vocations director during this time?
What is their history with respect to the scandal?
Hilarious, Mr, Hearn. Rodgers and Hammerstein would be pleased. It reminds me of that old political ad, “This would would be funny, if it weren’t so serious.” Tragically, Cardinal Mahony leads countless souls into hell every day he is allowed to remain a Catholic in good standing, let alone a “Prince of the Church”. The new book on Mother Angelica’s life that is on the NY Times best seller list describes his many attempts to silence her and destroy her EWTN network. He is a true villian in America’s hierarchy.
What is ironic is that LA, at one time, had one of the greatest bishops in American history—James Cardinal McIntyre who retired in 1970. A legendary figure who never reached the fame of Cardinal Spellman, yet bravely defended the Faith even as the Church was collapsing around him in the late 1960s. He was disinterred in 2003 and re-buried in Mahony’s hideous new “cathedral”. I am sure he is rolling over in his grave, God rest his soul. A final insult to a man who saw his diocese shredded by his successor and then incinerated by Mahony. I don’t know how much will be left for whoever takes over. That day cannot come too soon.
Good questions by dpt….I would ask the same questions of the Boston Archidocese. Who was the Seminary Director? Who was Vocatonal Director? Who was the Dean at the Seminary in the 60’s and 70’s.? Who allowed the entry of homosexuals into the Seminary? And where are they now?
John, your best yet! LOL
I agree with your analogy and Melanie’s, Dom. Still you have to wonder, what the crisis would look like if that lifting of the statute of limitations had been national instead of confined to California.
Since most of the abuse took place in the 60s and 70s, what prompted a turnaround since obviously it was not exposure of the situation to the laity that did it back then?
Also, I will always wonder why it hit the headlines when it did, instead of back in the 70s? Did America have to abandon Christian faith, making the clergy vulnerable, before the truth could come out?
Well, here’s the justification they give: http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2005/09/07/
“Bernard Huger, an attorney for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, said Tuesday that he expected the church would continue to pay for Graham’s defense until the conviction is reversed or Graham’s appeals are exhausted.
“He’s still a priest in the archdiocese. And he does have appeal rights,” Huger said.
Because priests have few assets and are considered to be like family members, Huger said that the archdiocese pays to defend them.
“Whether they’re guilty or innocent in the end – that’s not the immediate question,” Huger said.”
——————————
I guess this is an okay sentiment. We’re not supposed to be following opinion polls, even if people are having (legitimate) issues of trust.
If he could even get a bail bond for $500,000 in another way (he probably couldn’t, insufficient assets), it would cost him like $50,000 from any personal assets, whereas, if he shows up, the Archdiocese loses nothing. Also, I noted from another article he has been residing in a ‘monitored residence’, an arrangement I presume which would continue.
I would have liked to see this sort of thing be written up in a policy somewhere, so it doesn’t always catch us by surprise when it happens. I have to presume this is actually status quo – (and I also presume that the bail bond was set as high as it was knowing that the Church would be paying, since it’s unconstitutional for a court to set ‘excessive’ bail, and I doubt the guy is rich). That bail was granted at all means that the court has determined that the defendent isn’t too dangerous to be allowed to go free for the interim.
Unfortunately, all the stuff surrounding these cases is sick and pitiable, and those people who are charged to do so have to act in line with their consciences and the ‘corporate conscience’, which has, to understate the case, a strong component of mercy. That said, in certain locales, we’ve recently come across stories about faithful priests who have a falling out and get (or at least feel) cut off, or someone who has fallen in a much less serious – more human – way and gets his hat handed to him. I’ll admit that the inequity of justice intra- and inter-diocese can feel a little galling.
Two big engines, a fire department SUV, and a police car.
Zita – not that I don’t feel for you, but three things occur to me:
1) If the convict shows up, the Archdiocese doesn’t lose anything – a bail bond isn’t cash, it’s a surety against existing assets.
2) It’s probably wrong to just give the money to some charity, given the fifth precept of the Church (to contribute to the support of our pastors). It’s hard, but there it is. Obedience is easy when it’s something you want to do – it’s meritorious when it’s done purely for love of God. See below.
3) Don’t fear that giving money to the Church is going to a bad cause, or that it would be debited you on judgement day. This is much the same as people having qualms about giving a beggar a couple of dollars. Yes, he might spend it on alchohol, but we are to hope he might not.
St. John Vianney said: “There are those who say to the poor that they seem to look to be in such good health: “You are so lazy! You could work. You are young. You have strong arms.” You don’t know that it is God’s pleasure for this poor person to go to you and ask for a handout. You show yourself as speaking against the will of God. There are some who say: “Oh, how badly he uses it!” May he do whatever he wants with it! The poor will be judged on the use they have made of their alms, and you will be judged on the very alms that you could have given but haven’t.”
That said, I can’t fault your qualms. One can hope (and pray for hope, if hope eludes you), however, that (to understate the case) God’s plan in all this is a little more complex than the economics seem to imply.
God bless.
“Also, I will always wonder why it hit the headlines when it did, instead of back in the 70s?”
The Church had to be brought down so it couldn’t use its voice against gay marriage.
jrp, thank you for your kind words of encouragement, I do appreciate them.
I agree with your supposition that the Archdiocese will get the bail money back so long as the priest shows up. But then, how much money has been and will yet be spent on lawyer’s fees to defend him? I resent the seemingly lavish spending on these guys, while our schools operate on a shoestring. Know what I mean? It’s about priorities. The kids always seem to come out on the short end of the stick.
And as Domenico said, the message this sends. It’s just not a good one.
(I suspect jrp may be a bishop)
Alas, we can’t send him to work for a cranky Austrian barron.
Imagine a conversation five years from now. A new priest comes to a parish and is making small talk with a parishioner.
“Say Fr., what seminary did you study in?”
“Camarillo.”
Parishioner turns pale and flees.
I just want to clarify what I said about donating to a “charitable cause” instead of the local Church…I meant solid Catholic organizations (EWTN or Our Lady of the Angels monastery, Priests for Life, Franciscan Fathers of the Renewal, etc.), not for instance, the United Way.
oops, make that Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
That’s about how many arrived when my microwave fried. Makes the neighbors a bit curious.
Doesntnet.com/?p=6091Fri, 18 Nov 2005 13:04:32 -0600
(To give you an idea of how tough it is to break ingrained habits, I knew that you’re never supposed to turn on lights when you smell gas. So what was the first thing I did when I opened the cellar door? I did what I automatically do every time. I turned on the light. Obviously, I’m not dead and my stupidity didn’t cost me anything this time.)
When I smelled how strong the gas was in the basement, I yelled to Melanie to put on her coat, grab her cell phone and get out of the house. I then grabbed my phone and coat and went upstairs to get out landlady out. Then I called 911.
Overreacting? Maybe, but we’ve had recent news in the area about a house that blew up in Lexington because the gas lines had been overpressured and then hundreds of homes had to be checked for leaks too. I didn’t want to become a statistic and it’s better to be safe than sorry. I ensconced Melanie safely in my car with the heater running and waited for Salem’s Bravest to show up.
I felt faintly silly since it was probably nothing, but I suppose it’s better to be alive and silly rather than dead and stupid. It turns out that it was indeed nothing except the gas released from the changing of the meter. Of course, the gas man could have said something to us about it when he left: “You’ll probably smell a little gas, but don’t worry it’s natural. Leave this door open for a little while and it will be fine.”
That would have saved us all some excitement. Oh well, a little excitement for the day.
]]>I’m starting to think that giving money to the American Catholic Church is like giving money to the state sponsored church of China where the Chinese government has the power to pick priests and bishops. They have an underground church there, and if this nonsense continues where bishops are more concerned with homosexual priests than with the true business of the church, we may have an underground church in America as well. Furthermore, money in huge settlements being given to “victims?” who were 80% POST-pubescent is highly questionable. As a high school age student, I would have fought back tooth and nail against a pervert priest. Most of these were homosexual encounters. Money will not solve their spiritual dilemas but probably increase them with further temptation. Prayer, Mass and confession are free.
Over-reacting? No. Not with a expecting mother in the house and a father who is suppose to protect all within. “[I]t_parent>
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Many schools and parishes have been closed in this diocese. Our small rural parish school is fighting for its life…it has been for many years. We have two grades in each classroom except for K, 1 and 2. Our parish desperately needs to expand, the church building is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the Catholics who live here, and there are many more coming, a building boom is going on.
We need land to build on though. Our present location is totally landlocked in the downtown area of the county seat. The Archdiocese has over 100 acres across town that it has sat on for, I don’t know how many years. It used to be a summer camp, long shuttered.
But the Archdiocese will not help us.
I know the school enrollment would grow if we had a bigger physical space, but people see how tiny it all is and walk away.
Oh, but the Archdiocese has the money to bail out a child molesting priest.
Our parish was plagued by child molester priests years ago. Father Lessard, who has been in news accounts lately, was one of them. There were others. Priests like them turned scores of good people away from the Church for life.
This a community of hard-working people, heavily German-ancestry. And they have been given the shaft for so long, they don’t know any other way.
The Archbishop of St. Louis is a good man I’m sure. But despite his insistence that he knows a lot about, and relates well to farm and rural communities, he has yet to come out here. He was invited to come for our 70th Anniv. next weekend but can’t make it.
Where does the Archdiocese get the money to bail out this priest? Why is there money for that, but not money to educate Catholic children?
I’ve been seriously thinking about sending the same amount of $ each week, to a charitable cause other than the Church. There are lots of them out there. I’m really tired of funding business-as-usual in the Archdiocese.
I’m sorry for the rant. This has been on my mind for a long time. I mean, what can we the laity do? Other than pray, I mean. Things are going dreadfully wrong in our Church.
With a conviction, the defendant loses the presumption of innocence. So for the Archdiocese to regard him as deserving of bail it should disclose on what basis it believes Graham to be innocent of what the jury found beyond reasonable doubt.
Yes, exactly.
I can understand the Archdiocese’s obligation to defend him, but to continue now that he has been found guilty?
Apart from the terrible message this sends, I have to think it also costs a good deal of money. We can’t afford it.
ing to our intelligence.
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