Alleged Victim of Clergy Abuse Nearly Drowns in Pope John Paul II Park
From Boston Globe Online:
One of the alleged sexual abuse victims of convicted child molester and defrocked priest John J. Geoghan nearly drowned yesterday afternoon in the Neponset River in Dorchester's Pope John Paul II Park, authorities said.
Patrick McSorley, 28, of Hyde Park, was in critical condition last night at Boston Medical Center, where he was taken by ambulance after a friend found him splashing and struggling in the river, said David Procopio, the Suffolk district attorney's spokesman.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Power of the Laity in the Tradition of the Catholic Church
The current crisis in the Church might be compared to the Arian heresy of the fourth century. I have made this argument in other places on this blog in the past--that there are some in the Church represented in every sector both lay and cleric that I believe are in heresy. These have rejected the miraculous, the Divinity of Christ, His Resurrection, and His founding of the Church--yet they continue within and the damage they do is great.
In the atmosphere of a church seeking to reconcile with the elements that have separated from us--the faithful have been made to endure all sorts of silliness and in some cases evil in the spirit of not repeating the mistakes of the past. Heresy is a word that one seldom hears in the post Vatican II church except in the cases of ultra right wing Catholics. But heresy is very much a part of the tradition of the Church and to ignore its presence in the modern church can only do great damage to the Body of Christ.
There is an old Latin saying that says, "Every heresy comes from the altar" and another that says that the laity always save the church. The temptation of the laity is to think that they are powerless to change the current condition and indeed this is a grave temptation and one that ignores the reality that without the laity the church is beheaded.
The tradition of the Church going back to the election of St. Ambrose is that the laity do have real power in the church that is exercised through them by the Holy Spirit. It is time to revisit the story of the election of St. Ambrose and for the faithful to present the best that the Church has to offer as candidates for the priesthood and episcopacy. This can be done concretely by sending letters to the Apostolic Delegate in the United States and to the Holy See itself. If we are not doing it then we are leaving it to members of the clerical club to do it.
There is another power that the laity have and unfortunately do not use--prayer. Prayer is incredibly powerful. Jesus said that if we had faith we could say to a mountain be moved and planted in the sea and it would obey us! If we all join our prayers for reform in the church it will happen! If we sit back and feel like we can't make a difference and therefore ignore the condition of the church, our parish, our diocese, then things will only get worst.
If everyone who reads this post would pray concretely for change and reformation in the church--change and reform will happen. The reason many of us feel hopeless from time to time is because we have bought into the heretical teachings that we have been fed (even if we have fought off accepting them--the seeds have been sown), the only way to overcome these teachings is to act in faith that Christ is all powerful and we are members of His Body the Church.
Here is the account of the election of St. Ambrose as bishop. What would happen if there were similiar popular acclaim today in Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix and any other open diocese in the U.S.?
Election of St. Ambrose by the People of Milan and Confirmation of the Emperor
The Arian Bishop Auxentius of Milan, who banned Catholic congregations from worshipping in the diocese's churches, died in 374, and the Arians and Catholics fought over the vacant position which exercised a metropolitan's jurisdiction over the whole of northern Italy. Ambrose had only been in Milan for three years at the time of the bishop's death and he expected that there might be trouble over the selection of his successor.
So, Ambrose, who was a Catholic in name but still a catechumen, went to the cathedral to try to calm the rival parties. During his speech exhorting the people to concord and tranquility, a child is said to have cried, "Ambrose for bishop!" The cry was taken up by both sides, neither of which was anxious to decide the issue between them. The local bishops had asked Emperor Valentinian to make the appointment but he turned the dubious honor back to the bishops. Now the matter was out of their hands. Ambrose was unanimously elected bishop by all parties.
The election of Ambrose, the one in charge of the local police, heightens our awareness of a truism: all clergy are recruited from the laity. It is better to choose an irreproachable person esteemed by all, than a savant who sows discord. The choice of Ambrose was a bold one, but it surprises no one but us.
Our attitudes towards vocations seems different than that in the early church. We today see a vocation as the story of a soul-- discernment of the vocation privately, preparation in a seminary, and gradual growth into the clerical role. For the early Church it was above all the call of God expressed by the Church. To our taste, the secret history of Ambrose's soul did not count enough. But we forget that it is the Holy Spirit through the Church that calls.
What did Ambrose think of this call? At first he protested (just like the prophets) saying he was not even baptized, and fled rather than yield to the tumult. St. Paulinus of Nola wrote of the incident:
"Ambrose left the church and had his tribunal prepared. . . . Contrary to his custom, he ordered people submitted to torture. When this was done the people did not acclaim him any the less [saying]: 'May his sin fall on us!' The people of Milan, knowing that Ambrose had not been baptized, sincerely promised him a remission of all his sins by the grace of baptism.
"Troubled, Ambrose returned to his house. . . . Openly he had prostitutes come in for the sole purpose, of course, that once the people saw that, they would go back on their decision. But the crowd only cried all the louder: 'May your sin fall on us'" (Paulinus, Life of Ambrose, 7).
The people, however, continually pursued him and insisted that he take the see. The emperor confirmed the nomination and Ambrose capitulated. Beginning on November 24, 373, Ambrose was taken through baptism and the various orders to be consecrated as bishop on December 1 or 7--one or two weeks later. (Talk about fast track!) (The dates vary somewhat depending on the source.)
The current crisis in the Church might be compared to the Arian heresy of the fourth century. I have made this argument in other places on this blog in the past--that there are some in the Church represented in every sector both lay and cleric that I believe are in heresy. These have rejected the miraculous, the Divinity of Christ, His Resurrection, and His founding of the Church--yet they continue within and the damage they do is great.
In the atmosphere of a church seeking to reconcile with the elements that have separated from us--the faithful have been made to endure all sorts of silliness and in some cases evil in the spirit of not repeating the mistakes of the past. Heresy is a word that one seldom hears in the post Vatican II church except in the cases of ultra right wing Catholics. But heresy is very much a part of the tradition of the Church and to ignore its presence in the modern church can only do great damage to the Body of Christ.
There is an old Latin saying that says, "Every heresy comes from the altar" and another that says that the laity always save the church. The temptation of the laity is to think that they are powerless to change the current condition and indeed this is a grave temptation and one that ignores the reality that without the laity the church is beheaded.
The tradition of the Church going back to the election of St. Ambrose is that the laity do have real power in the church that is exercised through them by the Holy Spirit. It is time to revisit the story of the election of St. Ambrose and for the faithful to present the best that the Church has to offer as candidates for the priesthood and episcopacy. This can be done concretely by sending letters to the Apostolic Delegate in the United States and to the Holy See itself. If we are not doing it then we are leaving it to members of the clerical club to do it.
There is another power that the laity have and unfortunately do not use--prayer. Prayer is incredibly powerful. Jesus said that if we had faith we could say to a mountain be moved and planted in the sea and it would obey us! If we all join our prayers for reform in the church it will happen! If we sit back and feel like we can't make a difference and therefore ignore the condition of the church, our parish, our diocese, then things will only get worst.
If everyone who reads this post would pray concretely for change and reformation in the church--change and reform will happen. The reason many of us feel hopeless from time to time is because we have bought into the heretical teachings that we have been fed (even if we have fought off accepting them--the seeds have been sown), the only way to overcome these teachings is to act in faith that Christ is all powerful and we are members of His Body the Church.
Here is the account of the election of St. Ambrose as bishop. What would happen if there were similiar popular acclaim today in Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix and any other open diocese in the U.S.?
Election of St. Ambrose by the People of Milan and Confirmation of the Emperor
The Arian Bishop Auxentius of Milan, who banned Catholic congregations from worshipping in the diocese's churches, died in 374, and the Arians and Catholics fought over the vacant position which exercised a metropolitan's jurisdiction over the whole of northern Italy. Ambrose had only been in Milan for three years at the time of the bishop's death and he expected that there might be trouble over the selection of his successor.
So, Ambrose, who was a Catholic in name but still a catechumen, went to the cathedral to try to calm the rival parties. During his speech exhorting the people to concord and tranquility, a child is said to have cried, "Ambrose for bishop!" The cry was taken up by both sides, neither of which was anxious to decide the issue between them. The local bishops had asked Emperor Valentinian to make the appointment but he turned the dubious honor back to the bishops. Now the matter was out of their hands. Ambrose was unanimously elected bishop by all parties.
The election of Ambrose, the one in charge of the local police, heightens our awareness of a truism: all clergy are recruited from the laity. It is better to choose an irreproachable person esteemed by all, than a savant who sows discord. The choice of Ambrose was a bold one, but it surprises no one but us.
Our attitudes towards vocations seems different than that in the early church. We today see a vocation as the story of a soul-- discernment of the vocation privately, preparation in a seminary, and gradual growth into the clerical role. For the early Church it was above all the call of God expressed by the Church. To our taste, the secret history of Ambrose's soul did not count enough. But we forget that it is the Holy Spirit through the Church that calls.
What did Ambrose think of this call? At first he protested (just like the prophets) saying he was not even baptized, and fled rather than yield to the tumult. St. Paulinus of Nola wrote of the incident:
"Ambrose left the church and had his tribunal prepared. . . . Contrary to his custom, he ordered people submitted to torture. When this was done the people did not acclaim him any the less [saying]: 'May his sin fall on us!' The people of Milan, knowing that Ambrose had not been baptized, sincerely promised him a remission of all his sins by the grace of baptism.
"Troubled, Ambrose returned to his house. . . . Openly he had prostitutes come in for the sole purpose, of course, that once the people saw that, they would go back on their decision. But the crowd only cried all the louder: 'May your sin fall on us'" (Paulinus, Life of Ambrose, 7).
The people, however, continually pursued him and insisted that he take the see. The emperor confirmed the nomination and Ambrose capitulated. Beginning on November 24, 373, Ambrose was taken through baptism and the various orders to be consecrated as bishop on December 1 or 7--one or two weeks later. (Talk about fast track!) (The dates vary somewhat depending on the source.)
Yes, You've Received a Message, but for Whom?
Upon my recent travels I had an interesting conversation with a well known priest about matters mystical. He recounted a tale of a woman who was claiming to receive messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary for ten years. Over that period of time the Virgin had given the woman quite a volume of material that she, the Virgin, wished for the seer to make public. The seer had brought the material to my priest friend for his review.
Being a wise and discerning priest who is literally besieged with this type of phenomena on a daily basis, he enlisted the help of a woman that he knows to have the gift of discernment. She read through the material and requested a meeting with the seer.
The first question that she asked the seer was this, "How long have you not spoke to your husband?"
"Ten years," the seer responded.
The woman handed the volumes of messages to her and said, "Give these to him, it is everything you've wanted to say to him during all that time."
Upon my recent travels I had an interesting conversation with a well known priest about matters mystical. He recounted a tale of a woman who was claiming to receive messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary for ten years. Over that period of time the Virgin had given the woman quite a volume of material that she, the Virgin, wished for the seer to make public. The seer had brought the material to my priest friend for his review.
Being a wise and discerning priest who is literally besieged with this type of phenomena on a daily basis, he enlisted the help of a woman that he knows to have the gift of discernment. She read through the material and requested a meeting with the seer.
The first question that she asked the seer was this, "How long have you not spoke to your husband?"
"Ten years," the seer responded.
The woman handed the volumes of messages to her and said, "Give these to him, it is everything you've wanted to say to him during all that time."
Now the Pope Accepts Phoenix Bishop's Resignation
From CNN.com:
Pope John Paul II has accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix, Arizona, who faces charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, CNN confirmed Wednesday.
O'Brien, 67, was charged Tuesday, about two weeks after signing a deal to avoid prosecution stemming from his handling of a sex abuse scandal.
From CNN.com:
Pope John Paul II has accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix, Arizona, who faces charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, CNN confirmed Wednesday.
O'Brien, 67, was charged Tuesday, about two weeks after signing a deal to avoid prosecution stemming from his handling of a sex abuse scandal.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Well Thought Out Critique of What's Wrong with Seminary Formation
By Father Rob Johansen, read it at Crisis Magazine What's Wrong with our Seminaries?
I once read somewhere that the Historical Critical method is useful for translators--so that they know the true meaning of the "word" they are translating from one setting in history to another but useless in translating the translation into a different culture. Here is Father Rob's take on the method:
Apart from the tedium and consequent disinterest in Scripture that such total reliance on the historical-critical method engenders, the other problem with it is that it’s virtually useless for training priests to preach meaningfully from the Scriptures. The historical-critical method is certainly helpful for understanding the background and context of a Scripture passage, but it’s powerless to answer the questions in the minds of the average Catholic in the pew: How does this scripture relate to my life as a Catholic, and how does it nourish my faith? The historical-critical approach is even more inimical to penetrating the mysteries of the Faith themselves. To do that, one needs the Fathers and the spiritual senses, and that’s precisely what our seminarians aren’t getting. While this deficiency may not be the sole cause of the poor preaching many Catholics experience today, it certainly doesn’t help.
By Father Rob Johansen, read it at Crisis Magazine What's Wrong with our Seminaries?
I once read somewhere that the Historical Critical method is useful for translators--so that they know the true meaning of the "word" they are translating from one setting in history to another but useless in translating the translation into a different culture. Here is Father Rob's take on the method:
Apart from the tedium and consequent disinterest in Scripture that such total reliance on the historical-critical method engenders, the other problem with it is that it’s virtually useless for training priests to preach meaningfully from the Scriptures. The historical-critical method is certainly helpful for understanding the background and context of a Scripture passage, but it’s powerless to answer the questions in the minds of the average Catholic in the pew: How does this scripture relate to my life as a Catholic, and how does it nourish my faith? The historical-critical approach is even more inimical to penetrating the mysteries of the Faith themselves. To do that, one needs the Fathers and the spiritual senses, and that’s precisely what our seminarians aren’t getting. While this deficiency may not be the sole cause of the poor preaching many Catholics experience today, it certainly doesn’t help.
Harry Potter and the Bishop of Phoenix
There is a lot of security right now trying to keep anyone from stealing the latest Harry Potter book to be released this Friday night at the stroke of midnight. Across the nation children will crowd bookstores awaiting the latest tome from J. K. Rowling that some are reporting features such treats as vomit flavored cotton candy--just the smell of such a treat would be enough for me to be a manufacturer of a future batch!
At the same time as the the latest Potter book is being released and revealed the bishops of the U.S. will be going into secrecy at their semi-annual meeting. We can only speculate as to what they will be discussing but there is little doubt that the Bishop of Phoenix might be a late addition to the agenda. His scandalous "hit and run" accident is as scandalous as any event that he has covered up in his diocese and is seen by every Catholic that I have spoken with as a great betrayal, if not a sign of sickness (perhaps alcoholism as one person speculates).
The secrecy of the bishops will do nothing to take away the media circus from the environs of the St. Louis meeting, in fact one might speculate that the usually forgotten June meeting of the bishops is likely to receive more coverage than ever because of the secrecy in the same way that the antics of the publisher of the Potter books keeps the attempts to steal the book on the front page daily before the actual release of the title.
Harry Potter is about magic, the Christian religion is about truth, setting your light on a hill where everyone can see your good works. There are magicians in the Scriptures--they seek to replicate the miracles that the believers in God work. In the modern world sometimes it is a little hard to tell who are the magicians and who are the believers or if there are any believers out there.
Magic usually arises out of fear. A person like the title character Harry Potter, rejected by his foster family, gets to the point that reality is too difficult to deal with, so they flea into the world of "make believe" where they are powerful and in charge.
Christ offers a different type of empowerment. Christians are people who are able to face any eventuality and to see in the cross--the light of the resurrection. They can face what might defeat the unbeliever because they know that ultimately the definition of who they are comes from God not from the crowd shouting "crucify him!"
The "hit and run" mentality of not facing up to the consequences of the failures of those in the church is "fear" based and frankly reaks of folks living in a magical kingdom rather than the Kingdom of God. It sort of reminds me of the apostles fleeing Christ upon His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Folks, it all comes down to faith and faith comes through prayer and trust in God. It isn't an escape from reality it is an imersion into reality. It means facing up to all the difficulties of the present moment and doing the right thing.
Which brings us to "us". How can we work to reform ourselves and the Church? What can we do to support the work of good bishops and priests to further the establishment of the Kingdom of God?
These are the big questions and there is no magical answer to any of them, but through trust in God (exemplified by prayer and lots of it) we will find that we are able to face them and make a big difference no matter how small we are in God's Kingdom.
There is a lot of security right now trying to keep anyone from stealing the latest Harry Potter book to be released this Friday night at the stroke of midnight. Across the nation children will crowd bookstores awaiting the latest tome from J. K. Rowling that some are reporting features such treats as vomit flavored cotton candy--just the smell of such a treat would be enough for me to be a manufacturer of a future batch!
At the same time as the the latest Potter book is being released and revealed the bishops of the U.S. will be going into secrecy at their semi-annual meeting. We can only speculate as to what they will be discussing but there is little doubt that the Bishop of Phoenix might be a late addition to the agenda. His scandalous "hit and run" accident is as scandalous as any event that he has covered up in his diocese and is seen by every Catholic that I have spoken with as a great betrayal, if not a sign of sickness (perhaps alcoholism as one person speculates).
The secrecy of the bishops will do nothing to take away the media circus from the environs of the St. Louis meeting, in fact one might speculate that the usually forgotten June meeting of the bishops is likely to receive more coverage than ever because of the secrecy in the same way that the antics of the publisher of the Potter books keeps the attempts to steal the book on the front page daily before the actual release of the title.
Harry Potter is about magic, the Christian religion is about truth, setting your light on a hill where everyone can see your good works. There are magicians in the Scriptures--they seek to replicate the miracles that the believers in God work. In the modern world sometimes it is a little hard to tell who are the magicians and who are the believers or if there are any believers out there.
Magic usually arises out of fear. A person like the title character Harry Potter, rejected by his foster family, gets to the point that reality is too difficult to deal with, so they flea into the world of "make believe" where they are powerful and in charge.
Christ offers a different type of empowerment. Christians are people who are able to face any eventuality and to see in the cross--the light of the resurrection. They can face what might defeat the unbeliever because they know that ultimately the definition of who they are comes from God not from the crowd shouting "crucify him!"
The "hit and run" mentality of not facing up to the consequences of the failures of those in the church is "fear" based and frankly reaks of folks living in a magical kingdom rather than the Kingdom of God. It sort of reminds me of the apostles fleeing Christ upon His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Folks, it all comes down to faith and faith comes through prayer and trust in God. It isn't an escape from reality it is an imersion into reality. It means facing up to all the difficulties of the present moment and doing the right thing.
Which brings us to "us". How can we work to reform ourselves and the Church? What can we do to support the work of good bishops and priests to further the establishment of the Kingdom of God?
These are the big questions and there is no magical answer to any of them, but through trust in God (exemplified by prayer and lots of it) we will find that we are able to face them and make a big difference no matter how small we are in God's Kingdom.
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