If a priest sees that its very difficult for him to live in grace, its better that he leaves the priesthood, otherwise he would be living a double life: apparently pleasing God, interiorly pleasing the devil. personal vocations, theres a rough analogy presented to U.S. It is an ongoing scandal that this religious cult is still in existence. Whatever some Laity may think of their inured sensibilities to difficulties its the young man considering a vocation who is adversely affected by Fr Morris words on FOX as well as the ordained priest in doubt. but it sure complicates things that used to be quite simple. My personal sadness is best expressed by saying Ive had a slap in the face, a kick in the head, and a piece of excrement smeared on my face by what appears to me as a betrayal of Christ and His people. Finally I wonder how often JM dealt with this desire to leave during seminary and after with a good and solid spiritual director. This should not have been publicized in any way. As an older Catholic laywoman, who has only a limited knowledge of the horrors of Marcial Maciel, and who has not personally endured the sufferings of the current priesthood, I imagine my viewpoint counts for little. In the Legion, we are taught to follow our conscience and to put the will of God above our whims. ", [Christopher White is NCR national correspondent. A good priest in this modern age. Print. I agree leaving must have been an agonizing decision, and I hold no bad will towards him. My eyes are open. David Stone, 54, formerly known as Father Francis Mary Stone, was host of the TV program "Life on the Rock" on Eternal Word Television Network. You cannot credibly blame it on clerical celibacy. Edith I believe I recall youre name, someone who shared similar thoughts when The Catholic Thing had commentary boxes. Rutler's alleged attack on Gonzalez came after she used her cellphone to record footage of the pastor at a computer watching gay pornography. In his 1967 encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, Pope St. Paul VI affirms the tremendous value of priestly celibacy, at a time when its value was coming under heavy fire even from within the Church. Most persons on this list can fit into one of the following categories: Left the priesthood but remained Catholic (voluntary laicization) Left the priesthood and the Catholic Church altogether (voluntary laicization) I later saw the announcement that he was suddenly engaged to be married, in St. Patricks Cathedral no less. The difficulty lies in the inevitable ignorance of important details any outsider must struggle against, as well as the need to strike a delicate balance between criticism of a particular public action and mercy for a man who has clearly undergone a great trial and who is trying to do Gods will as he understands it. Thus, when we fail to honor our vows and dismiss the Divine grace given to us in marriage or ordination or solemn monastic consecration, we should at least have the decency not to dress it up as discernment, imply that God has called us to break our vows, and tout ourselves as public pundits on faithfulness. Fortunately for all of us, God is able by grace, with cooperation, to bring beauty out of ugliness, truth out of error, and good things out of bad choices. Both religious and diocesan priests, and bishops, are included. The Church betrayed that trust. But then I read Steve Skojecs article on Morrison and I must say I did a 180. His ministry has been highly visible, including the authorship of books and articles on the Catholic faith, as well as his service as an analyst for Fox News. iF i REMEMBER CORRECTLY, pOPE PAUL DISPENSED THE VOW OF POVERTY AND OBEDIENCE TO A CLERIC (JESUIT PRIEST) WHO CAME TO AMERICA AND WAS UNDER CARDINAL SPELLMAN IN NEW YORK. IS ONE OF MY hEROS AS i WAS AN OBSTETRIC NURSE IN THE MILITARY AND WORKED WITH DOCS OF MANY FAITHS. The Rule and the Life of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. I totally agree! I dont know how anyone could freely discern a vocation in the Legion at that time. Stone has been in a lengthy custody battle with Christina Presnell, the mother of his child, according to Jefferson County Court records.A spokeswoman for SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was in Birmingham on Tuesday to discuss the case. I lived my life as a priest among men who were predominantly homosexual and homosexualist. It would be wonderful if he stayed in the priesthood. At the time of publication, no U.S. bishop had publicly opposed her firing. I think this is quite sad. He may become even more famous, yes, but not helpful. On Dec. 31, two top editors at the EWTN-owned Catholic News Agency announced their departures. The world's priests were thanked for their devotion, for bearing witness "to the special task of obtaining justice for the poor," for long hours spent in the confessional as well as in "meeting and . Until something else they want comes along and it no longer is what they want. The Knights of Columbus, which supports a number of conservative Catholic causes, gave $1.25 million to EWTN in 2014, specifically to sponsor its news show. You may have crept in under false pretenses like the Gabaonites, but he is faithful to his word, and he promises us the graces we need for our state of life as long as we do our part. "God bless these guys. but our generation feeling that the church is crumbling before us. Those in authority over the Church who controlled my life were predominantly homosexual and homosexualist. But its a bit much having to take the same categorical certitude from Morris which he used to try to project on to his commentarian/analyst days on all things having to do with Catholicism and its intersection with our humdrum everyday life on Fox now as he seeks to carry that over to the abandonment of his public priestly vocation. Richard J. Schuler. The household of God is found in orthodox parishes, not in a studio audience. Thank you for your generosity! Peter the apostle denied his Savior, and Thomas, another apostle refused to believe in the Resurrection account until our Savior appeared to him. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. There are many who are praising Morris decision and also saying it was bound to happen, given his time with the LC, thus also positing all the dynamic on the latter, as though having been in the LC means ones priesthood is automatically in question, essentially portraying Morris as a victim. The underlying notion is unfortunate- if you dont like the priesthood, then you can always leave, and well support you, and well pat ourselves on the back for supporting one another. 2. Doubtless some find this need fulfilled in the priesthood. But I feel a certain resignationOh well, this is just the way of this multi divorce, throw away world. This is why we continually pray for the purity of priests. If it becomes too much for a person to continue in either vocation, and it is truly necessary to leave the priesthood or marriage, so be it. Perhaps now hes actually able to think for himself and actually hear Gods will rather than the worm tongue of Maciel and his cronies. Have the historical facts of often experienced priestly formation of much earlier past times been forgotten or now just unknown?..often involving rather humiliating slave type treatment of seminarians by faculties and rectors, and shaming those or indirectly causing such to feel like failures in measuring up to the holiness required who make the decision to leave during formation. The evil spirit discourages, proposes problems with the positive course of ones life, stirs disquiet and anxiety, as well as sadness for things left behind when one follows Jesus, and generally prompts turmoil and the temptation to turn away from Jesus and to something else. Starting at 8 a.m. Rather, we attempt to understand, to plumb the depths of our common human nature. This is a complex and to some degree a personal question. Rome, Italy, Nov 11, 2016 / 10:43 am. However, it must be pointed out that NOBODY really knows what lies ahead in their vocation. Not married couples, not monastics, not clergy. As you say, I think we lay Catholics can accept and sympathize with the difficult situation in which he finds himself, which is not entirely of his own making, without being scandalized. Thank you. RT @Church_POP: I Planned to Become a Priest & Then I Met My Wife: How the Saints Intervened in a Plan Greater Than Mine Eleven years ago on the morning of June 26, I met Archbishop Gomez for breakfast and told him I was ready to enter seminary. One difference between marriage and ordination is that no man is ordained a priest without years of training and discernment. It may fall under what Msgr Know said. Yet as a public figure he is responsible for his public statements on this matter, and I am afraid that the impression he has given is that there is a relatively smooth path out of the priesthood for those so called by God. Seriously. I just feel that the catholic church is letting us all down.. to many years of lies and coverups .. From Morris comes from a Kong line of priests who, professing orthodoxy cant seem to live in celibacy. These are good reasons to not our Faith be formed by television gurus and go to our orthodox parish churches which is where we find the Church. Mr. Stone took a leave of absence from the Church prior to his son's birth. They have to have open home at all times. It is quite another to put *considerable* pressure on him when he is still trying to discern what direction to lead his life. I can neither defend his decision, nor criticize it. "That grew into a flirtatious relationship, which grew into a dating relationship, which led to the conception of their child. 105 He might experience a great deal of inner turmoil at the thought of remaining faithful to his vows, and mistakenly think that such feelings could never come from the Holy Spirit. Do you know the difference between a disciple and an Apostle, Lee? The fault for such defections, Paul VI teaches, lies not with priestly celibacy itself but with negative factors either before or after ordination: Their sad state and its consequences to priests and to others move some to wonder if celibacy is not in some way responsible for such dramatic occurrences and for the scandals they inflict on Gods People. But every priest can find some evidence of flawed discernment as he looks back over the years leading up to his ordination. for your article. Those allegations have shocked parishioners and associates of Rutler, as they seek to reconcile the accusations with their own experience of the politically and theologically conservative priest known for his regular appearances on EWTN and prolific writings where he derided "abortionists and the sodomites," advocated for traditional liturgical practices and regularly criticized Pope Francis. Perhaps its a bit like an annulment? And think it not surprising that so many either leave or are unfaithful to their vows. Well, it makes me ask how necessary or healthy chastity in the unmarried is.. ", Former Birmingham attorney Mitch Damsky, who represented Stone after his arrest but last year moved to Wyoming, said the abuse allegation may be an effort to gain advantage in the custody dispute.
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