Austrian Priests Call For Married and Women Priests

The exact details are fuzzy, but it appears that about 300 priest from all over Austria launched a "Call to Disobedience" in June to support the ordination of women priests and married priests. Interim actions might include prayers for a more inclusive priesthood at Sunday liturgy, having women preach, and welcoming remarried Catholics to received communion.

This is a powerful reminder that there are still a lot of great priests in the Catholic Church. The response of the various bishops in Austria is uncertain. Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna disagrees with the priests, but plans on meeting with some of them in the next month or so to discuss the action. So far, no priests have been disciplined. I am thankful for all you brave priests in Austria. Perhaps this effort can someday be coordinated on a more global scale until all those who are called to the priesthood are able to serve the People of God.

A Faithful Catholic

If Fr. John Corapi's Boats Could Talk

Fr. John Corapi is very famous for his conversion story to a Catholic priest from a drug-using, womanizing, Hollywood lifestyle. In the wake of a fact-finding commission from his own order, it appears that he was trying to live both lifestyles at once. The commission discovered that:

"He did have sexual relations and years of cohabitation (in California and Montana) with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute; He repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs; He has recently engaged in sexting activity with one or more women in Montana; He holds legal title to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats, which is a serious violation of his promise of poverty as a perpetually professed member of the Society."

It appears that when Corapi talked about his former lifestyle, he forgot to mention that he probably only left that lifestyle for a short time. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, it seems that he fell back into this lifestyle when he became a famous priest and temptation returned. Unfortunately, he still completely denies all the allegations and offers no reasoning why his order would lie. In response to his current situation, he says that most of it was "beyond my control." Unless he's talking about addiction to drugs, women, and money, I highly doubt it. I must admit, I am suspicious of any priest who sells their own story without making sure the money goes somewhere other than their own pocket. In his statement, he also takes the time to talk about his future ventures, stuff his followers can buy in the future so that he can remain a millionaire.

A Faithful Catholic

Fr. Corapi Leaving Priesthood

Fr. John Corapi, an ultra-conservative Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity priest, announced plans on June 23rd to leave the priesthood. He has had a radio program on Relevant Radio and was a featured personality on EWTN. He was known for his conversion story from rich drug parties in Hollywood, to homelessness, to becoming a priest. His Bible was the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teaching of the hierarchy.

Therefore, it is strange to hear him talk about the problems with the leadership of the Church. From his time as a radio personality, I thought the leadership of the Church could do no wrong. All that changed when an allegation of sexual abuse came forth. His order was attempting to check the validity of the allegation, but Fr. Corapi would not cooperate, citing his "civil and human rights."

If he really is leaving the priesthood because of the stress caused by a false allegation, then I truly feel for the man. But at the same time, assuming he is innocent, he should realize that the mistakes of church leadership in the past concerning sexual abuse warrant a greater transparency on behalf of bishops and clergy to rebuild the trust that has been lost. In any case, I will not miss hearing Fr. Corapi's voice over the airwaves. His theology was the pre-Vatican II pray, pay, and obey... which not even he wants to follow anymore.

A Faithful Catholic

New Document on Preaching

During the first day of their spring Assembly, the U.S. Bishops approved the writing of a 50 page document on preaching for next year. Based on input from bishops at this assembly and from when the topic came up in previous meetings, it can be assumed that this document will shift the focus of preaching from a reflection on how God is acting in our everyday lives as seen through the eyes of scripture to an emphasis on doctrine.

In one sense, this may be necessary. The average post-Vatican II Catholic's knowledge of the faith is not something to brag about. But I hope that this document does not bring us back to pre-Vatican II sermons that prooftexted a Gospel in order to catechize on an element of the Catholic faith, usually with the desire to cover the basics of the faith during a one year cycle. I can almost see it now: Week 1 - Abortion; Week 2 - Birth Control; Week 3 - Marriage (anti-gay); Week 4 - The Sacrament of Penance, etc.

Although Catholics are less knowledgeable about their faith, they have computers and information at their fingertips that was not available before. With a move towards catechesis in preaching, I hope that there will be an emphasis on inspiring the faithful to learn more about their faith outside of Mass by illustrating how the truths of the faith are meaningful in their everyday lives - particularly the truth of Jesus Christ. People are thirsting for spirituality, which I define as doctrine in action. Preaching needs to touch on both aspects of spirituality to move people.

A Faithful Catholic

Fr. Don Hying named new auxiliary bishop in Milwaukee

As most people reading this in Milwaukee already know, Fr. Don Hying has been named the next auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. This type of appointment represents the continuing state of our church towards a conservatism that sees abortion as the only issue in the Catholic Church. In the past few months, Hying has led a holy hour for the sanctity of marriage at the seminary and wrote about his time at the "abortion mill." Marriage and abortion... these are the issues that define the modern church for new bishops.

I hope that Fr. Hying also realizes that the church is larger than these two issues. On occasion, he has mentioned the defiance shown by Archbishop Romero toward the injustice of the El Salvadoran government. Unfortunately, this ended up being a segue for a anti-abortion story. Callahan was such a disappointment as an auxiliary bishop, I hope Hying can be more pastoral with Catholics he does not agree with.

A Faithful Catholic

In Milwaukee: "In Lawyers We Trust"

The sexual abuse crisis continues to cause shame all over the globe and right here in Milwaukee. As reported in the local paper, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee is denying that it owns the Cousins Center, which houses the offices of the Archdiocese. Originally, the Cousins Center was the St. Francis de Sales Preparatory Academy, and even though that institution is defunct, the Archdiocese is maintaining in bankruptcy court that they rent from the Academy and that the land is not available for the victims of sexual abuse. In 2004, the Archdiocese began listing the property separately in their financial statements and until Archbishop Listecki came last year, Dolan had been trying to sell it with the express purpose of funding a sexual abuse fund FOR victims.

Listecki has made it known that he likes the Cousins Center, does not want to sell it, and wants to relocate the offices that had vacated the Cousins Center back at that location. This all smells really bad. But that is what happens when you depend on lawyers and the letter of the law rather than Jesus Christ and Christian morality. Most of what happened a couple years ago to the cause the housing market crash was legal, but it definitely was not moral. The same basically holds true for the Archdiocese in this case. It is also telling that there is not a written lease agreement between the Academy and the Archdiocese, it is just understood that the Archdiocese rents there in return for keeping the place up. A spokesperson for the Archdiocese admits that there may have been some "imprecise communications." If Milwaukee was on the national scene, I could see this phrase catching on. I wonder if Listecki will confess these "imprecise communications" the next time he goes to confession.

A Faithful Catholic

Australian Bishop Sacked

Buried in all the news this morning dedicated to the assassination of Osama bin Laden AND the beatification of John Paul II is what newspapers calling the sacking or firing of Bishop William Morris, who had been bishop of Toowoomba in Australia since 1993. This "firing" is the result of a statement of Morris in 2006, in which he stated that women and married persons who are called to the priesthood should be ordained by the Catholic Church.

From Morris's own admission, it is clear that he is vacating his seat unwillingly. Obviously, Pope Benedict had hoped that he would resign and make the axing go much smoother. On a side note, this type of action does make it look like the Pope is in charge of a corporation called the Catholic Church, Inc., which give credence to lawyers who want to sue the Pope for not removing priest-rapists.

Nevertheless, it is oddly appropriate that Morris was fired for promoting women priests in the same news cycle as the beatification of John Paul II. This is an act of injustice that would have warmed the previous pontiff's heart. Up until this time, I had been led to believe that Benedict was more open to disagreement within the Catholic Church than John Paul, but I guess disagreement can only happen when the Pope says so (i.e., condoms).

A Faithful Catholic