Fr. Roy Bourgeois Arrested at Vatican

Fr. Roy Bourgeois, of School of the America fame, was arrested at the Vatican when he tried to deliver a petition to the Vatican with a number of women priests, who were dressed in their liturgical garments.  The groups was attempting to deliver a petition supporting Fr. Roy and women priests, which was signed by 15,000 Catholics.

Perhaps Arab Spring will make its way to the Vatican.  As the linked article points out, the group was told that protesters are not allowed in the Vatican.  When the group dropped their signs, they were told that women wearing vestments was a protest, therefore, only Fr. Roy could proceed, since he was a "real" priest.  After Fr. Roy stated that the women were legitimately ordained priests and need to accompany him, the police arrested Fr. Roy, a woman priest, and the translator.  It is unclear if they will actually be tried.

Many thanks to Fr. Roy and the many brave women priests.  This public stance against the Vatican is wonderful.

A Faithful Catholic

Altar Girls are Confusing... to Bishops

The Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, printed an article in early August in which they praised the use of altar girls: "The exclusion of girls from all of this, for the sole reason of their being female, has always weighed heavily and represented a deep inequality within Catholic education."  They paper also refers to altar serving as an important and informative experience.  As the Catholic News article points out, the L'Osservatore article was printed the same week that Pope Benedict thanked 53,000 altar services, 60% of whom were girls, for their important service to the Church.  

Now fast forward two weeks.  The Cathedral for the Diocese of Phoenix is now barring altar girls from serving at that parish.  This will not affect the other parishes in the diocese and it was made clear that this was the decision of the rector of the Cathedral.  Nevertheless, I cannot believe that a decision like this is made at the Cathedral without the bishop's approval.  The rector states that he wants to have only boys in an effort to attract vocations to the priesthood, but there is not proof that this practice has ever led to more vocations.  In addition, this action is very strange when one considers that the Pope just thanked tens of thousands of girl altar servers for their service.  The rector stated that girls could be sacristans, but that is a slap in the face.  To the rector, all girls are good for is ironing and washing clothes.  Perhaps the bishop and rector in Phoenix should pay attention to the Pope and L'Osservatore Romano.

A Faithful Catholic

Weakland and Sklba called to Bankruptcy Court

Retired Archbishop Rembert Weakland and Bishop Richard Sklba will be called to give testimony in court, under oath, regarding the sexual abuse cover up for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee bankruptcy case. Although the judge has said the statements will be sealed, these statements have a way of eventually being made public. In any case, I am glad that there will be some type of official record of the sexual abuse cover up in Milwaukee.

In one sense, this is a strange turn of events. It is speculated that Milwaukee and other dioceses have filed bankruptcy to avoid having bishops give depositions. Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy on the eve of Sklba's deposition in a sexual abuse case. If the primary purpose of the Milwaukee bankruptcy filing was to avoid Sklba's day in court, the plan failed. Weakland and Sklba will be called to answer questions in mid-October.

A Faithful Catholic

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