It seems like the founder of LifeTeen has finally been excommunicated. Not for abusing children, mind you, but for starting a new church-- the Praise and Worship Center in Phoenix, AZ. See the link here.
While it is good that he finally has been punished, the issue of his impropriety with children still has not been fully addressed by the Roman Church... in Rome or Arizona. When will the bishops look at the damage that they are causing by not addressing problem priests in their dioceses? When will the priests with problems stop hurting people, and others stop covering up for them?
Let us all pray that no more children are harmed.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Confirmation of Ft. Wayne- South Bend's Action
Another blog, the Deacon's Blog, has confirmed the story about Ms. Nan Gilbert. This blog is run by a Deacon in the Polish National Catholic Church, and he has some very good information as well. Read some of the entries while you're there!
Monday, September 15, 2008
New Website
I have run across a new website that is very good, and recommend it highly to those who might be considering leaving the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church, or to those who might just want to know why people do. It's called, aptly, Leaving the Priesthood. Check it out!
Fort Wayne- South Bend Does It Again
Well, it seems that the Diocese of Ft. Wayne-South Bend, IN has once again used it muscle to take away the livelihood of one of it's employees. The person in charge of the food service department and cafeteria at Marian High School in Mishawaka, IN has lost her job of 9 years, which has brought an annual profit to the school of approximately a quarter million US Dollars each year, because she would not renounce her membership in the Polish National Catholic Church. Ms. Nan Gilbert (her name is still, as of this writing, on the Marian website) has personally contacted me about this situation and it is outrageous. This is total and utter religious discrimination that obviously comes from the top-down-- Bishop John M. D'Arcy. Bishop D'Arcy has run roughshod over employment law with diocesan employees for over 20 years, from keeping out a teacher's union to forcing people to sign less favorable contracts when the previous ones were still in effect to firing people due to their strongly held religious convictions.
She is a member of the Polish National Catholic Church, and according to the 2006 Joint Declaration on Unity, there should be no proselytism among members of the two sister churches. So, not only has D'Arcy broken State and Federal discrimination laws, he has also broken a concordat signed by the leaders of both the Roman Catholic and Polish National Catholic Churches which was brought about as a result of a dialogue started at the request of the late Pope John Paul II in 1982 (official meetings having begun in 1984). The biannual meetings can be seen here.
So, not only does Bishop D'Arcy fully support LifeTeen and it's pedophilic bent, but he also breaks the Roman Catholic Canons (see Canon 844, paragraphs 2-3) and the results of years of ecumenical dialogue. In doing this, he shows that he has no regard for people who give their lives for the school and a church that is not even their own.
She is a member of the Polish National Catholic Church, and according to the 2006 Joint Declaration on Unity, there should be no proselytism among members of the two sister churches. So, not only has D'Arcy broken State and Federal discrimination laws, he has also broken a concordat signed by the leaders of both the Roman Catholic and Polish National Catholic Churches which was brought about as a result of a dialogue started at the request of the late Pope John Paul II in 1982 (official meetings having begun in 1984). The biannual meetings can be seen here.
So, not only does Bishop D'Arcy fully support LifeTeen and it's pedophilic bent, but he also breaks the Roman Catholic Canons (see Canon 844, paragraphs 2-3) and the results of years of ecumenical dialogue. In doing this, he shows that he has no regard for people who give their lives for the school and a church that is not even their own.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Scandal of Mandatory Celibacy in the Roman Church
Go back 900 years... priests in the Western Church were married, had families, and ministered to their flocks. Obviously, it was an effective ministry as it was a very large church and growing. Bishops also had families, as did Popes-- 39 of them to be exact. However, a problem began. The dioceses were legally in the name of the presiding bishop. Not a problem until the presiding bishop passes away. The diocese becomes a part of the inheritance and then goes to the family. This causes a problem for the central authority of the church. They lose the land, buildings and other property. So... what is the logical choice? Change the way that the church is administrated? No! They pass a canonical law mandating that clergy are forbidden to marry... to have families... to live a normal life. All in order to protect money and property.
The problem here is that God created man AND woman. He created them as complimentary. In essence, man and woman are meant to be together. From that union comes the continuing population of the world. Since it is created by God, and is in the natural order, to state that it is forbidden if one desires to serve Him sounds absolutely ludicrous.
So... fast forward 850 or 900 years to the last century and the present day. Training for the priesthood as we know it today takes years... many years. Actually, for a dioscean priest it is typically 6-8 years-- in religious orders it can be longer. Let me say at this point, throughout history, certain individuals have felt a deep call to forego a relationship with another person in order to live a solitary life in union with God. This is indeed a calling-- a calling that few have-- but a beautiful calling none the less. The problem is that the vast majority of people... even the vast majority of people who God calls to serve His people... do not have this calling. When one is taken out of part of the natural order of progression with regard to psychosexual development, that development is arrested wherever the individual was removed. Sometimes a regression happens as well, and the person actually becomes LESS mature psychosexually. This can cause a problem. Desire for intimate union with another person on all levels (emotional, intellectual, spiritual AND physical) is a part of the human beings that God created us to be. The desires for all four levels of intimacy do not go away just because a person chooses to ignore them. In the inner sanctum of the seminary and celibate priesthood, a person can realistically fulfill the emotional, intellectual and spiritual intimacy connections. Where the problem lies is in the physical intimacy portion.
The argument from the side of the mandatory celibatists (my word) is that even in a marriage, the physical intimate union is a small part of the marriage. However, it is in those moments where the two become one that the union that is there between them becomes physically manifested. God created human beings to be both spiritual AND physical. This is what separates humans from angels, an angel is only spiritual. Humans are actually of a higher level of creation. This higher level of creation then creates a physical hunger. This hunger is not a bad thing. Sometimes, like the hunger for food, it must be rationally managed lest it get out of control. However, to CONSTANTLY ignore a hunger for food causes death. In the case of the hunger for physical intimacy, to constantly ignore it (except in the rarest of cases) causes death of the self. It causes death of some of the other levels of intimacy as well. In addition, it many times causes a cold-heartedness and callousness in the person that can lead to a lack of compassion and empathy.
When this lack of compassion and empathy occur, and this is coupled with a physical desire for an intimate physical union with another, and when this is contained in a person who is underdeveloped and immature psychosexually, it can cause problems. The problems it causes can be seen in the scandals that have been coming out of the church in the last decade or two. And these, I fear, are just the tip of the iceburg.
LifeTeen is dangerous for just this reason. As can easily be seen elsewhere on this site, it is set up so that it is very easy for someone who is psychosexaully immature and starved for physical intimacy to use someone who is also vulnerable in any number of ways to feed this hunger. This is an inappropriate way to feed the hunger. It is a scandal in itself that an institution which purports to follow Christ's example mandates something that is outside of the natural order of creation, indeed something that is sacramentalized!
The scandal of pedophilia is horrible. The pain that it causes is deep. It is a travesty that I feel called to do what I can to stop. However, as long as mandatory celibacy continues to exist, the arrested psychosexual development will as well. And as long as things like LifeTeen continue to exist, it will give an improper outlet for those who feel compelled to feed the hunger. The scandal is not over... it is continuing... and growing.
The problem here is that God created man AND woman. He created them as complimentary. In essence, man and woman are meant to be together. From that union comes the continuing population of the world. Since it is created by God, and is in the natural order, to state that it is forbidden if one desires to serve Him sounds absolutely ludicrous.
So... fast forward 850 or 900 years to the last century and the present day. Training for the priesthood as we know it today takes years... many years. Actually, for a dioscean priest it is typically 6-8 years-- in religious orders it can be longer. Let me say at this point, throughout history, certain individuals have felt a deep call to forego a relationship with another person in order to live a solitary life in union with God. This is indeed a calling-- a calling that few have-- but a beautiful calling none the less. The problem is that the vast majority of people... even the vast majority of people who God calls to serve His people... do not have this calling. When one is taken out of part of the natural order of progression with regard to psychosexual development, that development is arrested wherever the individual was removed. Sometimes a regression happens as well, and the person actually becomes LESS mature psychosexually. This can cause a problem. Desire for intimate union with another person on all levels (emotional, intellectual, spiritual AND physical) is a part of the human beings that God created us to be. The desires for all four levels of intimacy do not go away just because a person chooses to ignore them. In the inner sanctum of the seminary and celibate priesthood, a person can realistically fulfill the emotional, intellectual and spiritual intimacy connections. Where the problem lies is in the physical intimacy portion.
The argument from the side of the mandatory celibatists (my word) is that even in a marriage, the physical intimate union is a small part of the marriage. However, it is in those moments where the two become one that the union that is there between them becomes physically manifested. God created human beings to be both spiritual AND physical. This is what separates humans from angels, an angel is only spiritual. Humans are actually of a higher level of creation. This higher level of creation then creates a physical hunger. This hunger is not a bad thing. Sometimes, like the hunger for food, it must be rationally managed lest it get out of control. However, to CONSTANTLY ignore a hunger for food causes death. In the case of the hunger for physical intimacy, to constantly ignore it (except in the rarest of cases) causes death of the self. It causes death of some of the other levels of intimacy as well. In addition, it many times causes a cold-heartedness and callousness in the person that can lead to a lack of compassion and empathy.
When this lack of compassion and empathy occur, and this is coupled with a physical desire for an intimate physical union with another, and when this is contained in a person who is underdeveloped and immature psychosexually, it can cause problems. The problems it causes can be seen in the scandals that have been coming out of the church in the last decade or two. And these, I fear, are just the tip of the iceburg.
LifeTeen is dangerous for just this reason. As can easily be seen elsewhere on this site, it is set up so that it is very easy for someone who is psychosexaully immature and starved for physical intimacy to use someone who is also vulnerable in any number of ways to feed this hunger. This is an inappropriate way to feed the hunger. It is a scandal in itself that an institution which purports to follow Christ's example mandates something that is outside of the natural order of creation, indeed something that is sacramentalized!
The scandal of pedophilia is horrible. The pain that it causes is deep. It is a travesty that I feel called to do what I can to stop. However, as long as mandatory celibacy continues to exist, the arrested psychosexual development will as well. And as long as things like LifeTeen continue to exist, it will give an improper outlet for those who feel compelled to feed the hunger. The scandal is not over... it is continuing... and growing.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
A Blessed New Year
A blessed and joyous New Year to all!!!
If there are any questions about anything on this website, please feel free to e-mail me using the link provided!!!
If there are any questions about anything on this website, please feel free to e-mail me using the link provided!!!
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