Another One Down--Celebrity Priest

Good he came clean.
Too bad he missed out on being a dad and husband--maybe his time of reflection will help him accept some new possibilities and responsibilities.

Pathetic Part II

It appears that the previous post about the Bishop Zavala hit a nerve.  There are a few interesting comments.
I copy one here in order to address their question.  The reader addresses me as Melchizedek....good one.


"...this comment was supposed to go here and was for Melchizedek
So.....how do you propose to address your points? If you just bring them to light without some way to admonish/allow the Holy Spirit to enter this bishops life, then it is nothing more than judgement.......right? "


Nope.
  
My only 'point' was this:  The fact that these kids had an absent father wasn't because he was a bishop but because he didn't have the guts to make a commitment to being a dad.  The fact that he was a bishop simply gave him another life in which to hide--and that is what is pathetic.


You know deep down what he lived was wrong on so many levels. Shame on him for perpetuating a life that undermined the foundational standards of husbands, dads, priests, and bishops.
Yes I judge the act--but I am not judging the person.  Knowing that something is wrong does not equate me with judging that person's soul.
Nor will I get into setting up some sort of admonishment--not my area.
As to a 'way to allow the Holy Spirit'---well, I think that may have already occurred.  
A great light has been shone on this man's life.  One can only hope that the truth will now set him free.  
Here is what I think--
Pray for the kids, and the mother, and him.  Pray that somehow they don't leave the church.  And lastly, pray for his brothers who are probably very confused, hurt and angry.


So, you ask what my proposal is?
Prayer
and while you're at it a day of fasting--for husbands, dads, priests, and bishops.
(seriously--this Friday 1/13)--you in?

Just Plain Pathetic

I refer you to a news story posted by Rocco Palmo on Whispers in the Loggia.  You have to scroll down to the second story that has a photo of LA's Auxiliary Bishop, Gabino Zavala.  For those who just want a snippet here is what Mr. Palmo reports, via Catholic News Service:

Meanwhile, in a surprise move, B16 has accepted the early resignation of LA Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, who turned 60 last September.

While rumors of unspecified Roman concerns over Zavala have circulated for some time, and have intensified over recent months, Catholic News Service reported this morning via Twitter that the bishop submitted his resignation after he confessed to having fathered two children.

In a letter to the Los Angeles church released early this morning, Archbishop José Gomez wrote that the auxiliary "informed [him] in early December that he is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state."



Come on.
Now I must be careful because this is the same bishop who asked bloggers to be a little more kinder and refrain from hateful demeaning speech.  Okay, then....come on...please.
He shared this request while from his position as the Chair of Communications for the US Bishops. 
I think he forgot to communicate a few things---like maybe "Oh, by the way Holy Father,  I am a Dad--uh, twice!"


Okay, so hopefully there was love and some kind of relationship with the mother.  As two adults they will need to deal with that.
  
But my first thoughts were for the children.
What about commitment and responsibility and manning up to being a dad?  
I wonder if, in all his social issue preaching, he ever had to address single mothers, or children who had no fathers present in their lives?  
We hear that they are minor teenagers--so this means that at the very least for the past thirteen or fourteen years two children grew up with their dad in another state--pretending to not be their dad.


When I was a court appointed therapist the majority of my clients didn't know who their father was or their father simply didn't care.  You do the psychological and sociological math and extrapolate the results.  This time instead of the government or some social service agency stepping in to deal with it--the church will.  Perhaps the bishop ought to attend mandated parenting classes.


Now, before some wacko gets this blog and says--'see that's why priests should marry' I want them to think about this:  

The fact that these kids had an absent father wasn't because he was a bishop but because he didn't have the guts to make a commitment to being a dad.  The fact that he was a bishop simply gave him another life in which to hide--and that is what is pathetic.

So those are my thoughts--coming from a man who was a priest and fell in love and left and married and together with is wife is raising a son--trying to form him in the Roman Catholic faith.

Fr. Ego vs. Fr. Real--comment

 I copied the following comment because it sums up the predicament priests like 'Fr Ego' pose for the good clergy and parishioners and bishops out there.  The reader Dionysus said it well...

Dionysus said...

...My questions are: What happens to the parish community after the "celebrity priest" leaves it because of reassignment or he is off to bigger and better things? Will the people who were drawn to the parish because of the "celebrity priest" leave the community and try to find another good weekend show elsewhere? Will the people who do remain be burdened with debt because the "celebrity priest" got people to agree to some special building project(I like to call it the "file builder" in the Bishop's office)?

Well put Dionysius.  What if a bishop does reassign Fr. Ego and then Fr. Ego has everyone up in arms over their parish being rattled?  Really what is being rattled is this guy's kingdom--he's just using the parishioners.  Letter campaigns are not out of the ordinary and actually the news article had mentioned something about such a campaign that was launched in this priest's name years ago. I can't recall whether a letter campaign ever worked anywhere. 

To your other point concerning possible fiscal debt and the issue of parishioners saddled with some ego-centered project?  Well, certainly nothing will happen to the priest--he is always 'debt free' living off the spoils of his pseudo celebrity style-he just moves on and then eventually starts up his 'show' at another venue.

See, here is how I had a sense that the 'celebrity priest' was off center-Not once, ever was Jesus Christ mentioned in the article Not once was sacrifice and oblation mentioned in the context of what a priest is supposed to be doing--offering Holy Eucharist and hearing confessions, praying and fasting for his people.  

It's been a tough couple of weeks in my public blog faith-life.  First, we have the priest who decided to preach about his own personal choice to not pray the Nicene Creed exactly as the Church teaches--changing a word to lend a voice to all the oppressed women who have left the church over the word 'men'.  (Remember...it was okay for him to 'oppress' the intelligence of my wife--a well established full time physician and home-schooling mom.  He suggested that she really just doesn't get 'it' and that he was divinely inspired, in this case over and above the Magisterium)  
Now, this news article about a priest who basically has made the priesthood all about himself.
Am I the only one who's spiritual senses are tingling?  Has everyone else just become numb? 

No wonder The Blessed Virgin Mary implores us to pray for our shepherds.  

Politically Correct Crap vs Nicene Creed

Council of Nicea Sistine Chapel

Okay, the short of it is this.
Went to Holy Mass today.
The priest shared a pretty good homily on the upcoming changes to the liturgy, focusing today on the Nicene Creed.

So far so good--he even described some of the heresies the Creed addressed.

Then came the kicker--He shared that the phrase  "For us men and for our salvation..." will be recited by himself as "For us and for our salvation..."
With an authoritative voice he urged the congregation to join him or not--but he leaves it up to 'our conscience'  Gee, thanks.

Okay--no problem I've been around enough of this liberal crap and I can turn a numb ear.  It would have been better if he never said anything--just preach the Creed.  The pulpit became a soap box.
Bad form.

Here's the deal--if the bishops said "let's take the word 'men' out"  (which they have in other parts of the liturgy)  no problem.  It is the teaching authority of the church that decided that--the inspired teaching authority.

But they didn't.  "Men" was left in.  If they take it out tomorrow--still no problem.  But until that day comes--stop it.

Stop confusing personal agenda's with pastoral authority.

So afterwards my wife approached this priest--
You can guess the response.  In the name of oppressed women--he became the standard bearer.  His was a weak argument--the very essence of his homily about the Creed was one of unity of expression of the faith and with one personal opinion he dissolved,
-----no he obliterated it.

So sit at the top of the slippery slope-- change the names, change the genders, meld the genders, --it's all relative right?  I've been around, excommunicated and back---i've seen what changing and omitting words in Creeds can do----DON'T DO IT--even if it is just one little word--just leave it alone until the Magisterium changes it.
Satan is banking on it--and he's cashing in a lot of chips as of late.

Really? This will inspire vocations to the priesthood?

I'm not too sure about this one.
The Cathedral of SS Simon and Jude, diocese of Phoenix has disallowed female altar servers.
The rector says the new parish liturgical mandate will inspire more men to become priests.  This smells like clericalism.

Before I begin you need to know two things.
First I am not in favor of woman priests.  Second I'm not even in favor of married priests.  So there you go. Now, let's address the issue at hand.

I know the theology behind the ministry of acolyte--a ministry in priestly formation (one of the passages on the way to receiving ordination--the ministry of acolyte is a 'minor order')  The altar server has it's roots in the ministry of acolyte--but it isn't that ministry.


The rector wants to inspire males to become priests.  Why?  There is obviously a shortage and the priesthood has suffered a certain diminishment during the past decade or two.  In order to fix that the solution is to allow only the male gender around the altar.  

It isn't a matter of females serving at the altar that diminished the priesthood.  No, the church as a whole has done a fine job.  The magisterium, clergy, and laity have shared in the joint venture of that diminishment.
There are men who have discerned that they are called to formation and ordination in the sacred orders--so let's ask the question; Where was their inspiration?  The Holy Spirit?  Mom and Dad and family?  Perhaps a teacher or coach or friend?  Maybe even a priest?
Or was it that no girls were allowed to serve at the altar?

Perhaps fasting and praying and adoration are what need to be fostered.  Perhaps more priests who spend time in the confessionals and go to confession are what need to be fostered.  Perhaps priests doing the work of priests ought to be the visible sign.

 Perhaps what inspires the heart to answer the call isn't 'who is allowed' but who is holy.


By focusing on the gender of altar servers the focus is taken away from what is really occurring on the altar--Christ's becoming present.  That is the center of the priesthood--nothing else.

Oh, and by the way--When I was an active priest, I found that female servers were much more reliable.