Bishop Morlino on Eucharistic Reverence

This was sent to us by a dear friend of the blog. Many thanks go out to her and her family. May God bless such kind-hearted and sincere Catholics.

The video below is of Bishop Morlino discussing reverence at Mass. His insight is invaluable, and should be given, in a spirit of precise charity, to all your administrators, your pastors, your sacramental ministers, or what ever else you may have. He states, "No one intends to be irreverent." I could not agree more. Our lay preachers think they're doing the right thing. They love the Church, but in a very inappropriate way. Just like a 15 year old boy may "love" his girlfriend after a night of passion, that love is misplaced and juvenile. There's something there, but it's trounced and destroyed by the effects of sin. No one, unless they are instruments of Satan, seeks to destroy that which they know to be good. No one, unless they are instruments of Satan, would follow a path they know to be wrong. However, if we permit these people to walk in these ways, to continue embracing the metaphorical girlfriend, we testify to be in error ourselves, for we are doing nothing to bolster the good which we perceive, the good which Our Lord perceives.

In Honor of Our Dear Lay Administrators

Another "Epic Limerick" for your perusal.

I found myself mumbling in Latin,
The words more luscious than satin.
So I spoke them aloud,
In the midst of the crowd,
And that's when this story did happen:
The alb-clad lay preacher rose tall,
And gave a most sobering call:
"I feel I've done wrong,
Misleading this throng,
And piercing their souls with this awl."
At this the old woman reached down,
Picked up an awl, stained by blood brown,
She spun it about,
Beginning to shout,
"I drove all my faithful downtown!"
So I kept up my feverish pace,
Running this linguistic race,
Mumbling old prayers,
Despite all the stares,
In this dark, sterile, liberal place.
The awl was a menacing tool,
Which she used in a spirit most cruel,
When one would oppose her,
With intent to depose her,
She'd challenge that bloke to a duel.
So the awl pierced many a soul,
To defend her illicit role,
And those who survive,
Must carefully drive,
To escape the clutch of this troll.
But then, alas, she lamented,
Admitting her soul was demented,
She dropped the awl,
And discerned her call,
Te be a nun, and contented.

The Witch

Ben's recent C.S. Lewis comments made me start re-reading little chunks of the Narnia series. I have always been partial to the stories of Narnia, and remember reading them in elementary school. When I was perusing the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I stumbled upon this sentence spoken by Aslan, the metaphorical Christ figure in the series:

"If the witch understood the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the Deep Magic differently, for when a willing victim who has committed no treachery, dies in a traitor’s stead, the stone table will crack and even death itself will turn backwards."

How many witches we have in Rochester, who profess to be all-wise and all-good, but who do not grasp the notion of sacrifice, especially in the context of the Holy Mass. These women (witches) and men (warlocks?)  who castrate our priests with their liberalism, and who spit with derision on anything Traditional, claim to be living as "Alleluia people." There can be no true celebration of Easter without a clear and absolute understanding of Our Lord's sacrifice. Even at our Easter Masses, we see Christ crucified in the Blessed Sacrament. So, yes, we are "Easter people," and "Alleluia is our song." However, we rejoice knowing the price paid by our God for our salvation, and, in knowing this, do His bidding in reenacting His sacrifice on the cross on our altars.

 Queen Jadis, Witch Queen of Narnia

Lewis also notes that when one "dies in a traitor's stead . . . death itself will turn backwards." How many of our priests have been ridiculed, and derided for orthodoxy, just to be replaced by women who appoint themselves "Pastoral Leaders" and perpetual lay preachers? How many priests have been "put in their place" by man-hating liberals who cannot bear to subjugate themselves to another person, let alone the Son of God? These women who show nothing but contempt to our priests, our noble, Tradition-minded priests, will soon find that the unending "death" that is the Diocese of Rochester will give way to a new resurrection of orthodoxy. All we need to do is wait till these hippies die off and ravenous moths eat their spotless, lily-white albs. In the words of General Patton, "All glory is fleeting." What we see now will all be gone and forgotten in time. We will someday get to the point where Christ's glory will reign over the "glory" we see now, a "glory" of failed politics, closing schools, new pipe organs, and forced clusterings.

And His glory, dear friends, is not fleeting.

"Viva Christo Rey!" - Bl. Miguel Pro, Mexican priest martyr, "Long live Christ the King!"

Goodbye, Nancy - Hello Barb

From a friend of the blog comes this little bit of news: Barb Swiecki has been named the new "leader" of the Rush Henrietta cluster, which comprises Good Shepherd, Guardian Angels, and St. Joseph's in Rush. Mrs. DeRycke will be reassigned to another location. I fear deeply as to what this new location may be.

While Barb Swiecki is not as glaringly schismatic as Nancy DeRycke, the stark worship environment which she has cultivated at Guardian Angels is no shining trophy for either the loyal or the dissenting. However, I know several people at Guardian Angels who are firm, solid, orthodox Catholics who will do the right thing no matter how many women are vested and sitting in the sanctuary. Remember that Barb Swiecki is the pastoral administraitor (TM) who fired Fr. Peter Abas because it wasn't in their budget to pay a priest. If this kind of logic is what will rule the cluster, I tremble to think of how those parishes will end up.

If anyone reading this goes to any of these three parishes, please leave a comment and give us your perspective. Will this be better? Worse? Same? What horror stories have you witnessed or heard?

The cluster is still "uncertain" as to who the "Sacramental Minister" will be.

Every time I type "Sacramental Minister," a little piece of me dies. Can't we just call them "pastors"? Why hire a lay person and a priest, paying two full-time employees? Hire one priest, and have people of the parish do the rest. They will step forward - it's not as if we have an uncaring congregation in the diocese.

While doing some backgroung research, I stumbled across this on the website for St. Joseph's:

Beginning in 2007, our Three Parishes will work together to: •Continue those ministries described above, and look for ways to strengthen these and other ministries in which only two parishes currently collaborate. •Begin work on a joint Social Ministry Committee to study the documents and promote the Diocese of Rochester annual agenda, as well as to coordinate and facilitate social ministry programs/outreach currently offered by the three parishes. •Explore other needed social ministries. •Work toward a ministry to alienated Catholics. •Work toward greater collaboration with CYO (Catholic Youth Organization – Grades 5-12 ) programs.. •Share Pre-Cana Ministry. •Continued collaboration on Lenten Retreats beginning in 2008. •Explore ministry to Young Adults (18-35). •Make Vocation Awareness a priority.

Does anyone else notice the absolutely massive flaw here? The cluster states that they need to strengthen and maintain their "social ministries," participate more in CYO athetlics, collaborate on Lenten retreats, and "explore ministry" to young adults. Oh, and "Vocations Awareness" is a priority. Obviously not, if you list it after CYO and various other UNNECESSARY ministries. Sure, they're wonderful. But the priesthood is necessary. Maybe if these clusters put more emphasis on that, we wouldn't be in such a mess. Young men will answer the call if they're not treated like afterthoughts.

Also on their website is this projection for what, exactly, will happen in this year's assignments:

Number of Priests and Mass Schedules
2006-2010 There will continue to be 3 weekend Masses at each parish site.
2010: There will be two priests serving the three parishes.

•Before the reduction in the number of priests takes place in approximately June of 2010, all three parishes will reduce their Mass schedule to two Masses per weekend at each church site. •The times of the Masses will be determined by the pastoral planning team using consensus (Yeah . . . like that will happen) with input of all three parishes. •Daily Mass schedules will be determined in the same way at that time as well.

Anyone who has gone through a clustering process will know and agree that the debate over which Masses go and which Masses stay does two things: it serves to create a bitter and disunited congregation, and it breaks the resolve of those who fight tirelessly. By the end of this, there is too little steam left to actually push through any non-pastoral-administrator related matters. Do not waste your time bickering about Mass times - take what you get and save your strength for the coming fight, the future of your parishes.

---

Update 3/29/10 (Dr. K): Good Shepherd parishioners have contacted us with information claiming that Ms. DeRycke referred to Ms. Swiecki as the new "Pastoral Leader" and the to-be-named priests who will serve the parishes as "Assisting Priests." Her departure is their gain.

The Faithful (?) Remnant

In the comment box for Dr. K's piece on parish attendance at SA, OLOL, SM Downtown, and GS, Bernie mentioned that for as many people that have left, at least doubly so have stayed. Why? In my most humble opinion, those who stay in parishes whose liturgical prowess, not to mention theological basis in reality, fall into the following categories:

1. The Ideological Crusaders - These are the people who try to work from within to kill the beast. These people usually have a love for all things genuinely sacred, a distaste for heresy and dissent, and an underpinning sense of fear. Those whom I know who have stayed in parishes such as St. Anne have only done so because they "are on the music committee," or maybe "the liturgy committee." Whatever the committee, they stay to undo do, or at least, oppose, those evils which have made themselves manifest. However, under this genuine desire to serve the parish that once was, they fear what the parish is. In their minds, the St. Anne (or Good Shepherd, or Our Lady of Lourdes) of the past is not dead, but in hibernation - all they need to do is prevent the hunter from shooting the poor beast in its sleep. Well, perhaps it's true that a parish can revive from adversity - just look at Our Lady of Victory before the refugees. However, there is a difference between shifting demographics and a purposeful scattering of the flock. If a lamb meanders away on its own accord, it can be readily led to rejoin the others. However, if a wolf drives a lamb away, bloodying it and battering it, it is improbable that the lamb should rejoin those in the pasture - it has borne too much injury, and suffered too much pain to go back. Those who fled the parishes made a choice akin to that of leaving the room of a dying parent for one last time. Upon leaving that parish, you will never know it as it once was known. "The old things have passed away," and it is not the working of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Ignorant - These are those poor souls who have never been catechized properly, never been educated by a true lover of the faith, never been exposed to the true beauty of the liturgy. For these people, "Church" is "church." The parish is the faith, as opposed to an instrument of that faith, through which its universality is displayed. These people cling to a parish, no matter what, because they love it. No doubt rests in my mind as to the love people have for their home parish. However, there comes a point when one must make a break from the parish, if it becomes a hotbed of sin and dissent. A child will always, in some way, love her mother. However, if the mother becomes a drug addict, selling her body for money enough for the next snort of cocaine, conscious only between binges of drugs and alcohol, the child must leave that parent and seek refuge elsewhere. There is love for the mother, of course. However, the temporal needs of the child outweigh the love for the self-destructing parent. Rehab is an option, yes. But a child never stays with the parent if her welfare is endangered. So too must the faithful flee from dissent - yes, you will always love your spiritual mother, your parish, but at what cost? Would you rather lose your soul for clinging to error and those professing it, than you would experience a "white martyrdom," voluntarily leaving your parish for the sake of Truth?
3. The Bitter - These are the people who let anger and pain get in the way of practicing Catholic virtues. The Bitter stay at a parish to be a thorn in the side of the administrator - not to rectify a problem, but to agitate and aggravate the problem's creator. This is not right, not at all. One must always have love for one's enemy - as we have love for those whom we discuss here. However, the moment hate enters into the picture, one must flee. This is the doing of Satan, who uses the free will of weak and erring humanity to enter into the Church. I have no doubt that Nancy DeRycke, Joan Sobala, Anne-Marie Brogan are good and loving people. However, through their actions, a demeanor enters the Church, a demeanor which is most definitively not from God. The Bitter are no different - they have a love for the Church, but they let this love turn into a jihad, if you will. It turns from love, to pain, to anger, to aggression.
4. The Opportunists - These are those individuals who enjoy putting on a show. I cannot begin to recount the stories of dozens of individuals, each one focusing around someone who would put up a strong front of orthodoxy, only to swoop in for titles and privilege once the faithful had left. A reader sent an email to us about something along these lines at St. Anne. A woman on the parish council was "grievously wounded" at what Sr. Joan had started doing at Mass. She had resolved to resign her chair on the parish council but, not for the sake of joining another church. No, she intended to convert to the Episcopalian parish on nearby Highland Avenue (which, you will note, is holding ecumenical Lenten services with OLOL). However, once several seats were vacated in several committees, she suddenly had a conversion, and swooped in to save the ailing parish. By the time all was done, she had more titles and duties after the debacle than she had before. This is heinous in its duplicity. This is not loving the Church at all - it is using it to flaunt one's abilities, one's talents, one's name and reputation. "Oh, look, Mr. _______ is on the music committee, the liturgy committee, the finance committee, and the RCIA team. He must be really into the Church." Oh, no, dear friends. The opposite is true. Those who stay at these failing parishes only for the sake of gaining something are more concerned with "self," not the Church.

I can state, with absolute certainty, that losing my parish of 30 years was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. It wiped me out emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally. For several months, my soul wept as it has never wept before. Not for family, not for pets, not for national disasters. No death was as bitter and all-consuming as was the death of my beloved parish. However, if it had not been for this bloody exile, this personal Via Dolorosa, I would never have discovered the unsurpassed beauty of the Traditional Latin Mass, the depth of the faith I had never truly experienced, the transcendence of a Novus Ordo Mass celebrated correctly, without political bias, done right. In losing my soul, I gained it back. Indeed, looking back on those years, I can clearly see the hand of God through it all. Without these things, I would be one of the God-loving apathetic lambs in the congregation. I wouldn't be motivated to assist those in similar situations, I wouldn't be motivated to write to Rome or the nuncio. I wouldn't be motivated to put myself to the spiritual grindstone, as it were. I would be absolutely complacent. A lover of God, yes, and a lover of the Church, but not a defender.

If you, dear reader, are an exile, you will know what I have relayed. You will have wept, you will have suffered. You will also have discovered yourself. If you are one of the faithful who have held on, continuing the good-fight, well aware of the implications, please consider making a break. Do not lose your soul defending a building. Gain radiance of soul by defending the Church.

If you are an opportunist, or a scatterer of sheep, may God have mercy on your soul. You will be in my prayers, and in the prayers of all who read this blog. But never presume that you, dear friend, are worthy to receive God's mercy. Love Him, not yourself. Love the Church, not your self-appointed self-importance. Find the glory of God in the Tradition of His Church, not in the folds of your lay preacher's alb.

"Area Clergy to Tell Flocks to Enjoy Christmas, Remember True Meaning"

My emphasis added, of course.
_________________________

Don't expect Christmas to be perfect this year, Nancy DeRycke says. (Christmas is perfect, for it brought the Saviour of the World, Redemptor Mundi, into our midst. Commercial woes do not detract from this reality.)

After all, the beginnings of the holiday were far from perfect.

"If we really look at the tradition of Christmas, what was happening in Bethlehem, Jesus was born in a manger," said DeRycke, lay minister of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Henrietta. (This was supposed to happen. It was God's will. Perhaps Nancy DeRycke knows something we and two thousand years of theologians don't know?)

"There was no room for his head, no place," she said. "It wasn't perfect, but they found joy in that."

This year, despite the economy and other sorrows, DeRycke and other local ministers say there's still much to find joy in, including spending time with family and friends. (Well isn't that a profound realization.)

For their Christmas sermons, many ministers plan on telling their congregants to take heart this holiday season and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

"There's just so much negativity, and so much down and so much doom and gloom around," said Vince DiPaola, senior pastor of Lakeshore Community Church in Greece. "We forget that God designed Christmas to be a time of cheer." (Note how cheerful it was for the Holy Innocents.)

DiPaola, whose church has about 750 to 800 members, said he plans on telling his congregation today about accepting joy in their lives.

In years past, DiPaola also talked during Christmas about hope and about the scene where Jesus was born.

This year, Lakeshore is hosting a series called, "Cheer up, it's Christmas," which will include a message on Sunday about preparing for an unpredictable 2010.

"You can't choose your circumstances," DiPaola said, "but you can choose to be joyful no matter what. It comes from just your perspective. What are you going to focus on?" (This Protestant brother seems more profound in his theology and ministry than Mrs. DeRycke.)

Bill Hoffman, interim pastor of the Brighton Reformed Church, said many people were looking for a sign from God today amid all the problems in the world.

"They're looking for something," Hoffman said. "And I think the answer is: Even though I may be persecuted, or something is wrong, I can still trust in God and find that peace." (Amen.)

During his Christmas sermon this past weekend, Hoffman told parishioners that Jesus was a sign from God. (Sign, sir? Nay, He was God. Fully man, fully divine.)

"We want God to do something," Hoffman said, "and God sends" Jesus.

People should still look to God when they have troubles today, Hoffman added.

Brighton Reformed Church will have a service with carols and scripture readings this evening without a sermon.

For his Christmas sermon, Sammy King, pastor of the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Rochester, said he talked about loving, caring and sharing. King's sermon was this past Sunday; Trinity Missionary will not have a service on Christmas Day, he said.

"Blessings are to share," King said. "That is what we really have gotten away from. We have to care about our brothers and sisters."

To emphasize that point, Trinity Missionary gave away about 70 Christmas dinner baskets to neighbors on Tuesday night, King said.

"(God) put you in the community to be a light and an inspiration and a help to that community," he said. "When they reach out, we must reach back to them."

Christmas is one of the most important services for a church because it usually comes with increased attendance, DeRycke said. (No. Christmas is not important because of "increased attendance," madame. It is important because it set into action the promises of God for thousands of years to the Jewish people. He opened the gates of Heaven to all those who had died and who will die. He came to save all mankind, and this is why Christmas is important. No, Mrs. DeRycke, Christmas doesn't exist to celebrate demographics. It exists to remind us of the joy with which we should lead our lives, the zeal for the poor which we ought to lead, our love for Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and the enormous debt which we owe to our God and Saviour, who alone is the mighty one.)

"We have a lot of visitors and guests," she said. "Christmas kind of pulls at people's hearts and gets them looking for deeper meaning." (Does this mean she'll point them towards the nearest reverent Mass? I think not. She'll just feed them the same banal tripe they subsist on twice annually.)

Along with not trying to make Christmas perfect, DeRycke said she plans on telling congregants about taking time to celebrate the holiday, no matter what stress or bustle it might bring.

"Just enjoy Christmas."

____________________________




That was the most un-profound and bland description of Christmas I have ever heard from a Christian minister. I'm sorry, but it is.

By the way, the Democrat and Chronicle, which has this on its Christmas Eve front page, includes Nancy DeRycke with "area clergy," something which she is not. Even by Protestant standards. Also note, that at no point does it state the denomination of Nancy DeRycke and her parish. For the record, it is CINO.

Catholic In Name Only.

Of Farms and Shepherds

We have all grown accustomed to the Diocese of Rochester's "touchy-feely" approach to liturgy, particularly through theme Masses, Masses with specific groups of people and Masses held in "unique" locations.

Well, evidently "farm" is now a suitable synonym for "church." Bishop Clark has decided to say a Mass in Savannah during a cluster picnic. I can only hope that he will use a communion rail to keep the swine and the cattle out. After all, that's what it's meant for.

However, one positive thing is this: the bishop is reaching out to rural Catholics in the diocese, celebrating Mass for them during a hard time. However, let's compare functions which the bishop has attended and those which he hasn't.

Has not attended:

• Nocturnal Adoration Society social functions, as his three predecessors did.
• Closing Masses at dozens of parishes.
• Closing ceremonies for the schools the DoR has closed.
• Old Rite Confirmation at St. Stanislaus.
  
• Anniversary celebrations at OLV, St. Anne (before the fall) and the entire list of "sane" parishes.

Has attended:

• Sr. Joan Sobala's "Installation Mass."
• Nancy DeRycke's "Installation Mass."
• The labyrinth.
• Numerous occasions of non-Christian "ecumenism."
• The "rainbow sash Mass."
• High school graduations.
• The production of "The Video."
• Need one continue?

So, yes, Bishop Clark will be saying Mass for a group of Catholics (Masons?) in the rural areas of the diocese. This begs one question:

Which Savannah parish is getting a new female lay administrator?

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble

A supporter of the blog has emailed me a notice, telling me to peruse the Good Shepherd bulletin. I thought, "okay, sure. What pronoun got minced now?" Oh, I was wrong . . . so wrong. My comments are the ones in red. The rest flows from Priestess DeRycke's venomous pen.

Liturgical Ministries Appreciation
Vatican II leaders reminded us many years ago that "Liturgy is the work of the people." (Get ready. Here we go, folks!) As we gather to pray as a community, we all bring what we have (talents, joy, sorrows, needs, hopes, disappointments, understandings, questions, successes, failures, hurts—and a lot of “etc.”) to do what we can to renew our "PACT" with God and God's people — to work together. What PACT? Praise, Ask, Contrition, Thank. This weekend, we will be blessing Liturgical Ministers at all Masses. (You, a lay woman, have no authority whatsoever, by any stretch of any imagination. The pope has been clear. It is illicit.) We are so very fortunate to have so many people involved in our Liturgical Ministries—THANK YOU ONE ALL:
Planners, the Liturgy, Joint, and Children/Teen Liturgy Committees, who strive to make
our liturgies vibrant and prayerful. (The only Liturgy Planner should be the priest. I doubt very much that our teens have advanced liturgical degrees.)
Sacristans, working behind the scenes to prepare our worship space for weekly and
special liturgies (eg, funerals) and clean up and secure our building after celebrations. (Celebrations? Oh, yes, that's right. Jesus celebrated in the Upper Room with his Apostles. "Hey guys, you drink this stuff! It's better than Hawaiian Punch." Wrong. It was a sacrifice, and one which we re-live at every Mass. Yes, we celebrate Our Lord, but the Mass is a sacrifice beyond measure.)
Greeters, who arrive for Mass early to welcome us as we enter the building. (Quiet prayer isn't enough to prepare for Mass?)
Music Ministers, Choir Members, Cantors, and Instrumentalists who lead us in sung
prayer during Masses, special celebrations (i.e. Penance Services), and funerals.
Lectors, who proclaim God’s Word in Scripture at Masses and special liturgies.
Altar Servers, usually younger parishioners who assist the Presider at the altar. (Presider? they assist the presider? I thought that Altar Boys (and not altar girls) were supposed to assist the priest, the celebrant. Not the "presider.")
Eucharistic Ministers, who offer the Body and Blood of Christ to those gathered at Mass
and beyond, to those in hospitals, nursing homes, or the homebound. (I doubt very much whether these EM's are "offering the Body and Blood of Christ." They aren't the ones saying Mass. The priest does that. Oh, wait, I'm sorry. The "presider" does that.)
Ushers, who assist in welcoming and meeting the needs of people gathered for worship.
Gather/Children’s Liturgy of the Word Leaders, praying with our young people for the
first part of Sunday Masses.
Child Care and Babysitters, helping all to be comfortable during Liturgy. (Children should be quiet or removed. Sorry, but that's the way it is. If your child is acting more possessed than prayerful, you don't need a babysitter to care for them during Mass. You need to walk outside with your child, hold them and quiet them. Be a parent, not apathetic.)
Music Cart Distributors, families or individuals who hand out hymnals and/or tidy and
redistribute our hymnals on the carts to assure equitable distribution. (Because it's too hard to grab your own hymnal.)
Art and Environment Committee, who create and maintain an artistic, decorative
environment in our worship space and throughout the buildings and church grounds to
enhance all liturgical and parish celebrations. (So much to say. I'll let your minds take care of this.)
Wedding Coordinators, who assist in preparation, rehearsals and celebrations.
Flower Donators, bringing in requested flowers or items to enhance our worship space.
Liturgical Assistants, behind the scenes, attending to bells, annex, details, questions.
Presiders, Preachers, Deacons (I suppose "priest" is an illicit word for Mrs. DeRycke?)
Launderers of robes, altar cloths, linens
Cleaners of Church and Chapel
And for all the Assembly, those who gather to pray each week — All working together to make
our worship celebrations prayerful and meaningful. (Our Lord's Body and Blood are meaningful enough, thank you very much. I don't need some trippy teenage youthgroup to "enhance" my worship experience. "Kumbaya, My Lord, Kumbaya.")
If you would like to be part of one of these Liturgical Ministries in some way, please call the Parish Office or fill out a Stewardship card to let us know — someone will get back to you as soon as possible for introduction or training or whatever you need.
God bless your week! -Nancy

I look forward to your comments. I think I know what you will have to say.



(DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPH IS DEFINITELY NOT MEANT TO REPRESENT MRS. DERYCKE TOYING WITH LITURGY AND THE CHURCH. ANYONE WHO THINKS SUCH A THING SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY AND UNDENIABLY ASHAMED AND SHOULD GO TO CONFESSION IMMEDIATELY.)

Lay Administrators Wanted in Diocese of Rochester!

Do you have what it takes to earn the favor of Bishop Matthew Clark? Take this quiz to find out if you can join the echelons of the great ones in Rochester, including but not limited to: Nancy DeRycke, Joan Sobala and Margaret Ostramecki.

http://www02.quizyourfriends.com/take-quiz.php?id=0906211558023126&a=1&&

"We Priests Are Afraid"

These words were spoken to me by a friend who is a priest in . . . a troubled area, shall I say? We were discussing the whole situation about women like Barb and Nancy and Joan, and he said the following:

(I paraphrase)
"John, we should live in a Church devoid of fear on the part of the clergy. Without us, there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist, no Church. Our bishops should not be siding with the politicking liberals amongst us, but rather, with his brother priests. We are of a sacred order, and this is something which some bishops do not realize. I'm afraid to speak up against abuse because the women in charge are closer to the bishop's ear than am I, so I ask you, who do you think he'd support? A friend or a priest? The laity cannot readily run the Church, save from a financial end. The priest must have sole authority and answer only to his ordinary. In making 'priest' merely a job in the hierarchy, the Church has lost focus. Of course, by 'Church' I mean the R_____ Diocese."

Let us pray for the good folks in the diocese of . . . Ramblesburg? Rickshawville? I think we can discern of which diocese the good padre spoke. Only in Rochester is the priest put on trial for the errors of the laity who so ineptly run our parishes.