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VIP Letters
"How much I must criticize you, my Church, and yet how much I love you! You have made me suffer more than anyone, and yet I owe more to you than anyone. I should like to see you destroyed, and yet I need your presence. You have given me much scandal, and yet you alone have made me understand holiness. Never in the world have I seen anything more compromised, more false, yet never have I touched anything more pure, more generous, or more beautiful. Countless times I have felt like leaving you, my Church; and yet every night I have prayed that I might die in your warm loving arms......" Carlo Caretto, a member of the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld who died in 1988. See also:
January 7th, 2009 Dear Friends, I enjoyed visiting your center and celebrating Mass for you. I want to commend you for all your efforts to help priests who have had difficulties in their lives and are in need of the assistance you give them. May God bess your work for our priests. Sincerely yours in Christ, I read your article regarding the year of the priests and the story about the 70 year old retired priest. It is very sad that priests are treated so unjustly. My heart goes out to him. I am sending a check! I did not know there was such a group that helps our priests. How naive I have been thinking that my prayers are enough. Jill While researching through the Vatican II document Presbyterium Ordinis, on the Life of Priests, I came across this statement which is a justification for the special ministry to priests in legal difficulties. This endeavor, then, is in accordance with the mind of the Church, and shows that Opus Bono Sacerdotii is activating what the Church directs in such matters. This quote is at the very end of the section entitled "Brotherly Bond and Cooperation among Priests" in the Flannery edition of the Vatican II documents:
I hope this will assit you in explaining this ministry to others. Fraternally in Christ, Fr. Stan. Abandonment takes many forms. It is not only financial, but it comes emotionally, spiritually and psychologically. Not only did the Diocese not offer to help me attain legal counsel in any manner, it also never contacted me to hear my side of the story. I was assumed guilty by the diocese and left out to dry--that, to me, is abandonment, which is a travesty coming from an organization that calls itself Christian, let alone a Church. Opus Bono has listened to my story and not only helped financially, but offered me a sense of self-worth which I really needed during this time of struggle on many fronts. Fr. Den The People of God know and understand that forgiveness is first and foremost. A recent example of this was a priest who died in the Diocese of San Jose, California. Some years ago he was accused of misconduct and removed from ministry. The church was filled to overflowing at his funeral -- 2 to 3 thousand people in attendance. Obviously, they had forgiven him and loved him -- something that seems completely beyond his bishop's capability. Fr. Greg The Catholic Church has the opportunity to become this century's solution to the most devastating social problem we face. Sexual abuse. Not just the priest, but for society. As the nightmare has unfolded the need for intervention on all levels has emergerd. At this time our only answer is to lock away the abuser, often pull the children from thier homes, the destruction of the family is predictable. Sexual abuse is an illness, corporal punishment, decades of imprisonment, destruction and disgrace and shame for the victim and family is all we offer. The Church has become the main target in the publics eye regarding this issue, it could step forward and create the answer socities cry for saving it families. We need trained leaders, professionals, options to incarceration without therapy. Hospitals to treat the mental illness as such and promote wellness and end generation legacy of pain, remorse, guilt, shame, fear, sadness and hoplessness. The Catholic Church could become the beacon of hope, the answer to its families needs to be saved beyond religious belief. I believe God handed me the problem of being a Mother of an abuser so I would step forward and try and make a difference. Maybe God decided the Catholic Church was His best hope for really addressing the issue and bringing restored hope and peace to everyone. Our judicial system is failing us, we can't lock up everyone, and put all the children in foster homes. It's not just priest's in parishes you need to be trying to help, the biggest probem you are facing are the families that fill the pews. The abusers are not going to step forward because the only alternative they have at this time is prison. Their families are not going to seek help because the only alternative is prison for a loved one, loss of income, seperation of members. I pray someone hears the cry for help, not just from me but all the silent victims. This is universal, The Church is the posibility for everyone. Mar Would you like to see a modern day crucifixion? Well no need to travel back in time to the Middle East. There is one going on in the valley of the sun right now. Let’s take this man, a devoted follower of Christ, who became a priest and dedicated his life to helping other and leading them to God. He has reached inside of his flock and willed them to be better followers of Christ. He has even gone so far as to bring teenagers to the church and to lead them down the path of spiritual awareness. He is passionate and devoted to the call he received from God. He believes that god wants him to shepherd others and bring them to him. Now let’s take that same man and have someone recklessly, alleged sexual improprieties, a repressed memory from an incident that supposedly happened 20 years ago. The accuser doesn’t go to the police, he goes to a lawyer. No investigation before the accused man is punished, no hard evidence, only one man alleging something about another man.
Now he is told it will take 3-5 years to end this, he summits his resignation, because he knows that his parish family needs a pastor and he is not willing to let his family suffer through this prolonged agony with him... Still no proof by the way... The bishop accepts his resignation and he is hoisted into the air, for all to see that the Catholic Church has done its job and stood behind the victims of sexual abuse. But wait have we forgotten, this has not been proven, there has only been an accusation. It has come from a repressed memory that is from 20 years ago and it all could have been a dream. There is no proof, only one mans word against another mans word. What are we doing? We have crucified a man and he has not been proven guilty, is this America? He has had everything stripped away from him, he has lost his home, and he has lost the integrity that he worked his whole life to achieve. He has lost his life’s work, and he has lost his beloved parish. How can this be possible, how can we let this happen in America, how can we say because there have been priests that have victimized children then all priests must have? That is like saying “well there are black people in prison, so I guess all black people are criminals”. Society would not stand for that, so why do we say its okay to stereotype priests? So what is there to do? You might say the damage has been done. We can come together as Americans and say “no” we will not let this happen. We can write and call the bishop and the district attorney and say “this is absurd”. We will not allow a man to be crucified in America. We will not allow him to have everything stripped away without proof. We know that children have to be protected and we know that the church needs to take every claim seriously. We know that we have had many priests that have hurt and misused their position in the church for evil. But we also know that not ever priest victimizes children. We know that there are men of God out there that have dedicated their life to the call they received and they serve God with integrity and honor, and they also must be protected. Everyone in America has the right for a speedy trial, even priests. So let us stand together and say “no”. Today this is happening to one good man, tomorrow it could happen to you..... Julie Thank you so much for everything you are doing! God bless you! I am just in disbelief of the way US bishops have reacted to the present crisis. The way they have handled the whole problem is just making the problem worse. Regarding SNAP, bishops have just unleashed the dogs... It is true, we need to face our responsibilities and liabilities as Christians and as a Church, but we should never forget the essence of our mission, which is one of redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation... So bishops thought that by condescending to the anger level of SNAP they were fulfilling a moral obligation? Now we see SNAP trying to run the Church in Rome by bringing their unquenching fury to a ridiculous protest against Cardinal Law. And nobody in the Archdiocese of Boston has any comment...! What is next? Of course SNAP has been given so much influence by many US Bishops that now they will try to determine who remains in ministry, who will be ordained, who will be appointed bishop. The Pope has died, but don't worry SNAP is in charge, with the complacency of many US Bishops. Thank you, again, and thanks to those around you. OPUS BONO is an oasis of hope and inspiration for all priests, especially those who feel they have been abandoned and betrayed by their own bishops! Fr. P It was so nice to find that someone is sticking up for priests.It strikes me as so unfair: the helplessness that priests are faced with when suspended from the church to which they've pledged not only their lives but also their mindset and outlook on the world. Most can't take care of themselves, never learned how, paying attention in youth to spiritual things that seemed more important, and trusting their temporal matters to the church. As a layman, the priest of my youth was known as the smartest and holiest priest in the diocese.He helped me over horrible times, was always there even at 2 in the morning, or whenever a crisis hit.I don't supposeI would have survived without him, got Last Rites when it looked like I wasn't going to live much longer. And years later,he was accused. Now he lives as a nobody off in a small town somewhere in America. I wrote him a letter that he said he kept with him through all that. He could have abused me when I was young; I certainly was vulnerable enough at the time. But he didn't, rather he helped me get over some of the most abusive events that life throws. That alone is redemption enough for whatever else he might have done. He said he cried when he read that. The thing of most worth that I ever learned was how to understand others. How to confront the raw evil in the world by humbly knowing that if evil is a real thing, then all evil exists in each and every person's heart. The bishops, in their frantic political distancing act, seem to have lost all touch with that. And they surely aren't helping their own case, one way or the other. It's the logical end of American Calvinism: he is saved who acts like he's saved - and therefore anyone who sins publicly must be rebuked in the severest of terms and permanently cut off from fellowship of the saved. But there comes the contradiction: The Catholic priesthood is supposed to be beneficed for life because a destitute priest is scandalous and unseemly. Impoverishment of accused or convicted priests due to the vocal demands of the world is truly an attack on the priesthood itself. You are doing good work. Someone needs to. I wish you the best of luck. How could all of this have happened? It is the source that frightens me. Why? Because I cannot understand it. In myown case I remain totally shattered and angry with myself for never having the foresight thirty years ago as a youngin' that such a risk (made as a human being, one human beingto another both misled and immature) as a kind of sacred trust would have resulted in such heartbreak. I only wish the climate that exists today had existed than so I could have been more vigilant, and less vulnerable. I've learned so much moreabout lifethan I had known then, three years after ordination, when I took that horrid plunge into recklessthoughtlessness. Never did I for a moment look at the action ashaving so explosive an effect. If only my young friend had been honest then about his true feelings (which I'msure were never sohateful then, as now) I would have done everything to repair the harm. Frankly, I thought only in sacramental terms that confessing the sin was sufficient. It just seemed like it passed into history, a terrible mistake, a dreadful sin of misguided and uncontrolled passion for which we were both somewhat culpable, and I of course completely responsible as a young adult. I'm having a lot of trouble now with guilt that seems to increase with every passing day knowing that I have inflicted such adeadly blow to the Body of Christ. How can I ever be forgiven? No reconciliation is possibleand the Church has done nothing to assistme in providing healing for a reformed relationship with thiswounded soul, and everyone else afflicted by my selfish failure to see clearly the futuristic effects of my lack of holiness. I lived through all those years thinking that healing occurred, but I was deceived by the very source that miserably connived and prepared the snare for me, and now I hear the laughing in the distance - evil accomplished its purpose in my flesh. Will I ever rise above this, or will Mother Church in her hateful abandonment cast me further away from her sight? What has happened to my brothers and I who have become ship wrecked drowning now in these turbulent filthy waters. Hell rejoices to see us undone. What more will Jesus' enemy accomplish in us as we sail now in this darkness? Will we have the strength to rise above despair and self hate? Will we ever regain our lost innocence and deteriorated integrity? There seems to be no sin as disgusting and disturbing as ours, magnified by those who have fallen not only by human vulnerability in weakness, butdeliberate purposeful forced rape of our little ones. At this point I would welcome anyone to take the millstone and attach me to it, and drown me once and for all as in the prospective hyperbolical gospel vision. My pain would at least cease, and I wouldn't have to be weighed down any longer by the enduring loss of all I held as sacred and true, family, friends and flock. Even those most merciful cringe at the very thought of an unknown and inconceivable scenario assuming a certain distance now replacing a closeness in trusty affection and love that I will know no more. Just the knowledge of a ruined reputation and loss of honor and respect, termination of alife I loved and pastoral ministry that took so long to manage into a so successful, nurturing,and enriching gift to others. God help me. How will I survive, for each year passing (now the third) finds me further alienated, isolated, and polarized? Only God could salvage a servant once so heartily devoted to those precisely experiencing the loss of that which I do today - my place at the table of the Lord. What a thing I have become in this disgrace and degeneration. Although my prayer becomes more ardent each day, my Eucharistic adoration and celebration of the Holy Sacrifice even more piously rendered than ever, I am incessantly wounded and mercilessly devoured by the wretched, jealous, and scheming opponent of my Beloved Brother and Savior. I only wish I could rise above every scheme and trap still set before me. But, Joe, I am still the man and not the angel. I am a man very alone and in solitude. I am afraid there is no one, who can understand what I'm experiencing. It doesn't seem like any of the brothers are this far down into the dark cold and damp where I am today. Perhaps they are and cannot describe or release their true feelings for each other to attest. Perhaps they have found a certain something that gives them a burning desire, for example, to fight the institution, system or whatever. But I'm so blown apart by myfailure to foresee all this, to have treated it so differently back then, to have brought it all out in the light - I have failedJesus so completely that I just can't be sure how upset He really is. And I can't really believe that it's all going by Him without His utter disgust and righteous indignation, and I am so concerned about His own heart, that I love so dearly. I just beg He desires me still and remembers my zeal from my youth, and my genuine undying priestly hope to serve others that remains still in my heart. I would have died for my faith, and look instead what I have done, what I have become. I love you all for what you are and what you are doing. But I'm really so afraid that evil is so dreadfully wily and ruthless that even your voice and your goodness become muffled and camouflaged by the prince of the world who has gained such momentum through my careless stupidity andthoughtless insensitivity. My virtue has been found wanting and I lacked the courage then, and perhaps even still today. I have done nothing to amelioratemy situation but wallow in shady images of fear and self destruction. I needto hope. Pray for me.It's lonely anddark inside. Fr. P I was pleased to read in the April 4th issue of Newsweek about your efforts on behalf of the many priests caught up in this awful scenario known as the sex-abuse scandal. As a Catholic in the Boston area, I am as offended by the media's "guilty until proven innocent " presentation of this entire situation as I would be about proven sexual abuse charges. The Boston Globe has been particularly offensive, but they are hardly alone. Cardinal Law is to this day vilified by supposedly devout Catholics for his role in "shuffling priests". These are the same Catholics who pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". To these people, forgiveness of sins is not universal, Catholic. Any forgiveness for them is selective. There has been little Christianity displayed by some Boston area Catholics. Did Cardinal Law make mistakes? Of that, there is little doubt. I always viewed him as more of a fundraiser in the CEO mold rather than an old school prelate. As with many other CEO's who have attempted to keep bubbling scandals out of the view of the public, he was scalded when it all boiled over. The media fanned the flames under that cauldron. The ambulance chaser attorneys quickly followed and they have been compensated to the extreme. Id like to know how many area churches had to be sold just to pay those legal fees. Cardinal Law's willingness to negotiate the obscene sums demanded by the attorneys for those making these allegations, was seen as a welcome mat to anyone of dubious ethics. Peoples memories were suddenly and surprisingly refreshed. Allegations going back decades were rarely questioned. In those cases were there have been neither confessions nor convictions, we may never really know how many allegations had any merit and how many are false charges. That may be the most shameful legacy of the events of the past few years. The Boston Globe is happy. The 'scandal' came in handy when they were making their big push to legalize homosexual marriage. One does not hear much about Opus Bono Sacerdotii in the Greater Boston area. It is refreshing, nonetheless, to know that there still are American Catholics who are good Christians who also believe in the rule of law. Sincerely, JFN I heard about you folks from a EWTN radio
show this week. I am a convert to the Faith and the pastor, my mentor, who brought me into the Church is a priest who had a crime in his past, nearly forty years ago and he died a holy priest in the care of a Catholic treatment center for priests last fall. When his crime was discovered his bishop gave him the choice of being removed from the Priesthood or placing himself in permanent exile, in effect, removing himself from the near occasion of sin, with the treatment center. He chose the high road and remained a priest and spent nearly forty years repenting his past and when he died, he was a very holy priest. God bless you over and over again for the good work you at Opus Bono Sacerdotii are doing. It is a wonderful call to do what you are doing. You are an antidote to those in our Church who are so righteous and unforgiving. Some of those who claim to act in the name of Jesus are simply full of hate and do a good job in painting the Body of Christ and particularly its priests in horrible colors. We are a small poor parish. However, your mission is so admirable, we will give up something else, in order to help you. Blessings in abundance, gratefully, Fr. Patrick God bless you in the work. I have a brother priest who has gone through 17 months of hell. He has grudgingly been reinstated. I cannot stress enough the importance of your ministry. You never know, someday I may have need of it. God bless you. With gratitude, Fr. Michael. Continue the Opus Bono! Benedicamos Domino! Thank you for reaching out to our "defenseless" priests. I know - first hand- that our priests here in the Diocese are "presumed guilty" and do not get one penny from the Diocese and are not even informed of their rights. As one Pastor puts it "the Bishop is just throwing his priests to the wolves!" May the good Lord bless you and your selfless concern for His priests. Sincerely, Fr. B This past weekend the Archbishop re-released names with a whole bunch of names not released before. So, the new names get new exposure, us old names get beat up once again in the media. The proportionality of our punishment is immoral. We are being persecuted without hope of any kind. I appreciate the article by Dulles. Don't understand why the bishops have such closed minds to the working of the spirit, other than they are trying to avert all attention away from themselves and their poor decisions of the past. But, it is so very painful to undergo their heavy handedness in this matter. I feel like the story of the Prodigal Son has been rewritten with a much more tragic ending. This time the Father asks lots of questions and puts the son into the swine yard once again. We don't even get to be a servant. Just as Bishop Gregory said, not even in a soup kitchen. Where is gospel love? I just need to vent, so I am doing it here. Trying to find someone to hire me with so much media attention, is just a bit too much to ask. I am a good man with much to offer, and the Church that I love won't let me do it. Where's the justice? Thanks for all the good work you do for us condemned ones. You are a ray of hope in the darkness of this age. Peace and blessings to you and upon your work. Fr. W. Thank you for your words of defense in the press. Our names are in the papers again. I just saw mine on the computer. I am devastated again. This is a horrible treatment to us for several reasons
I am SO disgusted on how the church has handled this, and given the
fact that the Church creates law for protection which it dispenses
at its whim such as in the statute of limitations, I want to distance
myself as far as possible from people who can harm or hurt me. I
have tried for part time jobs and I think it is of no use. I have tried
for a support group here, with no luck. The men are too fearful. The zero tolerance rule concerning sexual abuse by Catholic clergy is too heavy a burden for our priests to carry. Is there any priest that is not guilty of being alone with a child at any time during their career? Simply having a person make an allegation and not being able, with one hundred percent certainty, to prove the allegation is untrue leaves each member of the clergy a target. There must be a higher standard than “could possibly have occurred”. To ruin a man, his name, have him drug through the mud for an allegation is intolerable. You will have no one willing to heed the call of the vocation if this continues. While I concede that the new law was well intentioned, it did not take into account that priests would be destroyed in the process. Please re-think this law! It is hard to call myself a Catholic and encourage my children to make the sacraments with the hierarchy of the church being so irresponsible with our parish leaders. Our parish priest was removed and placed on administrative leave effective the last week of February 2004 based on a single allegation of abuse that occurred 33 years ago. How can this ever be proved or disputed? There would be no physical evidence at this point, the accuser did not come forward until late last year therefore there is no historical record of abuse either. The district attorney is unwilling to prosecute this man yet Rome is willing to do so. It is beyond unfair; it is unjust in every sense of the word. Father is a good, kind, honest, decent man of integrity whom I could not more fully believe in. I trust him completely with my children. I have seen him interact with my son and he has always been a true professional. My son loves this man and looks forward to seeing him each Sunday. I have no words to explain to him the injustice that has been delivered upon our parish. During my journey through RCIA Father made several appearances during which he shared his spiritual journey including a time that he doubted and left the priesthood. The call to return was strong and he followed it. Now he is crushed, our parish is crushed, and our hearts are broken. Was this a factor considered when the law was approved? Does it not matter that one person can make an accusation and destroy a parish family with thousands of members? There must be a middle ground. I am ashamed. Sincerely, Chris Dear Cherished Friends, I am reminded of the Old Testament prophet who God asked to continually take back his unfaithful wife as a sign of Yahweh's love for sinners. Shameful, isn't it, that this, and worse yet, Jesus' teaching and way of life, rarely enters into the discussion about the crisis the Church we love finds itself. Our Church which traces its origin to Jesus and claims (and is) endowed with His Spirit! May you taste the new wine of the kingdom on this Lord's day. May the foretaste of the eternal banquet strengthen the gift you have received to ministry to Jesus beloved ones, His priests. One who is graced to be touched by the gift of the Spirit with which you are anointed, Fr. Jim Thanks to Opus Bono Sacerdotii. I really believe that your organization
is divinely instituted, otherwise where will priests in such situations
go for help? As I am facing now. I am very hopeful that God will NOT
desert me since he knows my misery and the very many mental agonies
that I have gone through. I am deeply convinced that He will use you
to give me the needed rest; because the circumstances surrounding
that day I discovered your website are all divinely inspired. I prayed
seriously that night and I remember deep down in me I was receiving
some relief from my obsessed situations. Really you are my hope.
I will always offer Mass for the growth of Opus Bono Sacerdotii and
the strength for its members. I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful work you are doing in standing
up for the priests. They seem to be the most abandoned of men. Both
their leaders and brothers seem to have turned their backs on them;
but not you. Like a knight in shining armor, you come to their rescue,
lifting them up, standing by them and providing some ray of hope that
they are not totally abandoned. Whether they are innocent, guilty of
something a long time ago, or shackled by an evil that humiliates and
knocks them down again and again, God's merciful love is never denied
to them. You are a sign, in a confused and chaotic world, of that steadfast
love. Please know our prayerful support is with you. Have courage and
continue to be strong. You don't know the joy your mission brought me. I have felt so very
deeply for those falsely accused, but especially Diocesan priests who
are 100% vulnerable and left absolutely helpless if accused. We religious
have our congregations and orders to care for us. Your generosity in
giving up all to help priests is just as valuable as Mother Theresa
with the gutter poor. May the Lord in His generosity flood you
with His mercy, peace and love. I have been wanting to write and tell you how inspired I am to know
you're helping our beloved priests. They are God's own and
more than ever need a shepherd to lift them up and comfort them,
even in their sinfulness and suffering. We have all made mistakes,
but sometimes no one but a priest in confession knows our unworthiness.
Through the power of Christ given in a priest's ordination we are absolved
and walk out scott-free. Yet, so many (even good Catholics) will not
forgive these priests. Thank you for being a shepherd to the priests
in need and comforting them in their sorrow, and for your compassion
to His chosen ones. Thank-you for your kind reply. I am aware of the cases you mentioned
as I check the site from time to time that I might pray for all concerned.
As for myself, yes what is happening is terrible, but it is a terrible
beauty in that as priests, no matter the toll it takes upon us, not
to be upset unduly when we are falsely accused. It seems to me even
when my emotions are raw or my temper wants to order a load of concrete(!),
how can I as a priest object to being lied about when the only truly
Innocent One was not spared worse lies? So I am at peace. But obedience
and justice demands that I not allow the understandable cowardice of
the Bishop to prevent me from seeing if this lie cannot be expunged,
for it makes it easier for people to lie about any priest and brings
closer the day when it is possible that true victims may be seen as
crying wolf if we let the lies outnumber true cases. Mind you I have
absolutely no desire to take on to much of this as I am myself more
comfortable being a dedicated coward! More power to you! It is important that we counter this vicious notion
that an injustice or alleged injustice of years ago can be righted
by a new injustice now. The demand that a person "must be punished," no
matter how long ago the offense or the repentance and transformation
of the offender, is nothing more than a demand for vengeance, which,
as the Scriptures remind us, is not rightly ours. Do let me know how
your project progresses. I want to express my thanks to you for what you have done for so
many, I ask God to bless you and your family in abundance. With every
good wish, I remain A huge thanks to you for the superlative job you did for Father's
defense. The full measure in which you both threw yourselves into your
work to spare him a life of woe and depression is far beyond the demands
of any job. I know that you also did what you did out of your love
for the Church, our dear Mother who is suffering so much grief these
days. Gratefully, and in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, You are doing an extremely important service for the future of the priesthood and the church. I am deeply saddened at the way the priesthood and clergy of all denominations have been negatively affected by the relatively small number of those who have been abusers and the response (or lack thereof) of some church officials. Jackson W. Carroll Dear friend, Enclosed is my check for your Christ-like work in defending priests.
It is sorely needed! As I was searching for the answers and understanding of the great
injustice and pain that I received from my local ordinary, your presence
and attention, your great faith and willingness to listen and to help,
was and is, God's gift in my life. I wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for calling this evening. You have no idea how long I have searched for someone who would just openly listen to my thoughts about our parish and our pastor's situation. There are plenty of people in the parish who will listen and share thoughts, but none who had any more of an idea of what to do than I did. I felt invigorated after your call and spent the evening with my daughter playing my guitar and singing with her. I am reviewing your Web-Site also and I like what I see. Your group is obviously made up of thoughtful people helping people. Thank you again for the lift!! Jeff Is there anything I can do for you? Can I help you, in any
way? I want to give you back something in return for your graciousness,
care and love of the Church and those who serve Her. I checked out your website and I am enthusiastic about the work
that you do and will say a Mass for you and your work tomorrow AM,
as you requested. Thank God someone is standing behind our priests
in need. Thanks for doing this work. Even for those priests not directly affected,
it's a huge moral support to know that there are lay people out there
who will be doing what they can to help them, because many priests
do not feel the bishops are giving them much support as a result of
some of the weaknesses of the Dallas policy. I express my gratefulness to you for all you are doing for the priests.
God is great. I reviewed your website and know now a lot about you
and the "Opus Bono Sacerdotii" I even saw your photos. Thanks
to God. I checked out your website. Amazing (well not really since God is
God!) what God has accomplished in these past months. In His love, Your information was forwarded from the parish where
I am still technically pastor but now find myself since last August
2002, on Administrative leave following an accusation of sexual misconduct
with a minor 37 years ago. I have been ordained for 42 years and experienced
great success in my ministry. Since appearing at a Kangaroo Court in
August 2002, without benefit of canonical or civil attorney I was stripped
of my priestly garb and ministerial faculties. Since that date a "Wall
of Silence" has been maintained between the ecclesiastical bureaucracy
and myself. I receive my monthly paycheck plus living expenses, which
has eased my situation materially speaking. |
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By financially supporting Benedict XVI July IntentionsGeneral Intention: "That the Christians of the Middle East may live their faith in full freedom and be an instrument of peace and reconciliation". Mission Intention: "That the Church may be the seed and nucleus of a humanity reconciled and reunited in God's one and only family, thanks to the testimony of all the faithful in every country of the world". Quick Links to OBS Comments:
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