Gerald has a farewell statement from a dissenting priest who appears to have been ordered to shut down his website. Not only does he dissent from the magisterium but his statement shows that he dissents from a dictionary or spellchecker also. Read the whole thing, but here is a snippet.
Therefore i have admitted to "public’ dissent While informing my provinxcial that i cannot recant these fews, that for the sake of keeping me faculties i will be less vocal and public in my dissent.
"Keeping me faculties" I swear if Popeye was a dissenting priest this is how he would write. Though Popeye might also have some problems with trademark infringement with God’s statement at the burning bush. "I Yam what I Yam." Though while I am on this odd train of though would a priestly Popeye anoint somebody with Olive Oyl?
Getting back to Fr. Comella his statement is the very model of disobedience in that he is not going to change his views at all and is only going to be less public in support of them. That his shutting down is not a praiseworthy act of obedience, but to be able to keep his faculties in his diocese.
Contrast this with Fr. Altier whose homilies "In obedient compliance with the expressed written request of Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn" can no longer be published on www.desertvoice.org or broadcast on Relevant Radio. From all indications Fr. Altier is an orthodox priest who has been very critical of programs like VIRTUS (spawned by Playboy and Planned Parenthood) and their use in the diocese. There might be much more to this story so we will have to wait and see. I only illustrate the contrast between two priests and how one makes a non-apology and the other does nothing than inform the website that was publishing his homilies.
It is always easy to quiet orthodox priests since they actually believe in obedience in situations where they might not prudently agree with a superior.
23 comments
“Keeping me faculties” I swear if Popeye was a dissenting priest this is how he would write.
Where can I send the bill for my keyboard? LOL!
Many of my readers had complained to ‘Greg’s’ (as he refers to himself) order – back in December, back then he dismissed us as ‘papal loyalists’ and tedious and boring. Apparently the loyalists had some effect on the order, since he’s closing shop now. The man has lotsa degrees and has taught at fancy universities. I guess spelling wasn’t a requirement.
How true it is! Many in the hierarchy love to attack the faithful priests but the dissenters not only get free passes, but also are usually rewarded with nice parishes. Purification needed in Church!
I think some bishops have a backbone when confronting orthodox clergy, but turn to jellyfish when confronting renegade priests because the media will turn a renegade priest into a Superman of the Catholic Faith and the bishop into THE Joker (sorry to mix comics). Few bishops want to go through the media’s carnival mirror of distortions too often.
Of course, if an orthodox priest is given a roll of making tape for his mouth from a bishop–suddenly the bishop is a Lion of Judah who has justly roared in defense of all that is good and holy
–oops–roll of “masking” tape…
“A failure to speak the truth because of a misconceived sense of compassion should not be taken for love. We do not have the right to minimize matters of our own accord, even with the best of intentions. Our task is to be God’s witnesses, to be spokesmen of a mercy that saves ‘even when it shows itself as JUDGMENT’ on man’s sin.”
— Pope John Paul II, 2002 Letter to Priests
Since when is Popeye a redneck? Australia comes to mind as well. Whatever… silly man!
Please give more information about VIRTUS. This is what my diocese currently uses and if Playboy spawned it, I want no part of it. Thanks
I agree with everything about the dissenting priest. I can’t decide if it’s more depressing that one of my brother priests can’t spell check or if the content is depressing in itself. I think the content…
But, did anyone else notice that part of the “point” of the website about Fr. Altier is “As this is very likely the cause of this grave action and since there are profound problems with these programs, we would like to continue Fr. Altier�s work and provide links to several resources (including Fr. Altier�s sermon) which illuminate the issues…”
So, Fr. Altier is going to comply but this website will be his mouthpiece of dissent? What’s the difference if he does it or if someone else does it for him?
Fr. Dennis: Where do you see the implication that that website is to be Fr. Altier’s ‘mouthpiece of dissent’, as you put it — ie, that he is speaking through them? I don’t see that in the text of the site.
I don’t see why you even mentioned ‘dissent’, which is usually tied to departure from Catholic doctrine. Making known to the public that VIRTUS is harmful to children has nothing to do with dissent from Catholic doctrine. (If that is indeed why he was silenced.)
“Whats the difference if he does it or if someone else does it for him?”
If he asked them to do it, that would be problematic. But did he? There is no indication or implication that he has done so.
The proprietors of that website are just picking up the cause after he obediently set it down. And I’m sure that Fr. Altier has no control over the distribution of past writings or sermons which have already been widely published on the Internet.
So, Fr. Altier is going to comply but this website will be his mouthpiece of dissent? What’s the difference if he does it or if someone else does it for him?
It appears that the bishop has asked Fr. Atlier to no longer publish his homilies on the website or speak on Relevant Radio. Whether he asked Fr. Altier to sever his ties with The Church Online, I do not know. I assume if he did, that Fr. Altier will comply. If he does sever his ties with The Church Online, is he required to work against its mission? Your comment would suggest that he has been told to sever his ties and is using them in a clandestine way to continue expressing his views.
Back to Fr. Comella … Why the scare quotes around Cardinal Ratzinger’s “‘election’ to the papacy”? Is this guy a sedevacantist? Does he want all the votes recounted? And recounted? And recounted?…
I think poor Fr. Comella lost his faculties a long time ago.
The pernicious tendency to use IM-quality typing i
…I have always made it a point when typing in an instant messenger service (which I will admit is seldom now) to keep my capitalization correct and my spelling as good as possible. It has also long been a personal pet peeve of mine when people use …
First off, I personally don’t know whether this website is in the same archdiocese as this priest is. Obviously, people from another archdiocese have absolutely no obligation to obey J. Random Archbishop that is not their own.
Secondly, if the website is run by laypeople, they have apparently not received any orders from the bishop even if their priest friend has.
It’s a lot easier for a bishop to command a priest than a layperson, in terms of canon law. Sorta like the president — it’s a lot easier for him to go through the chain of command and get obedience from a soldier, than to go through the civilian law process and get obedience from a civilian. Civilians and laypeople have certain freedoms that soldiers and clergy have voluntarily given up.
Father Dennis, these are wonderful homilies and the fact that others know enough about the Internet to extract these files off of Father Altier’s website is totally out of his control.
Now excuse me while I compose a letter to Bishop Flynn…
Faithful Priest Silenced
Archbishop Harry J. Flynn has silenced Fr. Altier, a well-known and loved priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Fr. Altier is the assistant pastor of the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota, a parish famous the worl…
1. The Church Online is in no way affilliated with Fr. Altier. It is a blog run by a virtual group of Catholic internet professionals (web designers, information architects, etc.)
2. The silver lining in this is that more people are learning about VIRTUS than this HOLY PRIEST could have done on his own. This issue is being widely discussed and for good reason. To learn more about the moral problems with VIRTUS, visit the links referenced at Faithful Priest Silenced.
If one were feeling snarky, one might suggest that a great deal of trouble has been caused by priests who seem to believe that they have been given “me faculties,” rather than faculties on behalf of the whole Church. But that would be snarky.
Fr Altier is a wonderfully holy priest loved by his parishioners and radio listeners and has been going through much persecution from his bishop for being a faithful Catholic priest! His opposition to the Bishop’s evil sex ed program was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Get the entire story on the censorship of this holy priest here:
http://chronicleofameanderingtraveller.blogspot.com/2006/03/us-bishops-evil-sex-ed-virtus-program.html
and here:http://chronicleofameanderingtraveller.blogspot.com/2006/03/fr-altiers-homilies-and-recordings.html
and the background on the VIRTUS and “Talk About Touching” programs here:
http://chronicleofameanderingtraveller.blogspot.com/2006/01/re-innocence-of-your-children-is-at.html
In Christ,
Georgette
Thank God for Priests like Fr. Altier. I am
glad to have read his homily on VIRTUS. Years ago
I would never have thought that a Catholic School
would ever allow such a program into the Parochial
School system!!! God bless you Fr. Altier for
alerting parents who may not have known about
this program.
Check out our gumball vending machines http://gumball-machines.blog-city.com/
So lets all of us continue to gather and pray, for prayer is truly needed all around the world. Without prayer, there cannot be peace or conversion and lets encourage others to prayer groups so more come to know Jesus in a deeper way. Pray the Rosary and meditate on the mysteries each new day. Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for souls, for many, many are suffering due to lack of prayer.
Here is a linkable archive list to Fr. Altier�s Homilies2006 Homilies by Father Robert Altier
2005 Homilies by Father Robert Altier
2004 Homilies by Father Robert Altier
2003 Homilies by Father Robert Altier
2002 Homilies by Father Robert Altier
2001 Homilies by Father Robert Altier
That’s right.
Gerald Augustinus is ANYTHING but a papal loyalist.
His loyalty lies with sodomites and lesbians,leftists and liberals that want to see your children corrupted,and your church reduced to smoking rubble.
This man is your enemy.
Dominic.
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