A
reader sent me the
following story.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ― Outrage in the
Catholic community after a south Baltimore priest is forced to
resign. Jessica Kartalija has more from Locust Point on a
protest led by church members.
In Locust Point, parishioners are outraged.
“I’m very angry. I’m very angry. Father Ray is a
wonderful man and that’s why we’re here today, to let the archdiocese
know how happy and what a wonderful man he is,” Anita Doda said.
This week, the archdiocese ordered Reverend Ray Martin to resign.
It all started with an October funeral service for a well-known
mortuary owner. Father Ray allowed an Episcopal priest from a
church a block away to read a gospel lesson.
“When a minister from another faith participates in that aspect of
that, in another way it’s directly canon law,” said Sean Caine,
archdiocese spokesperson.
The archdiocese says he was also warned for allowing dogs into the
sanctuary. He’s missed baptisms and first communions and
hired someone to work at the church who had an extensive criminal
record and then didn’t terminate him.
“I want to tell the archdiocese the mistake you’re making now is
totally wrong. This man has run three parishes, not just this
one, and to do what you’ve done, you’re going to have a hard time in
this community,” Doda said.
In response to a statement prepared by the archdiocese, parishioners
stood and walked out of the church in protest.
“The message is that the archdiocese, they need to get their priorities
straight. They’re persecuting a man who did nothing wrong,”
said Mary Lewandowski-Stylc.
This was exactly the reaction many people expected from Fr.
Ray’s parishioners and it follows the pattern of what has happened in
other parishes.
The media has many framed this as Archbishop O’Brien being the heavy
bad guy against the lovable priest that bent a couple of rules that
really don’t amount to anything. What the media misses and
what this parish does not see is that it is highly inaccurate point of
view and the reality is that this would have been the last thing the
Archbishop wanted to do. Of course we won’t have the
following mentioned in most stories.
“Father Martin’s received advice and
counsel on numerous occasions from the archdiocese, and he has
repeatedly violated church teaching,”
We of course will not see the media describe
this case as a case of disobedience to the Church and some rather
serious infractions of Canon law and the liturgy and a case of personal
disobedience to the Archbishop by not correcting the problems.
Father Ray in replying to his allowing an Episcopalian priestess read
the Gospel at at funeral Mass and possibly receiving Communion was.
“I think that canon laws exist to
protect the church from extremism. I
don’t find that this is such an extreme situation,” Martin said.
12 comments
I HAVE BEEN OUTRAGED FOR YEARS OVER LITURGICAL ABUSE BUT NO ONE HAS SEEMED MUCH TO CARE…
I am outraged that our children are not taught the truths of the faith.
I am outraged when a gay priest ‘comes out’ at what is to be the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
I am outraged when an archbishop goes to the most infamous ‘gay’ parish and gives Holy Communion to flamingly and outrageously dressed drag queens and it is videod.
I am outraged when public pro-abortion politicians are given Holy Communion and it is televised.
I am outraged that pedophile preditor priests were shuttled from place to place to continue harming innocents and those in power were not outraged.
I am outraged when our ‘nuns’ promote new age and other garbage.
I could go on and on but you get the idea.
I think Father Martin would be a very good protestant minister. It’s really where he belongs if he can’t understand the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
I want to tell the archdiocese the mistake you’re making now is totally wrong.
As opposed to the mistakes the priest made, which were laudable?
I think “bent a couple of rules that really don’t amount to anything” sums up the problem well. I was talking to someone last week who was poo-pooing some rules on the grounds that they hadn’t been reexamined in 50 (or however many) years. She was wrong, but the explanation she got from her priest didn’t ring of heterodoxy as much as not looking to the Magisterium–to see what it has been examining and reexamining–and trying to come up with answers himself. If he feels he’s not getting the guidance he needs, then it falls to him to make the call or play the conscience card.
Or not, but that was my impression.
Why be surprised at this reaction? When the bishops do not give example by executing their office with obedience and humility, why should their spiritual children? How can the bishops as a whole disrespect authority and then expect their authority to be upheld? Vine, branches folks…
It just shows why this action is needed. The rules do mean something. People don’t understand that because they have not been taught. The new bishop is teaching. Fr Ray was given the first test and he flunked. I don’t doubt there are a lot of priests in that diocese pondering their options.
You can be right or you can be popular. Thank God the bishop chooses to be right.
We need many more like him.
Not surprisingly, the media is portraying this as David vs Goliath. Fr. Martin is flawed on his application of Canon Law. For what it’s worth, I bought a copy myself so that as a layman for my own knowledge.
As someone pointed out on anther blog, it is interesting that the same people who are screaming that the Bishop who has followed the rules is acting heavy handed would be the same ones screaming that he wasn’t acting fast enough if the same priest had been accused of sexual activity with a young boy or teen even if there was much less evidence than there is in this case.
At least your Bishop listens to the Rules…You’re not out here in LA 😉
I’m just curious, do people get up in arms when Kroger fires a store manager who is “a nice and happy guy” and who “loves the community” when he’s giving the store away?
This guy is a priest, he has agreed to abide by canon law. He didn’t, he was disciplined. End of story.
There is a priest like this in our diocese. When people try to point out how heterodox he is, immediately his parishioners are up in arms about how he’s such a wonderful, warm fuzzy do-gooder of a person and MUST NOT be attacked. I keep wondering why the bishop won’t do anything about him. Is it because of our severe priest shortage or does he not want to foist this priest on a parish that would undoubtedly love him less?
I feel that this kind of “cult of personality” is one reason that priests should be transferred to different parishes on a regular basis. It’s a sad day when people love their priest more than they love their Church.
Bishops tend to be like sleeping giants. It takes alot to rouse them (assuming they don’t have a cabal of so-called progressive laypeople around him keeping him in the dark, and many bishop offices do). Bishops get lots of complaints, so they are not going to bother unless it is serious and serial abuse/heterodoxy. So it is silly to think this was over minor rule-bending.
Comments are closed.