I know, it sounds sensationalistic and self-serving. But my experience as a student, a seminary adjunct prof, and a parish DRE confirms everything this unfortunate man says. Ponder it and learn.
I know, it sounds sensationalistic and self-serving. But my experience as a student, a seminary adjunct prof, and a parish DRE confirms everything this unfortunate man says. Ponder it and learn.
I wish the man well; but I have to say, I am a little skeptical, based on what I've read.
ReplyDeleteHere's the thing: the man had a lot of options less drastic than what he chose.
He could have sought to transfer to another diocese; if the issue is merely his "conservatism," and he's in his 40s and presumably in good health, I would expect many other dioceses would allow that. Or he could have sought to transfer to an order.
Again, I am not passing judgment; who knows what he's been through?
Fr Fox:
ReplyDeleteMy sense is that he was outspoken enough about this issue to have foreclosed the options you suggest, or at least to have made them unattractive as escape routes. I know that religious orders are in even worse shape in this regard.
Best,
Mike
He was too outspoken for Bishop Bruskewitz?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wouldn't see why his conservatism would be an issue for, say, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
Ping!
ReplyDeleteFr. Fox:
ReplyDeleteI still think you're missing the point. Of course he wouldn't be too outspoken for Bishop Bruskewitz or the PFSP. But he may have felt that the hate campaign against him orchestrated by gay priests has done too much to sabatoge him.
All the same, you might be right that this has more to do with his personal issues than with hostility from the hierarchy. One never really knows at first, and sometimes not even at the last.
Best,
Mike
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteIf we are part of a Church that has *actual* hierarchical authority and the capacity to render normative its teachings, how does something like this go unchecked with the "lavender mafia" winning the day?
As a convert to the faith, this is a very disturbing story.
James:)
PS. Love reading you.
James:
ReplyDeleteFar too many bishops are themselves part of the "lavender mafia." Since 2002, half-a-dozen American bishops have been forced to resign on account of their own (homo)sexual improprieties. And that's the shenanigans we know about. It is one factor explaining why so much was covered up and minimized for so long. Indeed, far too many bishops only half-believe the Church's teachings about sex.
But "be not afraid." The Church has in past times got through as bad, even worse, problems. This is a time for "coming clean" and thus for purification. Under this pope, it has begun.
Best,
Mike
One observer's opinions:
ReplyDeleteFr. Nesbella's grievances are real, although he seems to have been poorly counseled to sue the Altoona-Johnstown diocese by some self-appointed/self-important orthodox activist lay busybodies with little grasp of either canon or secular law. These same individuals are undoubtedly thrilled that his story now has gotten national attention, (and therefore attention for THEM).
The other individual mentioned in the article, James Foster, is about to marry a woman he was openly and unashamedly in a relationship with while he was still a functioning diocesan priest there... and she was separated (not even divorced) from her husband.
Alas, poor Father F.! All that terrible heterodoxy and homosexuality was, erm, just too much for him, so he had no other choice than to leave the priesthood, you see. (Such a brave martyr for Catholic moral teaching.)
Unfortunately, all is never as simple as it seems. Sometimes orthodoxy (just like patriotism) is the last refuge of the scoundrel.