A priest confesses his greatest secret during Mass

[buffalo]

A priest confesses his greatest secret during Mass

			 				 					 					 					 				                                                                                                                                                                              				 				 					 					 				                                                                                                                                    THE PRIEST'S heart was pounding in his chest. His hands were icy cold.   He was nervous. More than usual. The pews were nearly full as they are most Sundays as he walked up the middle aisle of St. Joseph Basilica in Alameda to celebrate Mass.

It was just after 9 a.m. Children squirmed and latecomers slid into their seats as the morning light poured in through the stained-glass images of Mary, Jesus, Joseph and the saints.

Going through the ritualistic motions of Mass, the priest struggled in his mind with the decision he had made. It’s the time, he thought. It’s the right place, the right people.

The parishioners sang and repeated the customary “amens” and “also with you” replies to preselected texts.

Just another Sunday Mass.

Then the priest started to speak.

more…

 

[YinYangMom]

I suppose it’s too much to expect the Bishop to remove him from the parish…

He seems to be saying, I’m gay, but celebate, and therefore I’m fit to be a priest…
This good news is for everybody or it is for nobody,"
and yet…

the fact that he lifted the gospel and proclaimed to his flock: “This good news is for everybody or it is for nobody,” shows just how a wayward priest can harm those he has been charged to lead in proper teaching of Catholicism.

"At the evening Mass, the small sentence fell on the congregation. There wasn’t the same hesitation as in the earlier Masses. Instead, **the basilica erupted in applause, and pew by pew the parishioners stood. **

Their priest was homosexual and they greeted the news with a standing ovation."

YES the Gospel is for everyone, including his aunt and him, but the Gospel clearly states a gay person must strive not to succumb to their inclinations. **THAT **is the Good News - that gay people can rise above the challenges before them and gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

But he’s basically telling his parishioners the Gospel alone will save even the greatest sinner even when the sinner continues to sin. That just isn’t true so he is misleading his flock right there and this is why celebate gay priests need to be relocated to a different service within the Church - not allowed to lead.

And that’s my 2 cents.

May God grant peace to this priest, may the Holy Spirit strengthen and guide him along his journey to redemption, may Mary comfort him as he faces the challenge before him, may Jesus reach his heart and soul to recognize and embrace the Truth.

 

[fix]

“There’s a difference sometimes (between) serving the Church and serving Christ,” he says. “There’s a higher voice that I hear.”

“This is a human institution,” he adds later. "There are times when we do it well, wonderfully well. We’ve done things poorly.

“Perhaps it’s a bit like family. You might have the dysfunctional grandfather, a crazy uncle or two. But you love them anyway, devoted to the idea of family and maybe what it could be.”

 

[felra]

This priest’s personal disclosure comes across as entirely self-serving and self-focused. It would be hard put to make the case that this priest had the best interest of God’s flock entrusted to his care in mind with this pulpit “revelation”.

 

[Tristan_daCunha]

“This is a human institution,” he adds later. "There are times when we do it well, wonderfully well. We’ve done things poorly.

“Perhaps it’s a bit like family. You might have the dysfunctional grandfather, a crazy uncle or two. But you love them anyway, devoted to the idea of family and maybe what it could be.”

“For all the Catholic hate, I experience here a community of love,” it reads in part. “For all the institutional idiocy, I find here a tradition of reason. For all the individual repressions, I breathe here an air of freedom. … For all the apparent absence of God, I sense here the real presence of Christ.”

I think its a good thing that homosexuals know of others who have remained within the Church and stayed faithful to its teachings. Surely it would be difficult to be gay and to abstain from sex. Fr. Danyluk seems to be a good role model.

 

[felra]

Tristan daCunha:

I think its a good thing that homosexuals know of others who have remained within the Church and stayed faithful to its teachings. Surely it would be difficult to be gay and to abstain from sex. Fr. Danyluk seems to be a good role model.

But why the politically charged “gay” identity label? Hardly a good role model to attract and allow the Holy Spirit to inspire adolescent and young men to considering their call to the priesthood.

 

[YinYangMom]

Tristan daCunha:

I think its a good thing that homosexuals know of others who have remained within the Church and stayed faithful to its teachings. Surely it would be difficult to be gay and to abstain from sex. Fr. Danyluk seems to be a good role model.

But he hasn’t remained faithful…he’s been deceptive all these years. Had he revealed the truth as a seminarian he would not have been ordained and I bet he knew that…so his entire ministry is based on dishonesty.

On top of that, the fact that after all these years he still considers himself to be gay shows that he has not spent his time as a priest wisely - for the benefit of his own soul. Rather than use the opportunity to help him overcome his same-sex attraction he embraced it as OK, and now he’s telling his flock it’s OK - and it isn’t.

A good role model would be a priest who shares - not during mass - but during some other forum, that when he came into the priesthood he was gay, but through Christ and his service to the Church, the Lord has helped him to overcome his burden - and you can too. Please let Jesus help you as He did me. THAT’s the appropriate lesson to be taught.

 

[fix]

felra:

This priest’s personal disclosure comes across as entirely self-serving and self-focused. It would be hard put to make the case that this priest had the best interest of God’s flock entrusted to his care in mind with this pulpit “revelation”.

IMO, there is this drumbeat for anyone with homosexual attraction to “come out of the closet” as if that one act will somehow harmonize one with good emotional health. How is that so if the person does not act on it to improve the condition or talk about how they intend to live up to the idea of personal holiness?

If one goes around proclaiming they have a tendency toward pornography, then claim by stating it publicly they are better off, how is that good?

 

[Tristan_daCunha]

YinYangMom:

But he hasn’t remained faithful…he’s been deceptive all these years. Had he revealed the truth as a seminarian he would not have been ordained and I bet he knew that…so his entire ministry is based on dishonesty.

I am not so sure about that. Certainly the latest instruction from the Vatican doesn’t rule out gay priests, so long as they have reached a point of sexual maturity and put such passion behind them.

On top of that, the fact that after all these years he still considers himself to be gay shows that he has not spent his time as a priest wisely - for the benefit of his own soul. Rather than use the opportunity to help him overcome his same-sex attraction he embraced it as OK, and now he’s telling his flock it’s OK - and it isn’t.

No, I think being homosexual is a deep rooted characteristic. A person can’t stop being gay but they can stop acting on the attraction to others of the same sex. Certainly the Church teaches that homosexuals should not have sex. Fr. Danyluk seems to have stayed faithful to that teaching.

A good role model would be a priest who shares - not during mass - but during some other forum, that when he came into the priesthood he was gay, but through Christ and his service to the Church, the Lord has helped him to overcome his burden - and you can too. Please let Jesus help you as He did me. THAT’s the appropriate lesson to be taught.

I don’t think we should expect the Lord to make someone become something they are not. Miracles happen, but we shouldn’t expect them. A person can pray to not be an alcoholic, but its an addiction they never fully leave behind… they simply learn to control it. I think the same is true of homosexuality. And Jesus did help him to control it. Its a good lesson, and worth sharing in mass.

 

[fix]

Tristan daCunha:

I am not so sure about that. Certainly the latest instruction from the Vatican doesn’t rule out gay priests, so long as they have reached a point of sexual maturity and put such passion behind them.

Is that not contradictory? If one calls themself “gay” they have not put it behind them.

From the recent document:

In the light of such teaching, this dicastery, in accord with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, believes it necessary to state clearly that the Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called “gay culture.”…

Different, however, would be the case in which one were dealing with homosexual tendencies that were only the expression of a transitory problem – for example, that of an adolescence not yet superseded. Nevertheless, such tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate.

 

[thann]

buffalo:

… It’s the time, he thought. It’s the right place, the right people. …

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is NOT the “right place” to come out of the closet.

The poor misguided man needs our prayers.

'thann

 

[YinYangMom]

Tristan daCunha:

I am not so sure about that. Certainly the latest instruction from the Vatican doesn’t rule out gay priests, so long as they have reached a point of sexual maturity and put such passion behind them.

Apparently this priest hasn’t put such passion behind him.

No, I think being homosexual is a deep rooted characteristic. A person can’t stop being gay but they can stop acting on the attraction to others of the same sex. Certainly the Church teaches that homosexuals should not have sex. Fr. Danyluk seems to have stayed faithful to that teaching.

Not only should they not have sex but they should strive to overcome their thoughts and desires which are inclined toward men. Single heterosexuals still need to practice virtue in thought, word and deed. A priest who does not act on his desires yet maintains the desires is not truly celebate.

I don’t think we should expect the Lord to make someone become something they are not. Miracles happen, but we shouldn’t expect them. A person can pray to not be an alcoholic, but its an addiction they never fully leave behind… they simply learn to control it. I think the same is true of homosexuality. And Jesus did help him to control it. Its a good lesson, and worth sharing in mass.

But that’s not what the Church calls for. It’s not a matter of ‘control’…it’s a matter of embracing the cross and striving to live the life of Christ. A priest who tells his parishioners that it’s ok to be gay and a priest is not teaching what Christ would teach since the magesterium has already spoken on the matter.

 

[JimG]

Would he have gotten the same reaction had he said that he had pedophile tendencies but has never molested a child?

For that matter, would he have gotten the same reaction had he stated that he had strong heterosexual tendencies but has never had sex with a parishioner?

 

[MulusChristi]

Greetings All,
I saw this article and found it particularly disingenuous that the revelation happened in September, so why an article in January? Because the newspaper wanted to smear the Catholic Church, of course. This article is old news.

I also found it interesting that 5 years ago the same priest had a dramatic pulpit revelation about being an alcoholic.  Then too he got his ego massaged with a standing ovation.  We are all sinners and I don't think it is particularly helpful to the parish to know what its priests particular weaknesses are.  In fact, it can be very dangerous because an unscrupulous person might seek to tempt the priest in just such an area.  Pop psycology is so simplistic about these issues.  

I don't think bishop Vigneron has much latitude here as this priest appears to be a member of an order and perhaps not under his jurisdiction.  In fact the priest appears to have been moved to Alameda after having to leave a previous parish.  Prayers for the priest and his parish are in order. :gopray:

 

[Tristan_daCunha]

In light of the October seminary instruction, I admit that I was wrong. The priest should not have made a public statement about being gay. Priests are to be beyond sexual inclinations.

 

[Confiteor]

MulusChristi:

Greetings All,
I saw this article and found it particularly disingenuous that the revelation happened in September, so why an article in January? Because the newspaper wanted to smear the Catholic Church, of course. This article is old news.

I also found it interesting that 5 years ago the same priest had a dramatic pulpit revelation about being an alcoholic.  Then too he got his ego massaged with a standing ovation.  We are all sinners and I don't think it is particularly helpful to the parish to know what its priests particular weaknesses are.  In fact, it can be very dangerous because an unscrupulous person might seek to tempt the priest in just such an area.  Pop psycology is so simplistic about these issues.  

I don't think bishop Vigneron has much latitude here as this priest appears to be a member of an order and perhaps not under his jurisdiction.  In fact the priest appears to have been moved to Alameda after having to leave a previous parish.  Prayers for the priest and his parish are in order. :gopray:

Sounds like he likes to be the center of attention --not the best characteristic for a priest. Too bad the second seminary didn’t require him to learn those “archaic” languages (e.g. Latin, the universal language of the Church).

 

[bellesjoy]

“We’re broken people,” he says. “It’s a broken institution. It’s the broken body of Christ.”

The Catholic Church is not a broken institution. I find it troubling that any priest would say this to his congregation. I agree with others that what he did is, as it sounds, very self serving.

No matter what “order” he belongs to, priests all must vow obedience to the Holy Father. This priest should accept the letter from the Holy Father in humility and obedience. Instead, lacking in good judgement, he mocked him from the pulpit and set himself above the voice of the Holy Father.

In separating himself from Rome, this priest shows no concern for causing a break in the body of Christ. Evidently the Holy Father is correct in questioning the wisdom in ordaining homosexuals.

He has modeled to his congregation that they can pick and choose what to follow as Catholics and that all we need is the Bible. Lets not go there.

 

[Ortho]

If homosexuals are unfit to be priests, how come the Vatican doesn’t order the dismissal of all homosexual priests?

 

[felra]

Ortho:

If homosexuals are unfit to be priests, how come the Vatican doesn’t order the dismissal of all homosexual priests?

Because it is not their fault that they were allowed to be ordained against Vatican guidelines.

 

[Ortho]

felra:

Because it is not their fault that they were allowed to be ordained against Vatican guidelines.

Does that imply they can do their jobs well? Can they do their jobs well?