Any ideas on how I can break free?

[Tibbar]

Among other things, I am involved in my local parish as a Lector and Reader. Today, I served and as I read the prayers of the faithful that were put before me, nearly choked. They were nothing more than liberal screed and drivel. Two of the prayers which most irked me were for the “success of labor unions,” and for the “comfort of convicted murderers who are facing a sentence of death.” Honestly folks, I can’t take much more of this.

I really want to find another parish as the pastor at our parish is really trying to turn what was once a traditionally conservative parish into a progressively liberal parish. It’s bad enough we have to sing every Marty Haugen song that was ever written, but today we sang “inclusive language” versions of the Saint Louis Jesuit songs which alter songs that were based directly on what was written in scripture so that they have no biblical relevance at all.

Should I just tell the Pastor flat out? I am obligated to serve as Lector and Extraordinary Minister until December. How do I remove myself from these ministries and find another parish? Will I be going from the frying pan into the fire? Are all Catholic Churches following the same trend? If so, can anyone recommend a good evangelical Protestant church I can join?

 

[netmilsmom]

Tibbar:

Among other things, I am involved in my local parish as a Lector and Reader. Today, I served and as I read the prayers of the faithful that were put before me, nearly choked. They were nothing more than liberal screed and drivel. Two of the prayers which most irked me were for the “success of labor unions,” and for the “comfort of convicted murderers who are facing a sentence of death.” Honestly folks, I can’t take much more of this.

I really want to find another parish as the pastor at our parish is really trying to turn what was once a traditionally conservative parish into a progressively liberal parish. It’s bad enough we have to sing every Marty Haugen song that was ever written, but today we sang “inclusive language” versions of the Saint Louis Jesuit songs which alter songs that were based directly on what was written in scripture so that they have no biblical relevance at all.

Should I just tell the Pastor flat out? I am obligated to serve as Lector and Extraordinary Minister until December. How do I remove myself from these ministries and find another parish? Will I be going from the frying pan into the fire? Are all Catholic Churches following the same trend? If so, can anyone recommend a good evangelical Protestant church I can join?

AAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!
No my friend! Don’t think about leaving us!
Tell us where you are and we can help you to find a good parish.

Please read about my parish.
We have two hundred registered Altar BOYS and choir girls
We have 4 priests
Three Holy Masses every day, Six on Sundays and a Rosary before each one.
Mom and Dad families with many children (at least four being the norm)
We have confessions before each Holy Mass and they are packed.
We have May Crowning and Corpus Christi
We sing Latin and Greek during most Holy Masses.

Please don’t think about leaving. Think about changing parishes.
As for your obligation to the parish you are at now, continue until you are finished. I left my “Catholic Community” in November of last year yet continue to launder the Altar linens. Our Lovely Pastor encourages us to be involved with other parishes. As he said, “They need all the help they can get.”

And pray, pray, pray to St. Monica and St. Michael the Archangel for them to have help!

 

[paramedicgirl]

Tibbar:

Among other things, I am involved in my local parish as a Lector and Reader. Today, I served and as I read the prayers of the faithful that were put before me, nearly choked. They were nothing more than liberal screed and drivel. Two of the prayers which most irked me were for the “success of labor unions,” and for the “comfort of convicted murderers who are facing a sentence of death.” Honestly folks, I can’t take much more of this.

I really want to find another parish as the pastor at our parish is really trying to turn what was once a traditionally conservative parish into a progressively liberal parish. It’s bad enough we have to sing every Marty Haugen song that was ever written, but today we sang “inclusive language” versions of the Saint Louis Jesuit songs which alter songs that were based directly on what was written in scripture so that they have no biblical relevance at all.

Should I just tell the Pastor flat out? I am obligated to serve as Lector and Extraordinary Minister until December. How do I remove myself from these ministries and find another parish? Will I be going from the frying pan into the fire? Are all Catholic Churches following the same trend? If so, can anyone recommend a good evangelical Protestant church I can join?

When you say you obligated to stay until December, what do you mean? If it is a volunteer position, there is no obligation. From what you are describing, I would not jeopardize my faith by staying in those duties. And, yes, you should approach the priest and tell him why you are leaving. Let him know that his liberalism is destroying your sense of belonging to the Catholic Church. After that, run, don’t walk to find another parish that has a more orthodox priest.

 

[Chalice]

paramedicgirl:

When you say you obligated to stay until December, what do you mean? If it is a volunteer position, there is no obligation. From what you are describing, I would not jeopardize my faith by staying in those duties. And, yes, you should approach the priest and tell him why you are leaving. Let him know that his liberalism is destroying your sense of belonging to the Catholic Church. After that, run, don’t walk to find another parish that has a more orthodox priest.

That’s a key point. Many people get burned-out by hanging-on.

 

[rwoehmke]

Tibbar:

Among other things, I am involved in my local parish as a Lector and Reader. Today, I served and as I read the prayers of the faithful that were put before me, nearly choked. They were nothing more than liberal screed and drivel. Two of the prayers which most irked me were for the “success of labor unions,” and for the “comfort of convicted murderers who are facing a sentence of death.” Honestly folks, I can’t take much more of this.

Tis painful indeed that you would not accept the teaching of Popes since Leo XIII in in their support of the rights of labor which is indeed under attack by our “Unlimited Free Enterprise” champions. Seems to me that of late John Paul II taught that the death penalty was to be vastly curtailed. Seems we have dissent on both side of the aisle. I do respect your right to be a fossil however, and hope you can find a Catholic parish more to your liking rather than leaving the Faith.

Tibbar:

I really want to find another parish as the pastor at our parish is really trying to turn what was once a traditionally conservative parish into a progressively liberal parish.

Bishops have been known to do this by assigning a different kind of pastor when a parish gets too stuck in its own vision of what the Church should be.

 

[Augustine]

rwoehmke:

Tis painful indeed that you would not accept the teaching of Popes since Leo XIII in in their support of the rights of labor which is indeed under attack by our “Unlimited Free Enterprise” champions

Unions are not under attack, they just lost their reason of being. Besides, Leo XIII defended the rights of laborers to join unions, not that unions have to exist or there’s no justice. Nowadays, laborers don’t care to join an union, so why try to prop them up? Let them go…

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Tis painful indeed that you would not accept the teaching of Popes since Leo XIII in in their support of the rights of labor which is indeed under attack by our “Unlimited Free Enterprise” champions. Seems to me that of late John Paul II taught that the death penalty was to be vastly curtailed. Seems we have dissent on both side of the aisle.

Well said! :bowdown2:

Remember, the line for the cafeteria forms to both the left AND the right.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Unions are not under attack, they just lost their reason of being.

Aahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

That was a good one!

If things keep going the way they have been over the past 20 years, the labor fights of the early 1900’s will be necessarily all over again.

 

[Augustine]

Aahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

That was a good one!

If things keep going the way they have been over the past 20 years, the labor fights of the early 1900’s will be necessarily all over again.

Scorn isn’t a substitute for an honest and intelligent discussion, quite the contrary.

Laborers are saying “no” to unions. Almost all unions are reporting lower membership year after year. Some traditional unions cannot convince some laborers to unionize (e.g., the UAW failing to lure workers at the Japanese car plants in the US).

The reason is simple: self serving became the reason of being of unions, not the laborer’s interests.

Besides, try to read Rerum Novarum and you’ll find that Leo XIII defended only the right to unionize, not the duty of every laborer.

 

[rwoehmke]

As the son of a man who was involved in the unionization of tyhe auto industry in Detroit and the Grandson of a man who was a “Blackleg” (a strike breaker) for Henry Ford, I am here to tell you that there are a lot of us who would not be professional people with advanced degrees if our forebearers had not unionized. If one looks with eyes open at what is happening even to professionals today, it becomes very obvious that most corporations put the welfare of their employees after that of almost every one else especially some of our hero CEOs like Chain saw Jack at GE. Health insurance, retirement funds and the like are disappearing faster than a rabbit into a whole. It is near impossible today to buy a tool or garment not made in China, Taiwan or some other labor exploiting country. I would not want to go back to the 72 hour work week, child labor, and other worker abuses that were common in this country in the first third of the 20th Century. Some of that less than 75 years ago.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Laborers are saying “no” to unions.

Some evidence, please.

There are many cases to the contrary…such as this story in the LA Times (registration required).

And once again, with so many anti-worker laws being passed, such as the elimination of overtime and the 40 hour work week, unions will eventually become more important. Heck, right here in California, corporate special interests have been attacking unions for the past 10 years. Prop 226, which went down in flames, was one such attack. Prop. 75 is another. It is intellectually dishonest to say that unions and working people aren’t under attack. We (speaking as a working person) most certainly ARE under attack.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

I would not want to go back to the 72 hour work week, child labor, and other worker abuses that were common in this country in the first third of the 20th Century.

It seems that this is indeed the goal of many in this ‘brave, new world’ of corporate power over and above that of working people.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Augustine:

Unions are not under attack, they just lost their reason of being. Besides, Leo XIII defended the rights of laborers to join unions, not that unions have to exist or there’s no justice. Nowadays, laborers don’t care to join an union, so why try to prop them up? Let them go…

Indeed and The LA Times is clearly slanted toward the Left. I would not trust anything they said unless I saw other proof of same with my own eyes. As for the “right” of insurance, my husband and I insure ourselves. What ever happened to self-reliance? Corporate America is not a global grab-bag of goodies! Nobody is “owed” anything without hard work. Further, there are laws in place to prevent the 72 hour week. If anybody participates in such activity, they shold look for another job.

I don’t mind prayer for the comfort of anybody facing death by any means, esp. if that prayer includes that those about to die make a good act of contrition. (I am a big believer in SuperMax, so don’t start me about the death penalty.) Even so, they should also pray for the victims of crime, particularly murder, and include all the babies we lose every day to abortion. Do they do that?

---

Obviously, the parish expects you to make a commitment, but has no commitment to you. Why don’t you write down on paper 5-10 things you want in a parish, and excepting when you have to lector, start looking elsewhere and praying about what you find? See which parish meets your criteria. By December, you should be ready to move on.

 

[Augustine]

LCMS_No_More:

Some evidence, please.

Do I have to repeat myself? The UAW failing to unionize the Japanese car plants in the US, the same happening with those in Canada by the CAW.

Why is it that in my industry, semiconductors, no one cares about unions, for instance, myself, a humble worker, included? I can assure you that it’s not any conspiracy attacking the “beautiful” union system.

 

[Mary1973]

Tibbar:

Are all Catholic Churches following the same trend? If so, can anyone recommend a good evangelical Protestant church I can join?

That is quite a leap from being disenchanted with your parish to going to a protestant church. Where did that come from?

I suggest you first of all speak to your pastor and pray for him. I am not thrilled with my pastor but I refuse to leave my parish as it is the church I have attended most of my life.

There is nothing wrong with praying for labor unions and people on death row. People on death row are in particular need of our prayers.

 

[Tibbar]

rwoehmke:

Tis painful indeed that you would not accept the teaching of Popes since Leo XIII in in their support of the rights of labor which is indeed under attack by our “Unlimited Free Enterprise” champions. Seems to me that of late John Paul II taught that the death penalty was to be vastly curtailed. Seems we have dissent on both side of the aisle. I do respect your right to be a fossil however, and hope you can find a Catholic parish more to your liking rather than leaving the Faith.

Bishops have been known to do this by assigning a different kind of pastor when a parish gets too stuck in its own vision of what the Church should be.

1. Name one labor union these days that is unalterably opposed to abortion on demand.
2. Personally, I have little sympathy for persons like Timothy McVeigh and Scott Peterson. Compassion should be directed to the numerous victims of their crimes. My parish priest has a definitive liberal agenda. I believe this attitude to have pervaded what generally passes for Roman Catholicism these days.

 

[Tibbar]

Mary1973:

That is quite a leap from being disenchanted with your parish to going to a protestant church. Where did that come from?

I suggest you first of all speak to your pastor and pray for him. I am not thrilled with my pastor but I refuse to leave my parish as it is the church I have attended most of my life.

There is nothing wrong with praying for labor unions and people on death row. People on death row are in particular need of our prayers.

I need to find a Church where the Bible is taken seriously as the Word of God, not simply “God’s word in human language.” I need to find a Christ Centered (not Mary or comminity centered) body of believers who have had made a personal commitment to follow Christ, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives.I need to find a Church where the policies of the Bush Administration aren’t bashed up and down. So far, Evangelical Protestant churches seem to fit the bill

 

[marvin]

.

I do respect your right to be a fossil however, and hope you can find a Catholic parish more to your liking rather than leaving the Faith.

What’s with the name-calling?

 

[aurora77]

Tibbar:

I need to find a Church where the Bible is taken seriously as the Word of God, not simply “God’s word in human language.” I need to find a Christ Centered (not Mary or comminity centered) body of believers who have had made a personal commitment to follow Christ, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives.I need to find a Church where the policies of the Bush Administration aren’t bashed up and down. So far, Evangelical Protestant churches seem to fit the bill

Are there other Catholic churches in the area? You might check them out. Even if you have to drive a ways it would be worth it. Please, don’t go Protestant. Most of the people I know are protestants and wonderful people, but the religions just aren’t the same. You’d be missing out on the sacraments, everything that makes us Catholic. Would you really want to go to a church where Jesus wasn’t physically present??

As for not being a lector anymore, just call or go in to the office and tell them you can’t do it anymore. I’m a reader and our numbers change yearly, depending on who is able to do it.