Fr. Francis Mary Stone takes leave of absence to discern vocation

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Why would it be wrong for him to leave the priesthood and be with this woman?

God calls us all to different things at different times. A poor widower with some children needed something in their lives. As a viewer of LOTR…who better to be a positive role model and influence. He can still serve God and become a husband.

I doubt that his situation has a sexual subtext.
 
punisherthunder said:
Why would it be wrong for him to leave the priesthood and be with this woman?

God calls us all to different things at different times. A poor widower with some children needed something in their lives. As a viewer of LOTR…who better to be a positive role model and influence. He can still serve God and become a husband.

I doubt that his situation has a sexual subtext.
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WHY would it be wrong??? I hope you are not seriously asking this. …I will leave it to another to answer this for you, as it would take me too long to reply properly and adequately, and it is too late (early!) for me to do this question justice.
Suffice to say, I respectfully believe your thinking is terribly confused, maybe due to a lack of teaching of the truth, I will hope.
 
Brad said:
My very young kids sometimes watch this show (depending on content). They need to know that there are heros that can resist falling.
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There has only been One who has done this. We all fall and I think that Children need to know that no one but Christ was perfect. However, that being said, a true “hero” is defined by what happens after the rough waters. My hope is that Father Francis will keep his vows intact. Once a Priest always a Priest… he has an obligation to God, his brothers and the laity. I will not judge him; I am simply praying the right decision is made.
 
TGBTG said:
WHY would it be wrong??? I hope you are not seriously asking this. …I will leave it to another to answer this for you, as it would take me too long to reply properly and adequately, and it is too late (early!) for me to do this question justice.
Suffice to say, I respectfully believe your thinking is terribly confused, maybe due to a lack of teaching of the truth, I will hope.
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No I don’t have a lack of teaching of the truth. I always seem to find it amazing my answers/opinions are belittled on this forum time and time again.

There would be nothing wrong with him leaving to be with someone who he has grown fond of. I doubt there are sexual overtones to this.

It would be hard to believe that God would be angered by him wanting to help/have a family that needed it.
 
jpsheehn said:
WOW! No excuse!? I so can not believe what I just read!

So much for that Love Your Neighbor thing I read so much about. I guess if this happend a few centuaries ago we would have to what… kill Fr Francis? That kind of thinking is what leads to people like Luther leaving the church. I am pretty sure that Jesus said something about forgiving people, but hey what do I know.
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That’s a large leap. I didn’t get the impression that the poster you were responding to was suggesting anything like what you have implied. Rather, vows to God and His Church were taken… VOWS! Remember this is a Holy Sacrament, and cannot/should not be akin to one changing their mind about a profession. This is NO little thing and while I feel horrible for what I am very sure Fr. Francis is going through, it is my hope that he remembers his vows and makes the correct decisions. To do otherwise hurts God, His Church, the Order, the soul and it’s relationship with God, and even the poor widow. Imagine what her soul would have to deal with knowing what their relationship had cost.
jpsheehn said:
Has anyone but me considered the following: Maybe God’s plan for Fr. Francis has changed. Who are we to know what God’s plan is for the man.
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God is unchanging. Therefore, I find it hard to believe that He changes His mind. However, man changes minute-to-minute and often causes bumps in God’s plan. Thankfully, our God is outside of time and knows all things and these “bumps” will not derail the plan of God.
jpsheehn said:
Fr. Francis is human lke the rest of us. Fr. Francis makes mistakes just like the rest of us. Fr. Francis for sure deserves our prayers and FORGIVENESS just like how Jesus asked us to.
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Absolutely! However, this whole situation is still unfolding and I am not about to forgive things that haven’t happened yet. I am rather more apt to speak out, pray, SCREAM that a sin not be committed rather than folding and expecting the worst. Now I am sure that you probably feel similar in this regard. I believe that the person you were responding to probably also feels the same. I believe that everyone here wants the right decision to be made in this situation. Damage has been done; let’s pray that the damage stops now before further damage occurs.
 
jpsheehn said:
And you have a direct hot-line to God? If so please give us the number.

You, nor I, nor even the Pope are qualified to know the will of God.

There is one and only one being who knows the will of God and that of course is GOD.

Is it so ironic to think that maybe God wants Fr. Francis elsewhere?

An example of this would be all the married former Lutheran priest who have converted and are serving as priest with in the Catholic church now as we write this.

I’m sure the Lutheran church was scream how “wrong” they were for leaving and coming over to the Catholic side.

But for some reason God wanted them in the Catholic Church so that is were they are today.
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Two observations.
  1. We ALL need to be charitable to one another
  2. I believe that you are confusing the Lutheran clergy with the Anglican (and Episcopal) clergy. I have never heard of a married Lutheran minister becoming a Catholic Priest while remaining married.
 
Tietjen said:
I believe that you are confusing the Lutheran clergy with the Anglican (and Episcopal) clergy. I have never heard of a married Lutheran minister becoming a Catholic Priest while remaining married.
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No, I am pretty sure there are other clergy men from numerous denominations who were married before they are ordained and are married Catholic priests. That has nothing to do with the situation at hand where a Catholic priest is now discerning marriage.
 
jpsheehn said:
I caught the start of his show today, only it was NOT the ordinary start as the show would be. One of the other people on the show read a letter from Father Francis. Basicly the letter said this in not so many words:

I have been helping a young widdow and her children for some time. I have basicly fallen in love with her. I am at this time discerning my future. ( The letter did not say if he broke his vows.)
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Like you said you did NOT watch the whole thing. Fr. Francis did NOT say that he fell in love with this woman. He just said that they have grown close. I hope you watched the rerun of it, if not it will be on again tomorrow (Friday) at 1:00 PM Eastern Time, Noon CT. Please get it straight.
jpsheehn said:
This is one of the main reason why I think catholic priest should be able to get married! I mean so what if Father Francis has fallen in love with someone. I jump for joy for the man myself!
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WHAT??!!! You don’t know what you are saying. There is a reason why priests normally don’t get married. Under certain circumstances we do have married priests but for the most part priests are single and live a celebate life. He war that rope with three knots, CHASTITY, POVERTY and OBEDIENCE for goodness sake! He belongs to an ORDER. Do you know what that means?! I don’t think you do; otherwise you wouldn’t be saying such stupid things. Sorry, but this just gets me really angry when people say such things.

I am really upset about Fr. Francis possibly leaving the priesthood so please forgive me. I am going to pray for Fr. Francis. Please everybody should pray!

I read only some of the rest of your post and I don’t want to waste my time on commenting on a BAD POST. Please don’t say anything else about priests having to be married. NOT being married has nothing to do with priests molesting others. Please zip it if you don’t know what you are saying.
 
jpsheehn said:
But still I see alot of other religions and faiths whos leaders,priest, etc etc are married and they seem to being doing just fine.
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No, not necessarily true. How do you know they are doing just fine? We hear of many pastors of protestant churches that have molested young ones. What makes you think that they are okay? Just because they marry? No, not true. Not even lay people who are married can be assured of leading a chaste and holy life. They too can cheat on their wives and go out and molest kids. Being married does NOT solve the problems in the church as far as the scandals go.
 
Let us not cast stones, but rather pray that Father Francis Mary finds his way back to the graces of our merciful Lord and that he accepts his frailty as a human being. Best wishes, prayers, and love.
 
jpsheehn said:
I can remember when the idea of an alter “girl” was so frightening to the church. Now I see many a young female in the job of “alter person” now that was at one time only held by young male.
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They are called ACOLYTES!
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jpsheehn:
I will for sure pray for Father Francis Mary Stone! I encourage others to pray for him also. The poor guys right now needs all the prayers he can get. I have watched him on TV on and off for sometime now. I still think he is a good person.I believe God will help point the way to what is right for both God and Father Francis Mary Stone.
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I have watched him NON-STOP for several YEARS now, EVERY SINGLE show. It’s hard to believe that he himself talked about our concupiscence. I hope he can take a lesson in what he has talked about and also preached in his homilies many many times. I also watch the Mass on EWTN every single day. So I wait for Fr. Francis’ homilies and now we won’t even hear him anymore, for some time now anyway.

This is how I feel, not that anyone cares, but I feel it is a betrayal. My first feelings were of shock and disbelief. Then anger and betrayal. But I do feel a deep sadness as even my 13 year old daughter feels. She cried! 😦 She loves that show and watched Fr. Francis every Thursday and every time he served Mass because she also watches the Mass every single day on EWTN. It’s like we KNOW HIM! My daughter reminded me of when Eduardo Verástegui was on. Father had mentioned to Eduardo that he felt his masculinity was being threatened. She told me that I was shocked and said, “FATHER! You’re a priest! Be careful what you say!” She reminded me of it. I had almost forgotten about that but she remembered. So we do feel like we know him. As much as I love Fr. Francis, he was never my favorite EWTN priest. My favorites are Fr. Anthony and Fr. Mark. Among other priests that I feel are very humble and holy are Fr. Joseph and Fr. Miguel.

I know that we are only human and we are NOT perfect. That is why I think that Fr. Francis should have thought twice about going too far as far as helping this woman. I know we should help our neighbor but Father knows himself and he should’ve thought about it. He knows the flesh is weak, so why go there? Why Father?

I am so sorry! Please forgive me Jesus but I can’t help but feel betrayed. I feel this way also because of my daughter and her love for him as a PRIEST.

I WILL PRAY for you Fr. Francis.

Saint Michael the archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the
wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray,
And do thou O Prince of the Heavenly host,
By the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and
all the evil spirits who prowl around the world
seeking the ruin of souls. AMEN!

Hail Mary, Full of Grace
The Lord is with Thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Please Pray for FATHER FRANCIS
Now and at the our of his death. AMEN!

Please pray for my daughter and me too.
My daughter just feels deep sadness, no anger at all. 😦
Jesus have mercy on me, a sinner.
Jesus, I Trust in You!
 
This is definitely heartbreaking news. My teenage son is going to be incredibly let down by this event.

Fr. Francis our family is praying for you and all those involved. We miss you already!

St. Michael the Archangel protect us from the snares of the devil.:gopray2:
 
He_Man said:
My mother and I had the same thoughts when discussing this on the phone this evening. This sort of event doesn’t sneak up on anyone. There had to be signs, most especially for him, that were ignored. His poor brothers in Christ (the Fanciscan Priests), I feel for them as well.
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Yes there were signs. I would be surprised as to some of the remarks and comments that Fr. Francis would make on Life on the Rock from time to time. I would be shocked at some of them too. I thought some of the comments were suspicious but I never thought it would lead up to THIS. What I mean by “suspicious” is that a Priest would normally not make such remarks if he were truly a humble and holy priest as they all should be.
He Man:
Fr. Mark did not look happy 😦
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Yes, he did look sad. So did Fr. Anthony when he was reading the letter.

I told my 13 yr old daughter that Fr. Mark needs our prayers more I think. And she said, “oh my, all the BROTHERS need our prayers too,” (she has her favorites among the brothers too, she can name all of them). EVERYONE at EWTN needs our prayers right now. Do you know how many non-Catholic Christians watch EWTN? A lot! This is NOT good. But please don’t stop watching and supporting EWTN, PLEASE. That’s like one of the Apostles leaving Jesus because of Judas. Not that Fr. Francis is Judas by any means, but just trying to make an analogy here.
 
I feel EXACTLY the same way…Word for word. I cannot get over it, hence here I am at 4AM on this site, instead of properly sleeping!!!
You know, it’s too bad this was not just some silly Halloween “trick” !!! instead of such a betrayal.
I also feel so terribly sad for Mother Angelica to have to have seen this happen. She has already undergone so much.
Father’s actions really could be thought of, all in all, as very selfish - and immature - in that he did not truly consider his responsibility as a role model (after all these years hosting LOTR especially) to all the young adults who have watched and followed him while he let his thought life get so out of control. PRAY that he returns to his senses.
I am ALSO sorry to be so negative, but this is a hugely negative and stunning occurance, and I think everyone was blindsided. I imagine there is great pain all around the network tonight - and will be for a long time to come, as well as in the homes of tens of thousands of viewers worldwide.
Yes, this is very serious.
 
TGBTG said:
The post about Satan being thrilled by this turn of events with Fr. Francis MAty Stone is indeed 100% accurate. …The interview with Ryan Lefevbre (sorry about the spelling!) last week was so ironic in retrospect!!
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There have been several shows that could’ve sparked his decision. One on top of the other that he couldn’t take the weight of them anymore. I watch every single week and I’ve heard several comments from him that were somewhat disturbing and shocking. But I would have never thought that it would come to this.
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TGBTG:
I am so shocked I can hardly stand it, and there will be so much negative fallout for the whole EWTN network AND to the young adults that he has been witnessing to so well for so many years.
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Shocked is right, that is how I felt. But now I feel deep sadness. I want to just pray for him. :gopray2:
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TGBTG:
Yes, Satan has done his work well here… SOOOOOOOOO very, very sad and upsetting.
I think now we must all certainly pray for Father to return to his senses (!) and see the very harmful consequences of his current path.
Please pray for this whole situation to be resolved in a grace-filled way.
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Yes, we NEED to pray, no question about it. Mary wants her son back too. Her son in this case being Fr. Francis Mary Stone. Please Mary wrap your arms around Fr. Francis and send him your Son’s graces.
 
jpsheehn said:
Has anyone but me considered the following: Maybe God’s plan for Fr. Francis has changed. Who are we to know what God’s plan is for the man.
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I think I might have to put you on “ignore” or something before I explode. God does NOT change His plans for anyone!!! Once God’s plan is in, that’s it. God does not CHANGE! It is Father Francis perhaps that has “changed” his “feelings” about the priesthood because of a “woman!” The FLESH is WEAK! Father should’ve had his “radar” on about what he was doing and how long he was spending with this “woman.” Satan is loving this!

Please Saint Michael, throw Satan back into Hell by the Power of God!
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jpsheehn:
Fr. Francis is human lke the rest of us. Fr. Francis makes mistakes just like the rest of us. Fr. Francis for sure deserves our prayers and FORGIVENESS just like how Jesus asked us to.
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Yes this is TRUE. We all make mistakes. BUT to whom much is given, much is to be expected. Father needs God’s Grace and the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ!

O Fount of Life
Unfathomable Divine Mercy
Envelope the whole world
and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood & Water which gushed forth
from the Heart of Jesus
as a fount of Mercy for us,
I Trust in You.

Eternal Father, I offer you the
Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity
of your Dearly Beloved Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
In atonement for our sins
and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,
Have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Holy God, Holy Might One, Holy Immortal One
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
AMEN!
 
jpsheehn said:
I guess I am the only one here who remembers this quote from my RCIA training. Which started just 3 weeks ago for me

Welcome to RCIA. We are here to teach you what we know about God and our Church. We do not claim to be 100% correct and all knowing, but this is our teachings.

If this is the kind of close mindedness, bias, and un-forgivness I am to expect from the rest of my fellow Catholics I might as wel quit RCIA now and go elsewhere.

Amazing prejudice coming from you people!
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If this is how you think, then please GO elsewhere. We do NOT need people such as you to infest our Church. The Body of Christ does not need “gangrene” on any of its members, if you know what I mean. A “catholic” person who is not truly a CATHOLIC and is living in mortal sin is just that, a DEAD MEMBER of the Body of Christ. We don’t need any more “dead members” or “gangrene” infesting our Church.

Whoever wrote that in your RCIA class does not know what they are saying. If they teach from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and from the Bible, then it is the TRUE teaching from Christ and the Apostles. There are no mistakes in the CCC and no mistakes in the Bible. That is NOT to say that some people who have taught RCIA do not make mistakes. There are many RCIA classes “from hell” so to speak. So you just have to keep searching for a better Parish to attend RCIA classes.
 
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