You would have to be mentally ill to “pleasure yourself” in public!
Or obsessed, possessed, addicted to lust or just depraved. Only God knows. There
is such a thing as sin.
He was evidently able to handle a parish without much of a problem.
Either way, the damage done is incalculable. Of course we must pray for his soul, but not neglect the resulting spiritual sufferings, disgust, scandal and loss of faith.
In reality, it is God’s mercy that these things are being caught and dealt with. Someone and his minions are being cast out. It’s a purification of the Church. I hope that, if there are any more priests like this who have not yet been dealt with, that they will repent and turn away from all of this treachery, get the help they need OR LEAVE THE PRIESTHOOD.
Amazingly, priests like this actually heard the confessions of others. Did it not faze them?
They celebrated Mass and preached the Gospel every day. Did that not faze them in any way?
Those who think they will never be caught are so mistaken. Don’t they know that God is ever-present, that He sees and knows all of this? Do they think they can dupe Him? Or are they only priests in disguise, playing the role, but actually having no faith? Do they think that those whom they have harmed will never report it, or those whom they have had consensual relations with will never repent of it and then report it? How do they think they can get away with this? Even if they get away with it in this life, they will never escape justice in the next life. They must repent, turn away from all of that completely, and leave the active priesthood. The damage is done. They should go to a far off monastery and do penance for the rest of their lives. They have not only offended God, damaged the Church and themselves, but have harmed other people and caused many to fall.
May God, in His infinite mercy, deliver us from all of them. I realize that this is what He is doing, but I beg of Him that the end of it all is near., that He will keep those involved from final impenitence, and bring back the sheep who were lost because of all of this.
