I have a very disturbing situation

[BlaineTog]

Is that really a problem on this forum or something?

Yes. These boards tend to have a distinctive lack of charity. Sad but true.

As for your situation, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Spam filters have gotten good, which requires the spam senders to become better at targeting people to get by said filters. It may not be spam, but then again it may. I wouldn’t let this bother you too much, really.

If something like this comes up again, it might be prudent to ask him in a non-confrontational manner about it, but that’s in the future.

 

[Nickkname]

Hello all,

I’ve been reading this site for quite awhile now, and recently I had a very shocking event happen to where it forced me to make a user name and start becoming active in these forums. I Hope this is the right place to post this.

Anyways, I’ve meet this new priest a few months ago. He was different, he was wise a witty, funny, smart, understanding. He went out of his was to donate to the poor, argue with the bishop who said he gave away to much money, etc. This priest was golden, I thought.

However, a few days ago I was working on his computer to help him with email troubles he said he’s been having. Well, I was adding his old email to his outlook when there were a few messages (only three) and I glanced at what it said, and it said something about how it failed to receive the correct information for his order on “camboys” and their was were pictures of naked guys. He proceeded to saying he has such a problem with spam, but I can’t understand how it’s spam when it identifies your name saying they had trouble processing the order. I’ve just been feeling like i’ve been hit in the guy for over a few days now. It’s like, if I can’t trust him, who can I trust?

Get proof of this - like a screenshot - and show it to the Bishop. You may need to send it to him in a a letter, explaining what happened. And be sure to pray for the Priest. Pray and don’t worry; worry is useless.

 

[whiteknite]

I agree that the person who started the thread did so to see our reactions…
Maybe an Admin could close the thread…

 

[Prague]

Has this happened to anyone? I received disgusting porn e-mails, mailed to my work address. It was sent to me, by myself.
My e-mail address from me. Fortunately, the office caught it on Postini, but there were 30 of them. I finally had them change my e-mail address. The e-mails were for males, and I am a female.
They mentioned, nice hearing from me.!!!

 

[Pug]

Surely it is ok to do something bad for the greater good? My intentions couldn’t be better!

Michcool125,

It sounds like you think it is bad, but you wonder if it would be okay to do something bad if you have a reason to do it. There is a phrase that is the memorized answer to that. It is, “the ends don’t justify the means”. Yeah, I know, but what does that phrase mean? The “ends” are the reason you have in mind for doing whatever. The “means” are the things you have in mind to do or the way you plan on doing them. If the “ends” part are good, that still doesn’t make it okay to use a bad “means”. You can’t do something bad in order to make something good happen from it.

 

[Michcool125]

I agree that the person who started the thread did so to see our reactions…
Maybe an Admin could close the thread…

well I’m sorry I have a real problem and you feel that way.

I tried to explain my situation in a few posts above, what does it take??

Perhaps I did not explain the specifics of this enough. He had me add his personal email account to outlook. There were 3 messages, one was this. never had a chance to see others.

 

[Michcool125]

Michcool125,

It sounds like you think it is bad, but you wonder if it would be okay to do something bad if you have a reason to do it. There is a phrase that is the memorized answer to that. It is, “the ends don’t justify the means”. Yeah, I know, but what does that phrase mean? The “ends” are the reason you have in mind for doing whatever. The “means” are the things you have in mind to do or the way you plan on doing them. If the “ends” part are good, that still doesn’t make it okay to use a bad “means”. You can’t do something bad in order to make something good happen from it.

I’ve heard that quote 1000x and every time I’ve heard it was in the form of a question. Example. "Do the ends justify the means’ meaning it’s up to each individual person to decide if the end result is worth it.

In this case, I think so. I mean, like I said, this is the first priest to gets me wanting to go to church. But, if there is even a chance that this could be something, is it ok just to deny it and go on knowing I could of helped, the community, the parish?

 

[Mystic_Warrior]

I’ve heard that quote 1000x and every time I’ve heard it was in the form of a question. Example. "Do the ends justify the means’ meaning it’s up to each individual person to decide if the end result is worth it.

You know better. It’s a rhetorical question, like: “isn’t the sky blue?”

In this case, I think so. I mean, like I said, this is the first priest to gets me wanting to go to church. But, if there is even a chance that this could be something, is it ok just to deny it and go on knowing I could of helped, the community, the parish?

But, you’re not really sure about what you were seeing either. There is such a thing called privacy. If the priest isn’t doing something illegal and you bring it up to the Bishop and expose it then you could destroy a man’s career for nothing.

Were you doing this as a favor to the priest or is it your job at the parish? Were you employed by an IT company to do this? Check with your employer if you were sent to do the job and ask about the legal issues that could be involved.

You’re not denying something if it’s not real to begin with. You see what I mean? This decision is purely in your hands. Don’t rely on my words or anyone else’s on an anonymous forum. For goodness sake, go to a lawyer, your employer or a professional person to get some feedback.

Peace…

MW

 

[whiteknite]

well I’m sorry I have a real problem and you feel that way.

I tried to explain my situation in a few posts above, what does it take??

Perhaps I did not explain the specifics of this enough. He had me add his personal email account to outlook. There were 3 messages, one was this. never had a chance to see others.

There sure enough you have his password??
login and see for yourself. take a screenshot and show us.
Otherwise i think your a fake…

 

[Pug]

I’ve heard that quote 1000x and every time I’ve heard it was in the form of a question. Example. "Do the ends justify the means’ meaning it’s up to each individual person to decide if the end result is worth it.

Yep. You are seeing two different moral systems in action. The Church teaches that you can’t do bad things to make good come from it, but many people in the world follow the rule differently, and treat it more like a question, like, “will enough good come that this outweighs me doing some bad action”?

Of course, we’d have to know that what you are talking about doing is unequivocally bad, otherwise this rule just doesn’t apply.

But, if there is even a chance that this could be something, is it ok just to deny it and go on knowing I could of helped, the community, the parish?

Myself, I don’t think there is enough evidence to warrant taking actions that risk damaging reputations. But, I totally understand your concern. You don’t want it to happen that the guy turns out to be someone who hurts children or something really bad, and you could have alerted the authorities. What you are responsible for, though, is your actions now. God is in charge of the future. Just make sure what you do today (and tomorrow) about this is on the up and up. Don’t do anything illegal or bad. But sometimes, even if we stay on the up and up and do everything right, bad things still happen. Our world is like that until Jesus comes again.

You’ve got to figure out what good/legal things can be done here, and then think about if you want to do them.

 

[John_Augustine]

Hello all,

I’ve been reading this site for quite awhile now, and recently I had a very shocking event happen to where it forced me to make a user name and start becoming active in these forums. I Hope this is the right place to post this.

Anyways, I’ve meet this new priest a few months ago. He was different, he was wise a witty, funny, smart, understanding. He went out of his was to donate to the poor, argue with the bishop who said he gave away to much money, etc. This priest was golden, I thought.

However, a few days ago I was working on his computer to help him with email troubles he said he’s been having. Well, I was adding his old email to his outlook when there were a few messages (only three) and I glanced at what it said, and it said something about how it failed to receive the correct information for his order on “camboys” and their was were pictures of naked guys. He proceeded to saying he has such a problem with spam, but I can’t understand how it’s spam when it identifies your name saying they had trouble processing the order. I’ve just been feeling like i’ve been hit in the guy for over a few days now. It’s like, if I can’t trust him, who can I trust?

Your priest is your father whether he is in sin or not. I think we Catholics should show priests some filial loyalty, even if we suspect that they don’t deserve it, and have the decency and fairness to speak gently to him in private. The very worst thing to do would be to make assumptions. I would advise that you keep any details stricly confidential, approaching only the bishop, and nobody else, if you have concrete evidence of serious abuse and betrayal of his ministry. Innocent until proven guilty.

 

[Flopfoot]

Four pages for this thread?

Honestly, I think this is an open and shut issue. It is spam, plain and simple. Some old computers don’t have filters; some spam mail is designed to get around filters; we all get different spam depending on how the spiders work their way around the internet and other factors; I’m pretty sure porn sites don’t operate via email, and if they did, the priest would not share his email password with someone who could see it; the way that particular email is worded sounds exactly like spam of times past (don’t you think a ‘real’ porn site would try and make their emails look different to spam emails? Don’t you think heck, they’d try to be subtle for the sake of their customers too?) If you really want to throw Bayesian probability into it as well, you have to take into account that the average priest, or especially a priest who seems to be a good priest, would not likely be looking at gay porn. With all these factors together I don’t think there is even a hundredth of a percent chance that the priest is actually a customer of a porn site.

Summary - the priest is innocent, the OP got worked up over essentially nothing, close the case.

 

[LittleDeb]

I’ve heard that quote 1000x and every time I’ve heard it was in the form of a question. Example. "Do the ends justify the means’ meaning it’s up to each individual person to decide if the end result is worth it.

In this case, I think so. I mean, like I said, this is the first priest to gets me wanting to go to church. But, if there is even a chance that this could be something, is it ok just to deny it and go on knowing I could of helped, the community, the parish?

But the question you asked was could you do something “bad” for a good result. The answer is no.

I am one who has taken you at your word and called this thread legitimate. But no, you cannot do something bad that good might come. It just won’t happen because it can’t not just that it shouldn’t…You CAN however, do something neutral that good may come.

You can express your concern to the priest when you go to install the DVD drive. You can explain that spam often have links to even more destructive sites and ask to check the whole machine for anything like a trojan horse. Just be upfront with what you are looking for. You can explain that any porn site has the potential for having a virus attached and so the spams for the sites might also contain them.

If he says anything again about wanting to know where they are coming from, let him know the headers can be faked so it won’t do him any good. Then offer to put on a super strong porn filter like the one I am sure all techies and their customers have. (I do, thanks to my computer guru! :bowdown2

If he balks at all of that, then you have reason for concern. Until then it is still speculation on one spam. And yes one spam that listed me as both the sender and the receiver with my real name even got through our super strong filter. Since I have images automatically shut off from anyone not in my contacts list I was saved from seeing the pictures. So even the best filters can still get overrun.

Good luck. And please remember he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

 

[lizaanne]

There were 3 messages, one was this. never had a chance to see others.

Ok - you are ready to ruin a priest’s reputation and life over ONE PIECE OF SPAM!!!???

Are you really ready to do that?

Look - it’s spam - let it go.

And of course he wants to know where it’s coming from so if it IS something he’s picked up along the way like stupid magazine subscriptions or some financial garbage selling something, he knows where to go to unsubscribe. I look at some spam too for the same reason.

Honestly - I can not believe how such tiny little comments can be turned around to totally vilify a person!

Wow - this poor priest - and all priests. They can’t even own a computer without someone looking over their shoulder and making assumptions about them based on their SPAM!!!

This is just totally insane.

~Liza

 

[Prodigal_Son1]

Four pages for this thread?

There are so many threads that seem quick to “bash” priests, I am glad to see so many come to the defense of one.

May the peace of the Lord be with you all.
Prodigal Son1

 

[Strategery]

If something like this comes up again, it might be prudent to ask him in a non-confrontational manner about it, but that’s in the future.

(First response edited)

In my opinion you should take this question to God and sincerely ask him for guidance. He knows how troubled you are, and he will give you help. Anything you do should start there.

Another thought - if he is truly the person who got you going to church, then God bless him for that, REGARDLESS of what the outcome of this situation is.

 

[Newbie2]

I agree that the person who started the thread did so to see our reactions…
Maybe an Admin could close the thread…

And if so, so what?

Some consider it an interesting topic. You’re not forced to participate.

I don’t want to give the appearance of “Guilty until proven innocent”…but on the other hand, ignoring a potential problem is how things get out of hand. It’ s probably nothing, but worth keeping your eye on.

 

[whiteknite]

And if so, so what?

Some consider it an interesting topic. You’re not forced to participate.

I don’t want to give the appearance of “Guilty until proven innocent”…but on the other hand, ignoring a potential problem is how things get out of hand. It’ s probably nothing, but worth keeping your eye on.

I agree Newbie!!
But if there is gonna be stones thrown then the matther should be looked into a bit more by Michcool125 dont you think??

 

[Nino]

Hello all,

Hey who can I trust,He is a svengali type…an agent of the devil who was recruited to destroy faith in the clergy and innocence in our youth…of course he was charming…thats part of the training! The paintings of an ugly snake capitvating Eve are absurd…the serpent was a handsome,charming…get that word…character who did more then average in public stuff…give to the poor…sob…cry on the altar for the wounded…sob and sob…volunteer for this and that worthy cause…all part of the plan…at my catholic Small C.high school where I taught we had such a piece of evil …he looked like Tyrone Powers…and sooo concerned…years later we see on the grandjury report he had molested some dozen young boys while being sooooo concerned and charming…dont fall for that line…only the ugly are bad…no on the surface they are like Rock Hudson…golly gee…but inside…they are evil…as he was…preying on the young boys like a vulture after the kill! Our beloved church has been infiltrated by satans army…well trained.like all agents…they just cant be …that way…yes they are…betraying a sacred trust…as Jesus warned…'anyone who harms my little ones ,may a millstone being tied around his neck and may he be tossed into the nearest stream "…just be on the alert,they eventually reveal themselves for being what they are…sending out signals etc…dont react too soon but only when you have spoken to the proper authorities…then act …like a cancer it must be cut out…there is no compromise with evil…

 

[Deo_Volente]

Grace & Peace!

Get proof of this - like a screenshot - and show it to the Bishop.

This comment, the comment suggesting using the priest’s password to gain access to email to check up on him, and comments like them I find quite troubling. Are you all seriously telling us that the Kingdom of God is like Soviet Russia–where the laity are expected to be some sort of KGB force in God’s own house? How ludicrous, ridiculous and degrading for everyone involved!

As someone mentioned earlier–ends do not justify means.

As prodigal seems to ask, why should we be so eager to see a priest fall or to be personally instrumental in a priest’s disgrace or destruction that we abandon all charity and resort to some form of gestapo-tactic? I understand the need for vigilance on some fronts where children are concerned, but is vigilance any excuse for paranoia or fear mongering? Or worse, is it an excuse for a fundamental pessimism regarding human nature, which pessimism is, at root, indistinguishable from a hopeless belief in the inefficacy of grace?

Under the Mercy,
Mark

Deo Gratias!