Orthodox Priests in Detroit are "Under Siege"

[Brendan]

MrS:

Guardian Angel Parish Six Mile and Gratiot in Detroit
MrS

There must be something with the name.

Guardian Angels in Clawson (14mile and Rochester) is also excellent.

Great pastor, great associate great school

 

[Maccabees]

The smoke of Satan has entered the church.

 

[oremus]

Detroit Sue:

As long as Maida is alive and/or our Archbishop, you will not see any orthdox priests being elevated. I thank God for Szoka, even though he was a money hardliner when he was here. Now in Rome, and a close associate of the Holy Father, he promised that a certain monsignor will never be bishop as long as he (Szoka) is alive. I wish we could get Bishop Blair back. sigh

Oh no! You can’t have Bishop Blair back! We love him so! I will keep all of you in my prayers.

God bless,
oremus

 

[Newman60]

Brendan:

I will disagree with that assessment Sue. As you know, I am in formation to the Deaconate in Detroit and I am therefore a student at Sacred Heart.

The new rector, Fr. Laginess has been very good for Sacred Heart and is very interested in an orthodox curriculum.

The view Bishop Gumbleton as a washed up ‘has been’; heck he was given the mitre in 1967, before most of them were even born, and he is still just an auxarily bishop. No Pope has seen fit to make him an Ordinary.

The Archdiocese has done a great job of identifiying good men and raising them to the Espiscopate in the last 10 years. And then giving those bishops See’s of their own.

Let Bishop Gumbleton and his cronies complain, they are a dying breed and everyone can see that. Yes they can make the lives of these men difficult for a while, but they will come out the better for it. They will be better priests, but not in the way the progressives are expecting.

+Gumbleton and his cronies are NOT the diocese, many more in the diocese want these men in their ranks than do not.

Gumbleton and Weakland and their liberal cronies used to give me great concern, but I think you are correct. The last few years it seems there are more and more bishops who are Catholic and will stand up and speak out for the Faith. I am encouraged that the “liberals” (who really are just protestants calling themselves Catholic - like Catholics for Choice) are on the run.
Let us pray that our seminaries and churches will be populated by increasing numbers of men who are true to the Faith. Men who love and reverence God and who will listen to Rome.
Newman60

 

[puzzleannie]

I am surprised no one of you from Detroit has started a Sisters of Mercy thread, or UofD–Mercy (I suppose Marygrove would belong in the non-Catholic religions forum)

 

[thann]

puzzleannie:

I am surprised no one of you from Detroit has started a Sisters of Mercy thread, or UofD–Mercy (I suppose Marygrove would belong in the non-Catholic religions forum)

Hey, watch it! I am the product of both Mercy High School (whose “grand prize” in the annual auction last year was Lunch With The Pro-Abortion “Catholic” Governor Jennifer Granholm!) AND University of Detroit (before “Mercy” was added), that bastion of liberal Jesuit-ness.

And in spite of it all, here I am, as orthodox a Catholic as they come!

'thann

 

[Toni]

Brendan:

I will disagree with that assessment Sue. As you know, I am in formation to the Deaconate in Detroit and I am therefore a student at Sacred Heart.

If anything, the seminarians look at Bishop Vigeron and other’s like Fr. John Recardo and they see how orthodoxy is not only correct, but good for one’s careers. The view Bishop Gumbleton as a washed up ‘has been’; heck he was given the mitre in 1967, before most of them were even born, and he is still just an auxarily bishop. No Pope has seen fit to make him an Ordinary.

The Archdiocese has done a great job of identifiying good men and raising them to the Espiscopate in the last 10 years. And then giving those bishops See’s of their own.

Let Bishop Gumbleton and his cronies complain, they are a dying breed and everyone can see that. Yes they can make the lives of these men difficult for a while, but they will come out the better for it. They will be better priests, but not in the way the progressives are expecting.

+Gumbleton and his cronies are NOT the diocese, many more in the diocese want these men in their ranks than do not.

Sue that was the good bishop I told you in my other post over in Bishop Flynns side of the world. I have seen good priests or workable priests come out of the diocese of Detroit and this year also.

 

[SeekerJen]

puzzleannie:

I am surprised no one of you from Detroit has started a Sisters of Mercy thread, or UofD–Mercy (I suppose Marygrove would belong in the non-Catholic religions forum)

Huh. Perhaps because I only spent two very packed years at UDM (class of 2001, BS in Biochemistry), I didn’t see the “liberal Jesuit-ness” that everyone loves to rail on. Instead I got a great education (how refreshing after three numbing years at a state university), a diverse and very respectful student body who actually wanted to learn and help serve the community, and professors who cared about their students, weren’t bickering over funding, taught their own courses (TAs weren’t really used there) and lived their faith. I’m remembering my analytical chem. prof walking around with ashes on her head all day on Ash Wed.- no questions asked, and something I had never seen at the state univ., talking with my biochem profs about RCIA and Masses (one was an RCIA sponsor, the other a reader at her parish), talking with a biology professor about his children and Pre-Cana (he and his wife were instructors), and my anatomy professor’s refusal to open up his lab on Sunday as he did on Saturdays (he was a priest, and Sunday was his day to serve the Lord).

Perhaps I was easy to please. After being made fun of for getting up on Sundays to go to Mass when I lived in a sorority house at the state univ., it was refreshing to be at a campus with daily Mass, with a crucifix on the wall of many of the classrooms, where prayers were automatically said at any large gathering (including our college formal), where both the school year and graduation ceremonies were begun with a Mass, and where no one was going to make fun of me for being a practicing Catholic.

 

[Riley259]

This is a problem in Massachusetts as well. We currently have a parish sit-in in Weymouth at St. Albert’s organized by Voice of the Faithful and parishoners to stop their church from closing. The parishoners are refusing to leave the church even though it was officially closed on 9/1/04. They’ve raised thousands of dollars to keep the church open themselves. At first glance, this sounds heroic but their parish needed to close for very good reasons. The church in Boston is going through a well-overdue reconfiguration so that they can operate faithfully and effectivelly in the future. The parishoners are now suing the archdiocese of Boston to keep their church open and as a result are creating scandal and disunity in the church here. The whole thing appeared to be initiated and endorsed by their very liberal pastor, who is charismatic but terribly misguided. The Archbishop, Sean O’Malley, is taking a wait and see approach but I think he needs to start to be firm in weeding these liberal priests out. By the way, the Archbishop is a wonderful and spiritual man who has done great things since taking over at this scandal-fatigued diocese. The book Goodbye, good men by Michael Rose highlights this very problem and postulates that the clergy sex abuse scandal was in large part caused by the infiltration of liberal church leaders put in a position of authority post-Vatican II (1970’s and 1980’s). However, Rose is optimistic about future church leaders due to some encouraging signs during the last decade in seminaries around the country - the men who are signing up for vocations are describing themselves as unabashedly orthodox. Let’s pray for faithful priests!

 

[MBS1]

It’s not just in Detroit. Up here in the Saginaw Diocese things are about as liberal as one could imagine. Many are praying for an orthodox Bishop to take the place of Bishop Ken Utener, who recently passed away. Some of our parishes here even sponsor Voice of the Faithful meetings at the churches. Orthodox catholics who just want to follow the Pope and Magisterium and the GIRM are considered too rigid, yet they complain that there are not enough vocations. Anyone know if the vocation rate is better at the more orthodox dioscese in this country, if there are any left?
MBS1

 

[loyola_rambler]

MBS, I hear you. But you have to admit, the Detroit Assignment board has been very good to the Diocese of Saginaw. We send them our seminarians and they send us older, decidedly more mature and orthodox priests to take over rural parishes. The priest who came up to handle the parishes in Coleman and Edenville is a wonderful priest who has done wonders for taming a previously heterodox community and reinstoring traditional Catholic teachings.

If you want an outrage, I’m still crusading to get an actual crucifix in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Saginaw. They finally put the processional cross in a stand way back and off to the side of the altar, but nay on the crucifix anywhere that’s visible during mass.

P.S. Would the MBS have anything to do with the towns around US-10 and I-75? If so, Go Chemics!

 

[MBS1]

Yes, I’m from that area, but would have to say Go Chargers (sorry). Who is the priest you have in the Coleman/Edenville area? He sounds great. I hadn’t been to St. Mary’s Cathedral in a while - I didn’t know that there was no crucifix there. Of course, they have a woman running the place whose title is “Assistant Pastor”, isn’t it? We haven’t experienced any priests at my parish from the Detroit area, so I don’t know if that is good or bad. Sounds like you’ve had a good experience. MBS1

 

[loyola_rambler]

The nuns actually have the title “Pastor”. Go figure. The priest (whose name escapes me at the moment) is in his early 70s and lives in Coleman but handles St. Anne’s in Edenville, too. It’s not actually my parish but we go up there in the summer.

Trying to place who the Chargers are…is that a strange little school on the other side of town who takes over our football stadium every other week?

Greetings from Blessed Sacrament

 

[Brendan]

MBS1:

Of course, they have a woman running the place whose title is “Assistant Pastor”, isn’t it?

That will not happen in Detroit. I’ve been told by a few separate sources that Cardinal Maida has made it clear that if “Pastoral Administrators” or the equivalent are necessary, the will chosen from the Permanent Deacons ONLY.

 

[Detroit_Sue]

loyola rambler:

The nuns actually have the title “Pastor”. Go figure.

That’s really over the edge. However, I did recenty find out that that if a deacon is the administrator of a parish, he will be regarded as the “pastor.” A little different from nuns, though. Maybe it’s the “ordained clergy” thing.

 

[annejohno]

This makes my stomach sick.
I am studying a course called the “Art of Pastoral Ministry” One of my texts has a forward by Untener and is written by Thomas Sweetser. It is upsetting to read.
My son is studying to be a priest. When people are asked to pray for our seminarians they don’t have any idea of the battle the men are going into.
It would be good to ask Fr.Solanus Casey to help Detroit.

 

[loyola_rambler]

Detroit Sue:

That’s really over the edge. However, I did recenty find out that that if a deacon is the administrator of a parish, he will be regarded as the “pastor.” A little different from nuns, though. Maybe it’s the “ordained clergy” thing.

Well, I can’t speak for the far more urban AD of Detroit, but up here there are several counties that only have 2-3 Catholic parishes to serve 900-1000 sq miles. They can’t support full time priests, but closing them means people have to drive long distances under harsh winter conditions. The solution was to put the Grand Rapids Dominicans in charge of them (yes, as pastors) and have the priests rotate to cover masses on the weekends. Places like Gladwin, Clare and Roscommon counties could never be served by a single priest without a lot of help…and there aren’t enough deacons in those areas. Without the nuns, there wouldn’t be Catholic anything going on. It’s not a cop out, just a reality. I couldn’t bear the thought that a priest in a place like Gladwin county would be expected to travel from Edenville to Houghton Lake all by himself all winter long. This way, with 2-3 nuns, a deacon and 2 priests covering 3 parishes, they’re doing very well and the priest is actually freed up to actually be the shepherd.

 

[Dominican]

Where I come from its seems that the laity “in high places and positions” in the Church are the ones labelling our young priests “Pre Vatican II”. Amazing really considering these young priests weren’t born when Vatican II was held and have never known a pre Vatican II Church. What they have discovered is the beauty and truth that is the Catholic Church and encouraged by a new generation of young people who want to know what the Church teaches (and yes the new generation are saying “why” not “let’s rebel”. Rebellion seems to be with the 50’s plus and looks to me somewhat jaded and old hat.
A newly ordained priest I know very well said to me the other day (he has received anonymous letters and phone calls accusing him of taking the church backwards) "Jesus is pre Vatican II
So lets love this new breed of priest, support him with our prayers live the faith as best we can and set the world on fire.
What a rant the above is! - I am actually nearly 58

 

[Detroit_Sue]

Dominican:

Where I come from its seems that the laity “in high places and positions” in the Church are the ones labelling our young priests “Pre Vatican II”.

A deacon ordained with my husband (who also is a liturgist ) is big on labeling these good young men “Pre-Vatican II.” Of course this is a man who thinks Gumbleton should be a cardinal, and Dearden should be canonized. I’m not sure if he does this on purpose, or if he truly has no idea of the damage he is doing to the reputations of these men. He’s the DRE pipeline. It’s quite an amazing network they have there.

It saddens me that there is so much division in the priesthood. The orthodox priest are being crucified. My pastor advised me to offer my last Mass/Holy Communion “in reparation for all the darkness that is in the priesthood today, and for all of the bishops and priests responsible for that darkness.”

I always thought that people claiming that we would have to go underground were really off the wall, but I don’t think that way anymore.

 

[BayCityRickL]

My desk is overflowing and I’ve misplaced a meeting announcement. But, the idea is, sometime soon in Troy, MI I think B. Gumbleton is going to have a meeeting on the vision of Bishop Ken Untener.

If you want the whole nine yards of liberal nonsense, locate this meeting and “be there.”