Priest arrested in Las Vegas church attack

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I imagine lots of people have occasionally wanted to take their revenge on bad soloists though :rotfl:
 
hoosiertoo said:
Celibacy is obviously bad for mental health. :eek:
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Yeah, Gandhi was a basket case. And don’t look in the Dalai Lama’s crawlspace, man. And Benedict actually (although the Vatican covers it up) ends all his sentences with the word “octopus”. Come to think of it, the entire Orthodox bishopric is celibate too; only their secular clergy isn’t. There are so many reports of Metropolitans running down the street biting people, aren’t there?

One priest went nuts. Beginning and end of story. Do you make sweeping generalizations about air-traffic controllers (among other things) on the basis of Lee Harvey Oswald?

This thing sounds like a psychotic break, from what I could see.
 
Catholic29 said:
Those seminaries with lax admission standards back in the day. Even though they have tightened up since 2002, the Church is still reaping the harvest of what came before, and will for some time to come…
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I suppose that could be part of it, but I really doubt that this type of problem can be dismissed with such a simple explanation.

Tighter psychological testing and admission standards are needed for a variety of reasons but they will not guarantee that such incidences will not happen in the future, people change under stress.

Living the life of a modern celibate priest can be like a long slow martyrdom. The layperson to priest ratio is changing all of the time, the demands can be horrendous.

This particular person is a native of Lebanon, cross cultural pressures may have played a part. I am sure he sincerely desired with all his heart to serve God as a good priest when he discerned the calling many years ago.

Let us pray for mercy for this man - let us pray for all priests.
 
Hi, Las Vegan weighing in.

The news outlets, with their anti-Catholic bent, are not telling the whole story.

I don’t know either of the parties involved, but there are people in my parish who know both of them. The woman accuser is known in her parish for being a troublemaker and generally a nutball, while Father Chaanine is known as a very kind and gentle man who nobody believes is capable of this sort of violence. The general consensus is that the accusation is false, and that Father Chaanine basically ran because in this country, a Catholic priest is presumed guilty until proven innocent, and often presumed guilty even after proven innocent.

The rumor floating in the diocese is that the woman, who is a multiple divorcee, had asked Father Chaanine to marry her to her current fiance, and he said he would only if she went to the diocese and obtained an annullment of her prior marriages. An argument ensued, (you can’t do this to me, I’ve already made the arrangements, rented the hall, etc.) and he lost his cool, pointed a toy gun at her and said, “I wish this was real, I’d like to shoot you.” Granted, a stupid thing to do, but a far cry from beating her over the head with a wine bottle as she sat at her desk and sexually assaulting her.

I imagine that somewhere between the two extreme views I’ve heard of this case, the truth lies, and the investigation will reveal a more complex story than what has been told in the press.

Also, the location of the “attack” was next to an office with a glass window, and would have been clearly visible to other church employees. Also, the woman’s lawyer is well known around town as being a rabid anti-Catholic.

I don’t know why he ran, only he and God know that, but from what I know of the reputations of both parties involved, I believe he’s innocent.
 
Thanks to Las Vegas for the report. I doubt if the media will pay much attention to the truth…the possible scandal is so much more interesting. It seems that even the posters here chose to ignore the possibility of another answer. I guess it is even easier for Catholics to blame this on things such as his being too liberal, too conservative, too celibate, not celibate enough, and from a bad seminary.

As one poster said, maybe he just happened to be a nut and would have had the same illness even if he weren’t a priest.

Or maybe Las Vegas has the correct spin.
 
Well, this guy is pure nuts. The fruit of the modern seminaries. Whatever happened to the good o’l ecclesiatical army marching out of the seminaries we had back before the 1950s?
 
Caesar said:
Well, this guy is pure nuts. The fruit of the modern seminaries. Whatever happened to the good o’l ecclesiatical army marching out of the seminaries we had back before the 1950s?
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That “ecclesiastical army” who marched out of the seminaries before the 1950s eventually became the bishops who ordained these modern priests. I believe the Church was lulled into a sense of complacency long before Vatican II.
 
LilyM said:
It’s an equal truism that single women live longer than married - what does that tell ya 🙂
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Quality of life can’t be measured in legnth, only in depth and breath. My married life is every bit as sacramental as an ordained priest. I can’t imagine life without marriage just as I am sure some priests can’t imagine life with it. The decision to become a priest remains between a man and God.

I am no more or less shocked by this news story than any other time a suspect is arrested. Priests are human with all their faults. They are not sinless nor are they incapable of crime. This man will now face the American justice system, just as he should. He will have his day in court. Pray that justice will prevail.

Nohome
 
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