Priests with very sinful pasts

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bassmansteiny said:
As far as embezzling, if it is in their past and they really had a change of heart not sure if it would really bother me
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I’m sure that’s true that it wouldn’t bother you, but insurance companies might have a hard time with it. They don’t really meet the people,they just look at the statistics.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
The main issue seems to be he didn’t pay the financial damages he was supposed to pay at the time and the wronged people wanted interest on it, even though by the time he did pay the original amount his obligation to pay had expired, so technically he didn’t have to give them a dime.
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I didn’t get this impression from the Wapo article you linked. It seemed the victims’ main issue is that they don’t believe his apology is sincere because it only came after he was exposed by an investigative journalist.
 
Great suggestion. I see their checkered past as evidence of God’s grace in the life of the soon-to-be priest. If all priests were of impeccable character, how could any of us aspire to emulate them, knowing how sinful we were and are?

Saint Paul continually considered and spoke of his sinful past, fearing not to tell about it - another demonstration of God’s grace.
 
It may have been in another article I read which was on NBC or CBS site.

I have difficulty caring about the “sincerity of apologies” thing. I have the jaundiced view that an apology is usually some way to look good to the court or the public or to avoid further liability. It means very little to me. I accept that it may mean something to someone else. But I also have a sense that many “wronged” people will never accept an apology even if it is sincere, because they are not ready to forgive or perhaps not interested in ever forgiving. That is why the legal system needs to step in rather than having everything settled between the 2 parties like it was before systems of law handled disputes.
 
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Yes, there are quite a few. However, unless the priest is at your parish, we usually don’t hear about them unless they are both very public about their past and have an national or international ministry.

Fr. Donald Galloway, MIC is the first one I can think of. Plus, there are several others who went from Atheist / hedonist to priest and have made their conversion stories public.

God Bless
 
I personally would have no trouble with a priest with a sinful past, with the exception of child abuse/ sexual shenanigans. Otherwise, they would probably make better priests than those who have never been tempted in their lives.
 
I agree with the first part, and unless he wants to discuss it, I have no more right to know his past than anybody else that I work and interact with.

But I wouldn’t go so far as to assume they would be better than a priest who hadn’t been tempted. I’d say that they have just as much potential as someone who hadn’t.
 
I think a priest with a very hedonistic previous life would be ideally suited to mentoring teenagers. Does he need to become a priest for that? He could work solely in high schools and youth ministry.
A priest who is reminding us all of his shady past in homilies at Mass every Sunday, is distracting.There are other issues the congregation needs to hear about. I would be concerned that the parish becomes all about him instead of his role.
 
1ke said:
No. “We” do not need to know, it’s none of our business. His bishop or superior needs to know, and that is all discussed in the formation and discernment process.
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I agree with this 100%. None of our business in any way, shape or form.
 
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goodcatholic said:
I think a priest with a very hedonistic previous life would be ideally suited to mentoring teenagers. Does he need to become a priest for that? He could work solely in high schools and youth ministry.
A priest who is reminding us all of his shady past in homilies at Mass every Sunday, is distracting.There are other issues the congregation needs to hear about. I would be concerned that the parish becomes all about him instead of his role.
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I don’t know about teenagers (maybe). I think it would depend on how good of a speaker they are, because there is only so much you can openly disclose with a teen. But definitely for college students and young adults.
 
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Fr. Ben, who founded the parish up the street, was a union goon before seminary!

hawk
 
Homilies are not the place to offer a self pride autobiography.
It is a time of teaching.

He can tells some interesting doctrine, values, scriptures that make him grow closer to Christ some time, but no more. If it can help listeners too.

testimony are to given in conference
 
I’ve certainly had my suspicions about our new priest, Fr. D. B. Cooper. He always flashes large bills, brags about how clever he is and invites us to go skydiving with him. Always wearing singlasses is strange too. 😎

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Do I recall that St Paul called himself among the worst of sinners in Timothy? I don’t have my Bible here. If anyone has it and I am correct can you quote it?
 
OK, maybe that rebel priest from Ryan’s Daughter then. The one Alec Guinness refused to play because he was too rough/ immoral. (I didn’t think he was immoral)
 
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dochawk said:
But I don’t recall him breaking kneecaps in the movie (but then, it’s been almost four decades . . .)

hawk
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You’re right, Karl Malden didn’t break any kneecaps at the behest of Lee J Cobb.
 
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