Richard Rohr

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I recently attended the inaugural meeting of my parish’s Men’s Spirituality Group. Throughout the evening, the priest running the session kept on referring to “Father Richard Rohr”; a man, we were told, who had done extensive research and writing on the subject of male spirituality and one to whom we would look to as the Group’s mentor and/or guide. When I got back to my house I “googled” RIchard Rohr in an effort to gain some insight as to the tenor of his teachings. I was appalled at my discovery. Father Richard Rohr is purported to support same sex marriage, women’s ordination, mocking of the papacy, etc., etc… I now have a meeting with the priest heading my parish’s Men’s Group this coming Tuesday (12/16/08) to discuss/debate why a man who appears to be catholic in name only is offered as our inspiration. I’ve seen the silly enneagram videos but I’m looking for some concrete, knock-out stuff that I can offer to my priest with respect to the errors espoused by Father Rohr. I need facts. Help is greatly appreciated.
 
kboyar said:
I recently attended the inaugural meeting of my parish’s Men’s Spirituality Group. Throughout the evening, the priest running the session kept on referring to “Father Richard Rohr”; a man, we were told, who had done extensive research and writing on the subject of male spirituality and one to whom we would look to as the Group’s mentor and/or guide. When I got back to my house I “googled” RIchard Rohr in an effort to gain some insight as to the tenor of his teachings. I was appalled at my discovery. Father Richard Rohr is purported to support same sex marriage, women’s ordination, mocking of the papacy, etc., etc… I now have a meeting with the priest heading my parish’s Men’s Group this coming Tuesday (12/16/08) to discuss/debate why a man who appears to be catholic in name only is offered as our inspiration. I’ve seen the silly enneagram videos but I’m looking for some concrete, knock-out stuff that I can offer to my priest with respect to the errors espoused by Father Rohr. I need facts. Help is greatly appreciated.
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If you go here and search for “Richard Rohr” you’ll find a number of helpful critiques of him and his work:

catholicculture.org/
 
Thank you - I followed your advice and already found one outstanding critique of this man’s teachings. It’s distressing that he appears to have deceived so many with his shtick.
 
kboyar said:
Thank you - I followed your advice and already found one outstanding critique of this man’s teachings. It’s distressing that he appears to have deceived so many with his shtick.
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I was happy to help; I pray that your meeting with the priest heading this program will go well. Please keep us posted!
 
Why can’t the works of St. Alphonsus Liguori and/or the works of Dom Lorenzo Scupoli be the focus for men’s Spirituality?

BTW, what is “men’s” Spirituality. Why is it any different than women’s Spirituality? 🤷
 
chrisb said:
BTW, what is “men’s” Spirituality. Why is it any different than women’s Spirituality? 🤷
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My thought exactly! I would think that the spirituality would contain no differences, but the environment would?
 
Our parish is in the second year of That Man Is You, a program from men’s spiritual growth that began in Houston. The spirituality forum I think has a recent thread on this program. It is highly successful here.
 
WIth respect to Male spirituality, I have no problem with the gender based focus per se. Men and woman are clearly different in a multitude of ways. Similarly, a group of men will interact with each other differently then they would if women were in the room with them. The general concept is in no way chauvinistic or exclusionary. Mary is rightfully esteemed as our most perfect, exclusively human, role model. This isn’t about equality or respect. My problem is that the works of Father Richard Rohr are being presented as the foundation for a Catholic Men’s Group!
 
Well, I have decided that Fr. Rohr’s writings are not spiritually beneficial to me and I find much in his writings that seems to be in opposition to what The Church teaches.
 
A simple approach would be to confront your priest in charge of the mien’s spirituality group with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the first time something opposed to Church teaching is put forward as OK. and ask how he proposes that information in light of official Church teaching.

Two sections of the CCC that would be good to be familiar with when going to such a meeting are the 7 Sacraments and the other one, the 1`0 Commandments. In and of themselves, these two sections are excellent reading. Any dogma discussed would also be easy to find by just following the index.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B
 
I attended a M.A.L.E. (Men As Leaders and Elders) spirituality group since RCIA last year and found it disturbing from the beginning. I stayed nine months and argued every meeting with the Deacon and other devoted members as to the Christianity being presented.

Rohr, Pennington and Richard Rolheiser were the authors we discussed and Centering Prayer, Ennegram, and veiled dissent were de rigueur.

Even a cursory look into Rohr would disturb an orthodox Christian, presiding over a lesbian “commitment” ceremony and the bongo drum and dancing girl Mass with Father/Mother God the most egregious.

I didn’t leave protestantism to be a member in the newest protestantism of the Catholic Church. Be on guard. :onpatrol:
 
I don’t think he is technically Catholic any more with that goofy center he runs which is more new age.
 
As with the Apostles and Jesus himself it appears to me that those among us that stretch our comfort zone quickly become subject to attack, and crucifixion…like the pharisees of old, it is so often the religious institutions and leaders that are first to pass a judgement which is reserved for God alone…true Faith draws us into darkness, into the unknown/mystery of God. It is only there that we discover a God and a mystery that is infinitely understandable. The opposite of Faith is certainty towards any matter or person including any assessment of anyone’s relative and always imperfect “Catholicism”…
 
tskrobacz said:
As with the Apostles and Jesus himself it appears to me that those among us that stretch our comfort zone quickly become subject to attack, and crucifixion…like the pharisees of old, it is so often the religious institutions and leaders that are first to pass a judgement which is reserved for God alone…true Faith draws us into darkness, into the unknown/mystery of God. It is only there that we discover a God and a mystery that is infinitely understandable. The opposite of Faith is certainty towards any matter or person including any assessment of anyone’s relative and always imperfect “Catholicism”…
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There is a difference between judgment and the “judging” of a nature you talk about. The “judge not” appears to be a judging of a negative manner due to the words of Jesus in the next verse being “For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again”. I would be reticent to judge everyone a saint so that I myself would be judged one later. That would be a false judgment.

We must “judge” whether or not a spirit is “of God or not” as it is said by the Apostle John, 1 John 4:1, because of the many false prophets in the world. Not every “prophet” who is derided is automatically a “true prophet”. That would be a very shallow judgment.

Contrarily, Catholicism is perfect due to the authority given to Her as the Bride of Christ as well as in the “keys to the kingdom” given to Peter, and in the authority to bind and loose, given by the authority of He Who has the ultimate Authority, Jesus,

As we know, we ourselves in the Church are not perfect, we must judge by the teachings of the Church that which is said both inside the bounds of the Catholic Church and outside Her, as in this forum, otherwise we could not distinguish the darkness of falsehood from the truth of the light.

In the case of Fr. Rohr, his support for homosexual acts in opposition to Church magisterial teaching and Biblical mandates is the basis for my judgment. The Bible and Church teaching is a pretty good standard to be judged by, when one comes to be judged.
 
It’s very sad that this Franciscan priest seems to have wandered off the narrow path and into the wilderness.

Does anyone know what his standing is in his order or his diocese? In other words, has there been any official statement warning Catholics about his teaching or warning him to come into line? (I am remembering, perhaps inaccurately, the acts that preceded Hans Kung’s being stripped of his license to teach?)
 
In a cursory search of google, I found only allusions to the reprimand by Arbp. Sheehan, but it is telling that on the archdiocese of Santa Fe website there is no link provided to Rohr’s “Center for Action and Contemplation”.

The Church provides a list of teachings called the Catechism and if Rohr deviates from this then it is up to the individual to ascertain their own level of involvement with it. The Church would be too busy reprimanding every deviation. Besides, the Church proposes, it doesn’t impose. An active campaign against all levels of doctrinal deviation would seemingly stamp out levels of truth along with the varying levels of untruth. The parable of the wheat and the tares includes truth existing beside untruth as well as people accepting God existing beside people who don’t.
 
This is of course true. However, if he is as influential as he seems to be, then it is more of a concern for the shepherds. And since he is quite prominently referring to himself as a Franciscan, you might think that the order would have an interest. However, my reason for asking goes back to the OP’s inquiry, because if people are going to go to their pastors and say “this big name guy we’ve booked to speak is a heretic” it helps if someone official has noticed it.
 
It’s not even Christian 😦
The Wiki article talks all about the Enneagram’s esoteric (eg occult) roots.
 
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