Unrest at Berkeley parish Oakland bishop greeted outside church by demonstrators unhappy with ‘conservative’ priest

[agnes_therese]

Too much info missing – we don’t know what problems Fr. saw in the Councils and committees. There are procedures in place for appealing these decisions if parishioners truly feel they are unjust.

 

[Corki]

There’s no doubt that there are problems in the church which need to be fixed but based on the article there is nothing that should have chnaged. Parish and finance councils are called for in canon law (articles 536 and 537) as well as social justice responsibility (article 222). Popes beginning with Pope Leo XIII down to Pope John Paul II have written many encyclicals and letters on the subject. So based on church law and teaching what has happened is a violation. Now perhaps these parish organizations have taken over and pushed their own agenda. If so the pastor has a right to correct these groups and place them on the right path but not disband these groups. Unfortunately whether liberal or conservative a lot of agendas are been pushed these days, all of which hurt the church.

Each parish is supposed to have a finance council, that’s true. Whether a parish has a parish council is up to the Bishop. The website says that the councils are “coming soon”. It’s quite possible that the existing councils were disbanded but that new ones are forming. There is no “violation” in that. Nor is there any “violation” in focusing the social justice ministry in a different direction than the previous pastor preferred.

 

[wisdomseeker]

It’s his parish to run as he sees fit.Unlike protestants we are not run by elders but by the Shepherd.A lot of protestant churches hire and fire their ministers-we don’t.They are appointed by the Bishop.

Sometimes heterodox (liberal) parishes are given a shake up when the laiety try a takeover.This is what happened at my Parish.Our priest is very orthodox and the first thing he got rid of were altar girls(the boys came streaming back)and put a few mouthpieces in their place.And informed people during a sermon that he was the man in charge.

People complained to the Bishop but the Bishop wanted a conservative orthodox priest in place.The belly achers left and went to other Parishes but this man of God is loved by his congregation who were starved for orthhodoxy.

The Catholic Church is the greatest non governmental supporter of Good Works but it is not a social club for social workers.It is about the Eucharist and the sacraments.JPII very much condemned liberation theology. A lot of the committees that formed were not respectful of Catholic teaching and got too political so our priest turfed them.Look at the shame of liberal Churches marching in Pride Parades complicit in the sin of encouraging homosexual genital sex and causing scandal to us all.

Amen. it is time for the leaders to take the Church back from the hands of those who have no idea what the Church and try run her as if it was some kind of meeting place for the social workers. these people need to be educated about hte Church.

 

[chaunceygardner]

I looked at the St. Joseph the Worker website and noted that the page for councils is blank, with the label “coming soon”, as an earlier post noted. We just don’t know what is coming soon, and why the other councils had to be disbanded first.

Here is the parish mission statement that appears on the home page of their website:

St. Joseph the Worker Parish is a diverse Catholic Community, which welcomes people from many different places in their faith journey and serves the Gospel of Jesus Christ through worship, education, social justice, service to the poor and engagement in community concerns.

Apparently, the mission statement will be the next thing to go. And then, I suspect, the name of the parish itself, since the irony of the current name will be way too apparent to the remaining parishioners and the “working” hispanic community around them, once all these changes are made.

I also read through several of their bulletins, which are published in English and Spanish. In the list of the recent confirmation “class” it was interesting that all but a few had hispanic names. All the recipients of the sacraments of initiation at Easter had hispanic names. There was also an announcement by the pastor that the paid staff had been discharged due to lack of money to pay them. There was a note thanking the parish secretary (?), who happens to be hispanic, for her many years of service.

The weekly collection reports are also quite revealing, showing a collection that averages about 50% of what they need to run the parish. Whether that is due to the economic status of the parishioners and community or is also a result of the controversies, the parish has serious financial problems. And they have over a $1 million in debt, which they obviously can’t afford to pay on.

I feel fairly safe in predicting that St. Joseph the Worker parish will be closed or merged into another parish in the not too distant future. That will take care of the name problem, but will also leave a void in an area that certainly needs the Catholic presence of a living Gospel that responds to the needs of the people. I wonder which evangelical church will step in to fill the void?

 

[The_Old_Medic]

The Berkley Organizing Committee is a POLITICAL organization, of the most radical type. It has absolutely no business being in a Catholic Church. In fact, hosting such a group could possibly cost the Church it’s non-profit status.

I just love how some people jump to the conclusion that this Priest is wrong. In fact, what he has done is to reinstitute the proper control of the parish. The previous Pastor ad chosen to abrogate his responsibility, and effectively turn all aspects of the church over to its laity.

The new Pastor very rightly chose to use his authority to take back responsibility for the Parish, and to oust the extreme left wing faction from control.

For those of you that are NOT familiar with Berkeley, it is by far the most left wing community in California, and would be close to being the most left wing community in the United States. The Bishop of Oakland has been moving to wrest control of various parishes from the radical left.

In those communities, it had become the norm to violate virtually all Church laws (including distributing the Eucharist to non-Catholics on a regular basis), to promote virtually any radical concept, to advocate for lay control of the entire church, to promote women to preaching (which had regularly happened in that parish by the way), and to generally follow an extreme leftist path.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with helping the poor. But, there IS something wrong in using your church to promote political change that includes allowing non-citizens to vote, to provide citizenship to anyone that happens to be able to make their way into this country, to promote the recall of political officials, etc. ALL of those things had been goals of the Berkeley Organizing Committee.

While the people have the right to promote any political ideal that they chose to support, they do NOT have the right to entangle the Church in their causes. That was made CHRYSTAL CLEAR by Pope John Paul II in his condemnation of “Liberation Theology”.

He is also the person that barred any religious, or ordained person from holding political office, on pain of being laicized.

So, before you condemn the Bishop of Oakland, or the Pastor of this Church, it would help a great deal if you actually studied what had been going on in that Parish before the new pastor came in.

 

[Just_Lurking]

I feel fairly safe in predicting that St. Joseph the Worker parish will be closed or merged into another parish in the not too distant future.

From here:
Several organizers pointed to the fact that two previous churches where Father Direen served have been closed down and said this contributed to their fears for the future of the historical church.
Maybe this was the plan from the start.

 

[manofart]

Kudos for the Bishop and his priest. May we all learn from this as the darkness deepens, even in the Church.

 

[chaunceygardner]

The Berkley Organizing Committee is a POLITICAL organization, of the most radical type. It has absolutely no business being in a Catholic Church. In fact, hosting such a group could possibly cost the Church it’s non-profit status.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with helping the poor. But, there IS something wrong in using your church to promote political change that includes allowing non-citizens to vote, to provide citizenship to anyone that happens to be able to make their way into this country, to promote the recall of political officials, etc. ALL of those things had been goals of the Berkeley Organizing Committee.

Nothing like creating connections where there are none, and making assumptions based on incorrect info. You are confusing your “Berkeley Organizing Committee” with the actual group, called "Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action (BOCA) which is an inter-faith community organization. It has existed for about 10 years and was formed by area churches, including Lutheran, Methodist, Jewish and Catholic congregations. They work together to help the people of their community. Sounds like living the gospel to me.

While I can understand the confusion about the name, you really should take your own advice and do a little research before you make unsubstantiated and wild accusations. Just a suggestion.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

The Berkley Organizing Committee is a POLITICAL organization, of the most radical type. It has absolutely no business being in a Catholic Church. In fact, hosting such a group could possibly cost the Church it’s non-profit status.

I just love how some people jump to the conclusion that this Priest is wrong. In fact, what he has done is to reinstitute the proper control of the parish. The previous Pastor ad chosen to abrogate his responsibility, and effectively turn all aspects of the church over to its laity.

The new Pastor very rightly chose to use his authority to take back responsibility for the Parish, and to oust the extreme left wing faction from control.

For those of you that are NOT familiar with Berkeley, it is by far the most left wing community in California, and would be close to being the most left wing community in the United States. The Bishop of Oakland has been moving to wrest control of various parishes from the radical left.

In those communities, it had become the norm to violate virtually all Church laws (including distributing the Eucharist to non-Catholics on a regular basis), to promote virtually any radical concept, to advocate for lay control of the entire church, to promote women to preaching (which had regularly happened in that parish by the way), and to generally follow an extreme leftist path.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with helping the poor. But, there IS something wrong in using your church to promote political change that includes allowing non-citizens to vote, to provide citizenship to anyone that happens to be able to make their way into this country, to promote the recall of political officials, etc. ALL of those things had been goals of the Berkeley Organizing Committee.

While the people have the right to promote any political ideal that they chose to support, they do NOT have the right to entangle the Church in their causes. That was made CHRYSTAL CLEAR by Pope John Paul II in his condemnation of “Liberation Theology”.

He is also the person that barred any religious, or ordained person from holding political office, on pain of being laicized.

So, before you condemn the Bishop of Oakland, or the Pastor of this Church, it would help a great deal if you actually studied what had been going on in that Parish before the new pastor came in.

Some people are allergic to orthodoxy.

 

[StOwen]

It’s his parish to run as he sees fit.Unlike protestants we are not run by elders but by the Shepherd.A lot of protestant churches hire and fire their ministers-we don’t.They are appointed by the Bishop.

It is absolutely not his Parish to run as he sees fit. Everything he does must be in full accordance with the Church and any personal ideas any priest has which do not conform to the Church’s expectations must be discarded.

 

[GRATEFULONEjim]

It is absolutely not his Parish to run as he sees fit. Everything he does must be in full accordance with the Church and any personal ideas any priest has which do not conform to the Church’s expectations must be discarded.

It’s pretty obvious that what he is doing has the blessings of the Bishop. He has been there for 2 years and it seems as though he is doing the Bishops work straightening things out.

 

[StOwen]

It’s pretty obvious that what he is doing has the blessings of the Bishop. He has been there for 2 years and it seems as though he is doing the Bishops work straightening things out.

I don’t object to what he did. I object to the notion that ‘it is his parish to run as he sees fit’.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Having thought about it, the Church cannot be ‘too conservative’ so those who would make such a claim are likely in the wrong.

The terminology doesn’t fit. The Catholic Church is not conservative, the Catholic Church is orthodox. There is a difference.

 

[StOwen]

The terminology doesn’t fit. The Catholic Church is not conservative, the Catholic Church is orthodox. There is a difference.

Well if the Church is not conservative that implies the Church’s teachings are subject to change…

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Well if the Church is not conservative that implies the Church’s teachings are subject to change…

Not in the least.

Orthodox means “true teaching” or “true belief.” The truth doesn’t change because it can’t. “Conservative” may or may not have anything to do with the truth. “Conservative” has meant different things in different times, anything from supporting the institution of slavery to denying women the right to vote to issues of dress or taste. Conservative can be wrong, orthodox never can be. In this article, I see no indication that these people are other than orthodox, though they may well be (I’ve no idea). Also, on the face of it, they are within their rights. The faithful always have the right to address their concerns to their bishop (though a public demonstration in front of a church doesn’t seem either prudent or charitable toward their priest), just as the Holy See this week clarified that the faithful always have the right to appeal against their bishop to the papal nuncio, the Holy Father’s representative in countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See. I don’t know the right or wrong of these parishoner’s desires, but they have the right to seek redress from the bishop.

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

I don’t object to what he did. I object to the notion that ‘it is his parish to run as he sees fit’.

But it IS.He’s the man in charge."elders"don’t run the parish nor hire and fire priests.He under the supervision is autonomous.A parish like the Catholic Church is most assuredly NOT a democracy.

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

The terminology doesn’t fit. The Catholic Church is not conservative, the Catholic Church is orthodox. There is a difference.

There are no “liberal” nor “conservative” Catholics-only heterodox or orthodox Catholics.The obedient and disobedient.If you want to be a good as opposed to lousy Catholic you must be submissive to It’s Authority,Truth and Teachings.St Maximillian Kolbe said he had “no choice but to submit to Truth”.Humility is hard to swallow-pridefulness(the original sin) is so much easier.

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

Well if the Church is not conservative that implies the Church’s teachings are subject to change…

There is no such thing as conservatism in the Church.It is Truth and the Body of Christ.We are not Methodists,Baptists,Anglicans,Lutherans,or Mormons who have embraced heresy and heterodoxy.
I suggest you read your catechism.Small t tradition like priests being celibate yes a change can happen.For Instance Catholics may eat meat on Friday if they substitute another sacrifice or Catholics may be cremated…Large T tradtion -never ever ever.

 

[SteveGC]

I don’t object to what he did. I object to the notion that ‘it is his parish to run as he sees fit’.

I’m fairly certain that Pax, without actually saying it, was assuming that the priest is in conformity with the Bishop and the Church. Hence, the comment about “running it as he sees fit” is accurate (with the above assumption).

 

[Pax_et_Bonum]

But it IS.He’s the man in charge."elders"don’t run the parish nor hire and fire priests.He under the supervision is autonomous.A parish like the Catholic Church is most assuredly NOT a democracy.

Sorry that should read “He under the supervision of his Bishop and the Church is autonomous”.Too many laiety try to RUN the parish and interject their own Politics.My Pastor put an end to that nonsense in his first two weeks at our Parish.Professional Catholics have run our Diocese because of a weak Bishop but the new one is cleaning house and making sure all and sundry know that it is HIS diocese under the supervision of the Cardinal.As a poster that I admire here said,“It isn’t rocket science”