Venting about watching my church break communion with Rome

[Bartolome_Casas]

I’ve written FOUR different letter to my bishops about “priests gone wild.” The results: ZILCH.

Two letters go no response at all.

The other two got responses that boiled down to forms letters that amounted to nothing, and no action was ever taken to correct anything.

Two of the bishops in question ended up leaving our diocese, and became Cardinals. One is a pretty famous Cardinal now in conservative Catholic circles. He’s the one who never even responded to my letters, and the diocese was in chaos, confusion and dissension the whole 4 or 5 years he was here.

The practice of the Catholic religions is supposed to bring peace and joy those who practice it. If, instead, it is driving you insane, or making your angry, or desperate, you need to exit the situation that is causing all that distress, and then totally FORGET about. You cannot take upon your little shoulders the whole reform of your diocese, or the Church in the USA. You just cannot, cannot, cannot do that. You will only end up bitter, exhausted, and frustrated.

Maybe there is a monastery in your area with solid, faithful monks and priests, and maybe you could go there. Something like that. Seek our Opus Dei priests in your area.

Christ say, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

I know you need and want that! That’s why you became a Catholic. The Protestant/Evangelical world is full of chaos. Sadly, some of the Catholic world is too. But NOT all of it. Find you place. Then leave it to God to fix the whole Church. You are not Superman–you can’t fix it all.

 

[Stylites]

I understand the idea behind the priest’s talk about the Fatherhood, Motherhood, Brotherhood and Friendship of God, Who really has no gender, and can be a legitimate topic within a homily, say. It isn’t necessarily about the use of inclusive language. In our present culture, a lot of young people grow up without fathers in their lives, and they have only cold feelings or no feelings at all associated with the otherwise heart-warming words ‘Our Father.’

Again, God has no gender, but the Second Person took on a human form as man, and among other things said:

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent to thee, how often would I have gathered thy children as the bird doth her brood under her wings, and thou wouldest not?" --Luke 13:34

 

[Spirithound]

Well said. I once heard a priest say in a homily about the chronic complainers of his day: “If you don’t like the quality of vocations today, then step up to the plate and become a priest yourself, if you think you could do better than others!”

I really don’t think it’s about doing it “better”. “Better” implies some personal skill is involved. However, the vast majority of liturgical abuses would cease if the priests would simply stop trying to make up their own stuff. The liturgy is literally written out for you. Say the black, do the red. Don’t make it complicated.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Just because you got no response, doesn’t mean that nothing was done. Instruction, recommendations, scolding between a priest and his bishop are not the business of the laity. The bishop has no obligation to let you know what he said to th priests in question.

The forms letters that acknowledged receipt of your letter is all you should expect.

Also know that 4 or 5 years is not a lot of time to correct everything that may be wrong with a diocese. It seems like a long time to us because it would be in the business world, but a bishop can’t fire a priest and then hire a replacement the next week. We need to be patient and keep praying!

I’ve written FOUR different letter to my bishops about “priests gone wild.” The results: ZILCH.

Two letters go no response at all.

The other two got responses that boiled down to forms letters that amounted to nothing, and no action was ever taken to correct anything.

Two of the bishops in question ended up leaving our diocese, and became Cardinals. One is a pretty famous Cardinal now in conservative Catholic circles. He’s the one who never even responded to my letters, and the diocese was in chaos, confusion and dissension the whole 4 or 5 years he was here.

The practice of the Catholic religions is supposed to bring peace and joy those who practice it. If, instead, it is driving you insane, or making your angry, or desperate, you need to exit the situation that is causing all that distress, and then totally FORGET about. You cannot take upon your little shoulders the whole reform of your diocese, or the Church in the USA. You just cannot, cannot, cannot do that. You will only end up bitter, exhausted, and frustrated.

Maybe there is a monastery in your area with solid, faithful monks and priests, and maybe you could go there. Something like that. Seek our Opus Dei priests in your area.

Christ say, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

I know you need and want that! That’s why you became a Catholic. The Protestant/Evangelical world is full of chaos. Sadly, some of the Catholic world is too. But NOT all of it. Find you place. Then leave it to God to fix the whole Church. You are not Superman–you can’t fix it all.