what do you think?

[skyward]

Hi,

I was talking to my neighbour earlier on today, whom is catholic, when she mentioned that she finds it hard to attend our local church because of her views on our local priest. She is a teacher at the catholic senior school that is ajoined to the church. She said " I find it extremely difficult to be in his presence, he is a liar and a coward".

I have met with him previously and found him to be strict yet warm. Being that i am to attend the RCIA with him in september and that it will be he who baptise’s me and my children, im finding the whole conversation quite disconcerting.

My neighbour is a lovely lady who is even tutoring my 10 year daughter, so she can pass her 11+ exams and therefore attend a grammer school, for free! She has also been a confidant in whom i have been speeking with about my transistion from buddhism into the arms of Lord Jesus.

I feel a little confused, your opinion as ever are very welcome.

Kindest regards.

 

[floresco]

I think that you should not listen to gossip. The person who told you these things, however lovely she may be otherwise, should not have said them to you. According the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.278 He becomes guilty:

• of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;

• of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another’s faults and failings to persons who did not know them;279

• of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

It sounds like she may have committed either detraction or calumny, depending on whether the things she told were true or false. From what you have written there does not seem to have been an objectively valid reason for her to tell you these things. Ignore it as much as you are able and avoid the topic in the future.

However, even if the priest were worse than she claims, it would not affect the validity of any Sacraments he performed. So, if you are concerned about this, you need not be. Character flaws or sins of the priest do not interfere with his ability to baptize or confect the Eucharist, as long as requirements for form, matter and intent are met. He can still serve as your priest.

Pray for him and for your neighbour.

 

[giuseppeTO]

Sky,

For your friend to tell you this man, priest or not, is a coward without qualification is a grave sin. To defame another person, even with evidence, is a grave sin. Don’t let it deter you, continue your course.

 

[skyward]

I think that you should not listen to gossip. The person who told you these things, however lovely she may be otherwise, should not have said them to you. According the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

It sounds like she may have committed either detraction or calumny, depending on whether the things she told were true or false. From what you have written there does not seem to have been an objectively valid reason for her to tell you these things. Ignore it as much as you are able and avoid the topic in the future.

However, even if the priest were worse than she claims, it would not affect the validity of any Sacraments he performed. So, if you are concerned about this, you need not be. Character flaws or sins of the priest do not interfere with his ability to baptize or confect the Eucharist, as long as requirements for form, matter and intent are met. He can still serve as your priest.

Pray for him and for your neighbour.

I will, thank you floresco.

Sky,

For your friend to tell you this man, priest or not, is a coward without qualification is a grave sin. To defame another person, even with evidence, is a grave sin. Don’t let it deter you, continue your course.

I intend to continue with the coarse for sure, infact i have never been so certain, thank you too giuseppe:thumbsup:

 

[Lypher]

I feel a little confused, your opinion as ever are very welcome.
.

Well I too am in RCIA so welcome it is a great journey. As for the whole thing with the Priest my Priest had a few things to say about all the scandals in the Church going on right now and I really liked them.

#1. They are all men and subject to sin.
#2. He would not let a bad Bishop or Priest keep him from the Eucharist.
#3. Why would you abandon Peter because of Judas.

The above being said you have no proof of the truth behind the claims, and yet even if you did I would hope and pray that you would not let this man determine your faith. The strange thing is that in the past the Church has had a number of very bad Popes, and yet the Holy Spirit worked through them. The mortal character and or flaws of an individual Priest cannot prevent the God from using him for his own purposes.

My family is attending a Parish away from me (I am a deployed US service member) and our local Priest is pretty left leaning for me… Here I am a LCMS convert and I often have to swallow some of the things he says and does, because they just are not right, but that being said he is my Father. He is a Good man and he does his best. If during your RCIA course you find that he is someone for you to fear then I would suggest you find another Parish, but baring that I would say listen to what he has to say and Read…Read …Read…

By the way my current Military Priest is VERY conservative, my previous one was out there…had some mysticism type questions he would offer up during RCIA and I would whip out my CCC and say “What about this” and then he would qualify…He too was a nice man, but he was teaching through his “Life” experiences and he was raised in Africa. My whole point is sometimes having someone you question teach you makes you search for the answers in scripture, CCC, or some other encyclical. Just one more way God can influence you…

Good luck… By the way this is a great place for questions during RCIA…Although you will have a lot of Chaff to blow out, you will find some very devote and well formed Catholics on this site.

Cheers,

 

[Advocatus_Fidei]

Do not let your friends personal opinions sway you, just like any family sometimes daughters get mad at their fathers and say things they shouldn’t and sometimes our fathers are not as good as we would like them to be, they still remain our fathers for better or worse and should be respected for that.