When a priest isn't really a priest at all

[Matt33]

Gah! My pastor is not foolish!:banghead:
If it makes you secure to feel like it couldn’t happen to your parish because your priest is so much smarter, so much more diligent than ours that sooth yourself with that. Those that know my pastor, are shocked because they KNOW him and its knowing him that makes it the most shocking because if it can happen on his watch, it can happen anywhere.

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I NEVER said that I don’t think it couldn’t happen at my parish. In fact I think it could. My pastor is a great and holy man too. You are right I don’t know yours. I also don’t know that he is foolish but I know that there could have been some foolish decisions made here.
But I can see that this is hurting and emotional for you. I personally don’t have much invested in this to keep hurting your feelings. I don’t want to do that so I will back off. I am sorry you were offended. I hope that in time you are healed from this happening at your parish and I hope that it doesnt happen again anywhere.

 

[Matt33]

I feel the term "charity is misused often, so to clarify:
From the CCC:

Charity

1822 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

1823 Jesus makes charity the new commandment.96 By loving his own "to the end,"97 he makes manifest the Father’s love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.” And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."98

1824 Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: "Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love."99

1825 Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies."100 The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.101

The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."102
1826 “If I . . . have not charity,” says the Apostle, “I am nothing.” Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing."103 Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity."104

1827 The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which “binds everything together in perfect harmony”;105 it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.

1828 The practice of the moral life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the children of God. He no longer stands before God as a slave, in servile fear, or as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him who “first loved us”:106

If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children.107
1829 The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.108

I am afraid that I do not see anything here that supports the idea that charity means assuming thee best possible situation to the point of statistical exclusion. Yes Paul does say believe and hope all things but that needs to be looked at contextually. Certainly Pual doesn’t want us to believe the the Holocaust never happened so there are limits. ( I know I chided someone about a rape analogy used for emotion and I did it here too. Hippocrite)
Particularly interesting is 1829 and the fraternal correction bit. Charity is about love of neighbor not emotion. Charity is about logic and holiness.
The Jewish religion has a saying. “Forgive, but tie up your camel.” I think that is rightly applied here.

 

[rayne89]

I NEVER said that I don’t think it couldn’t happen at my parish. In fact I think it could. My pastor is a great and holy man too. You are right I don’t know yours. I also don’t know that he is foolish but I know that there could have been some foolish decisions made here.
But I can see that this is hurting and emotional for you. I personally don’t have much invested in this to keep hurting your feelings. I don’t want to do that so I will back off. I am sorry you were offended. I hope that in time you are healed from this happening at your parish and I hope that it doesnt happen again anywhere.

Thank you for your apology.

 

[FastLearner]

This is an interested (and disturbing) thread to read…

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned (only in passing): Is the archdiocese pressing charges? If this man forged the signature of the archbishop, that’s illegal.

 

[jmcrae]

This is an interested (and disturbing) thread to read…

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned (only in passing): Is the archdiocese pressing charges? If this man forged the signature of the archbishop, that’s illegal.

I certainly hope so - I would not like to see this man get away with his fraud. He should also be required to pay back any money he received in Mass stipends and any gifts he received from parishioners.

 

[BWNM]

Hi guys. Just want to catch on what has happen to the guy?

I have been thinking. What if we have two different aspect of this really outrageous thing that this man has done. 1 What if this is some kind of sort of probe to see how easy is to pretend to be a priest or religious person and 2) what if he is part of a group or something of that matter and this has been in planning for some time?
And for what purposes? Man doesn’t commit such a hideous sacrileges thing just for fun!

Also, as for the pastor, actually feel sorry for him. He is already in shock as he is and I pray for him so Lord will give him strength.

And on this I might be wrong, nonetheless; If you really think about, something good came out of this; a better vigilance and thorough background check will be heavy implemented. Also, we must thank Lord for the person who recognize him, this didn’t happen by accident.

God Bless

 

[ack]

Man doesn’t commit such a hideous sacrileges thing just for fun!

Actually, some people do…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Abagnale

 

[Zelie_Louis]

This thread and topic is now closed. Thanks to all who participated.