Posted on 05/31/2006 9:27:03 AM PDT by petkus
Police called after she was told not to come; she wants documents
A Hopewell woman, a vocal critic of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, was escorted by police from her parish church over the weekend after she refused to leave.
Lynn Allgeier, 58, who has attended St. James Catholic Church in Hopewell for eight years, has tried to get the diocese and her parish to make their financial records available for inspection by the laity. She also wants to read the personnel file of Saint James' pastor, the Rev. Frank L. Wiggins Jr.
"They wouldn't give me a line-by-line budget showing how money is spent. I want that, and I want to know the history of the priest," Allgeier said.
William Etherington, an attorney for the diocese, said Allgeier has been disruptive.
"She accuses people of things that are not true and demands she be able to interview the pastor. The pastor has said, 'I don't want you here.' And he has the right to say that."
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
I'd be very surprised if she did not have access, like all other parishoners at every Catholic Church I've ever heard of, to annual reports of income and expenses.
It sounds to me like she wants the right to audit the Church and nitpick over ever invoice and expense. Maybe criticise the pastor for buying brand name laundry detergent for the linens instead of using store brands. Who knows?
If she suspects malfeasance of some sort, she should report it to the diocese or the police. If she's just nosy, she should get an ego check and realize it is not her role.
SD
Makes sense.
"Should you enter these premises, you will be considered a trespasser and subject to arrest," said the letter, dated May 22 and signed by Leslie A. Winneberger.
That seems like a very odd request, when AFAIK there's no mention of her being excommunicated.
The letter isn't technically excommunicating her, it's only saying she can't go on that particular parish's property anymore. She's free to go to others, but it doesn't sound like she will continue to be Catholic anymore, so by her own action (if she does indeed leave the Church), she will be excommunicated.
Too easy.
Catholics who are aware that the Catholic church is the One True Church do indeed put themselves in danger of Hell by rejecting what they know to be true. All others, YMMV.
For goodness sakes, read the article. It says she wants a line by line report, that's something quite different than a regular financial report that most churches give to their parishioners. As someone else pointed out, she wants to know how much is spent on paper towels.
Meanwhile, on another thread, Catholic and Orthodox fiscal policies are praised, and Protestant policies lambasted, over the same issue.
Apostacy from what?...the only apostacy I have read about in the Bible is falling away from the faith ascribed to in the Bible...once believing in and then renouncing of the gospel itself is apostacy...believing in a different Jesus than the one spoken of and testified to in the Bible and...adding to and changing the Word of God brings apostacy...Apostacy means turning away from God....it does not say anything about turning away from the catholic church.
And I'm not even Catholic myself.
Not the same issue. That thread is about the salaries of clergy. Orthodox and Catholic clergy are lower middle class, and proud of it, while ministers like Joel Osteen's earnings are in Alex Rodriguez' league.
I do agree in principle to the idea of laity having more control over the finances within the Church, but this woman chose the wrong venue. I would suggest the blogosphere, as well as standing outside the parish after sunday mass handing out leaflets pushing her cause.
The article states that she was considering attending another church, not that she was rejecting anything. Is it a mortal sin for a Catholic to attend a protestant church?
And by the way, what kind of grief will I get into on this thread if I state emphatically that the Catholic Church organization is presently in a state of visible apostacy and that the "One True Church" is not an organization, but the corporate body of true believers in Christ?
Uh, "handing out leaflets" has to be approved by the pastor, in most churches. Any guesses as to how Wiggins would have responded to Allegiers request to pass stuff out to parishioners?
You should start another thread, in the religion forum, if you want a fight over doctrine.
hidek6: That's a good way to burn in hell forever.
P-Marlowe: Are you saying that only Catholics go to heaven and that everyone else is going to burn in hell forever?
Actually, it sounds to me like simply attending/taking communion at a Protestant church is grounds for damnation. Now compare and contrast to what we've been told on this post, among others leading up to and beyond that one on that thread.
dangus, pinging you as it's your post, above, that I'm linking/referring to.
If I were in a positon of leadership I would expect some sort of background check to see what my qualifications are....when you were hired for your job they didn't check to see if you had a criminal record? I wouldn't want to be blindly led by someone I know nothing about....just because he has a collar.
A priest, a pastor, a minister has a grave responsibilty. They are to feed and nurture those who are in their congregations. I want a leader who is upright, honest and reliable....checking to see if they are what they say they are is only prudent.
If I were to go to a restaurant to feed my body and I found out that the chef had a propensity for picking his nose to flavor my food....I would certainly want to be aware of that. If a clergyman has been caught in lies or other wrongdoing...I would want to know that before having him feed my soul. For out of the fullness of his heart a man speaks...he can be all dressed up and look like a priest (pastor etc), he may have gone through seminary but if I find he has record of sexual misconduct...I would want to know before entrusting my children to his care.
It's only reasonable....a company that hires me has the right to know if I am a felon. Same should be for the church.
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