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 ...
That's a bit different than she's considering not being a Catholic anymore.
Keep in mind that this is the only Catholic church in that town.
Also, before judging her, keep in mind that the good people of the Richmond diocese were saddled with the good William Sullivan for many long years...In a parish run by him, I'd question almost anything myself.
Well, that all depends on the definition of "line by line." Before I left the Methodist Church (for a variety of reasons) someone queried into the specifics of "Outreach Ministry" on the Financial Report. After much delay, it was FINALLY revealed that some of those funds were sent to another organization to pay for some Homosexual Retreat.
"Outreach Ministry" sure seems a lot less likely to stir up a fuss than "Gay and Lesbian Woods Romp" doesn't it? Having said that, I grew up Southern Baptist, and at "Bidness Meeting" our church membership voted to approve every single penny that was spent BEFORE it was spent. The Secretary would say she needed some more paper and postage stamps, and the membership would all vote to give it to her.
You never knew... Bidness Meeting could be a snoozer or a fistfight could erupt.
Again:
So you'd have no objection to having the same background check you suggest. Done on you.
Does this person have any grounds for her demands/accusations? There's alot missing from this story.
I do love how so many here assume that the priest is a criminal of some sort. You assume that he's a criminal.
The woman by her own admission wants a line by line of the budget. She wants to know how much he spent for toilet paper and what brand of salt he uses. That is over the top.
The bishop's attorney wrote the letter telling this woman to stay away from St. James!
Every indication is that everybody was fed up with eight years of harrassment. It's up to Allegiers to decide if she wants to remain Catholic sans her busybodyness.
That's a bit different than she's considering not being a Catholic anymore.
Huh? If you believe in what the Catholic Church teaches about sacraments, then attendence at a Protestant Church is not an option or a substitute.
What point does it make to say one "considers" herself Catholic, but doesn't seem to think it matters one whit if one gets valid sacraments or not?
SD
Do you really believe that?
Why over the top?.... know how much is spent for office supplies and the like...it is open and in our budget (line by line).
My question to you is why would you want to be ministered to by someone you know nothing about...the Bible talks about wolves in sheeps clothing and the hirelings who come to lead the sheep astray...we are to guard ourselves from that type of man.... It is not about the ones outside the church that Jesus is talking about...it is those who penetrate in and take positions of authority to lure those he loves away. They are out there...they are in our church bodies...we need to safeguard against them....
A lot of people are hurt by those who claim to profess Jesus Christ as their Savior...when in reality they have their own aganda...be it sexual perversion, a thirst for power, whatever.
I am not willing to entrust my spiritual well being or that of my family, to anyone who comes down the pike. I want to know his credentials but especially who he really is.
'Course, none of them was Catholic. They may have different rules.
Could it be that a huge percentage of their budget is for legal fees in molestation cases. I'd want to know also. What does this church have to hide?
Amen.
And one whose books should be open to scrutiny by its members without fear of police intervention.
As an aside, are non-profit organizations, such as churches, compelled by law to open their financial records to the public?
If there had been many more 'professional troublemakers' decades ago, maybe the RCC would not be in the position it occupies today.
I wouldn't attend a church whose budget wasn't available for all members to review. Our membership votes on the budget. A secret budget is an open invitation to misuse by the powers that be.
Or else what would happen?
What point does it make to say one "considers" herself Catholic, but doesn't seem to think it matters one whit if one gets valid sacraments or not?
A lot of people don't (I'm not endorsing the behavior, just pointing out what I have seen)
Please note (again) that this is the ONLY Catholic Church in town. Her options are, in that regard, rather limited.
Myself, I'd drive 50 miles to go to Mass. But how many people wouldn't? How many people would say, "I'm Catholic but there's no Catholic Church that I can go to, so I'll go to ________ instead, because I have no other choice"?
Again, I'm not indorsing what she's saying as being valid, just trying to understand its context.
It's far too easy to condemn somebody...
That is alright, Protestants do not have sacraments, we have Ordinances.
Says she only wanted a line by line accounting, which is not unreasonable.
Or else what would happen?
Opus Dei will come around and kill your cat.
SD
Well, then pardon me. I was slamming the priest for going beyond his authority. If the bishop is on top of the situation like that, then, of course, he has assumed such grave responsibilities, but those responsibilities do belong to a bishop. (Hence, St. John's warning that "the highway to Hell is paved with the skulls of bishops;" he wasn't stating that bishops are evil, but rather that their responsibility is so great that failure to fulfill it properly leads to their own damnation, and to the damnation of many others.)
The fact that the letter comes from the bishop should also be taken by the woman that the bishop has heard the stir and has done or is doing what he deems appropriate. Her course of action, then, would be to go to the bishop, make nice, get readmitted to the parish, and deal with matters through the bishop from then on. Why is she still harassing the priest?
I wish I could say that my doubts of any wrongdoing are settled by the bishop's actions, but it does at least demonstrate that the woman;s interests are not in faithfully resolving whatever problems she sees, but rather in making a stir. If that is because all she knows how to do is make a stir, I truly pity her.
The books of non-profits - including religious ones are supposed to be open & transparent.
Some Protestants do consider their sacraments to be sacraments. But you do help me make my point. What Catholics do and what Protestants do may appear similar, but they are considered to be very different things, by both parties.
To suggest they are interchangeable is what is known as "indifference." And Truth is one thing no one should be indifferent to.
SD
On that we can both agree.
Protestants should not be going to Roman Catholic churches and taking their sacraments either.
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