Posted on 11/15/2005 6:39:50 AM PST by ELS
Father James Haley of Arlington, Va., had the following (edited) quasi-response to a Nov. 14 Washington Post story.
"Amazingly, after four years, I have still not heard anything significant about my 'trial.' In fact, from what I understand, my case has still not been received by the Vatican, where it may sit for many more years. And again, this is a trial about my behavior, not the bishop's, nor the chancellor's, nor the behavior of so many homosexual priests.
"I believe all is lost unless some wealthy individual gives me the necessary funding to do a real exposure — the money being used primarily for my predicted legal defense because the Church will do, and has done, everything to prevent their dirty 'little' gay secret from being exposed. And the last thing I want is to end up in prison worrying about homosexual rape; I had too many 'roving' eyes in the priesthood.
"So it looks like the evil men have won. A priest for ever — utter nonsense! A Church that teaches the fullness of truth in faith and morals — total baloney! And the good people in the pews? Simple, blind, stupid sheep who are still totally culpable every time they pay a dime to the Church without first insisting on the fullness of truth about this horrendous moral tragedy. A brief 'instruction' from the Vatican will do nothing to solve this outrageous moral dilemma, nor prevent the infiltration of future homosexual men; in fact, it will probably encourage even more to join.
"Am I angry? Not anymore. Just completely and utterly disgusted. Living in poverty in a 30 ft. trailer has completely killed my spirit and robbed me of any 'happy' life. Unlike most people, I have no companionship, no support, no happy memories, no busting photo albums, and no real purpose for continued life. Ultimately, I blame God for it all.
"Apparently, even the Almighty is totally powerless and completely useless in fighting for the proclamation and defense of moral truth from his Church. And yes, that is a prayer said for the millionth time to a Father who just doesn't seem to care! I have more concern from my earthly father who can barely remember my name, then from a Father who supposedly knows every hair on my head. Unless this problem is solved soon, my faith is dead. And anyone who says to me to have faith, without first solving this moral impasse in the Church, has neither real faith, nor any sense of logic (truth) with which to speak.
"Unique in the history of the Church, the one question, the one moral teaching that the Church absolutely refuses to answer: Is it moral, good, prudent, wise and exemplary to ordain homosexual men (men with same-sex attraction) to the priesthood and to the episcopacy? And a simple 'no,' or a 'seriously defective qualified no,' will not be a clear and emphatic teaching. It would just be a useless answer without any weight in law or reason, and thus it would never be enforced.
"But I guess they are just words to the wind.
"In the meantime: This last Sunday morning, literally thousands upon thousands of hidden homosexual men (impostors to real celibacy) 'serving' as priests and bishops heard these words: 'Good morning, Father'; 'Nice job, Father'; 'How are you, Father?'; 'Have a great week, Father'; 'Keep up the good work, Father.'
"Apparently, they had 'fulfilled' their Catholic, priestly requirement and obligation: They had said the Mass, or, at least, something resembling it.
"And these same men received the unqualified support and the means to continue their work of 'spreading their Gospel' by the contribution of literally thousands upon thousands of dollars conveniently placed into wicker baskets that were passed around during the Holy Mass.
"Many of those who attended that Mass have no real recognition of the inherent Sacrifice of the Eucharist, or the stunning Miracle of Transubstantiation; they do not know where the Tabernacle is located in their church; they have not been, nor have they been encouraged to go, to confession in years; they have not heard a homily about the Cross, living a moral life, the Blessed Mary, the saints, or often times, even about God Himself.
"'Keep up the good work, Father.'
"Many of those who attended that Mass have witnessed, in just the space of their short lives, the rapid decline of Catholic education, the rarity of good Catholic nuns and convents, the disappearance of holy hours, Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross. And they have watched the mass exodus, or complete indifference to the faith, of so many younger people and young vibrant families from the pews.
"'Keep up the good work, Father.'
"Although the presence of homosexual men serving as priests and bishops cannot be said to be the exclusive reason for these stunning changes in Catholic life, it is certainly one of the most apparent and horrific aberrations of good Catholic morality: A real abomination that is seriously and tragically afflicting the very core, or heart, of the Church today.
"The hidden lie, the extraordinary cover-up, and the duplicitous life of so many homosexual men in the priesthood and episcopacy, can in fact go a long way to explaining the disastrous decline in morality we have all witnessed in the Church — the increasing presence and inexplicable morality of homosexual men re-presenting Christ to us, the homosexual abuse and rape of teenage boys, the secret and frequent homosexual relationships of so many priests, the refusal to give us the moral truth about the issue, and the absolute silence of those who should be proclaiming, professing and teaching the fullness of truth.
'Keep up the good work, Father.'
"I, personally, have not heard those words for years. Nor have I received financial support for the proclamation of the real truth. Nor have I have ever lied, hidden, or deceived anyone about my sexual orientation. I guess the truth is just not worth saving. Nor the life of this priest, who can honestly say with Christ and with the conviction of his basically forgotten priestly life: The only reason I was born, the only reason I am here, is for the truth.
"And all I can hear is the silent and scandalous echo of Pontius Pilate from the 'faithful' Catholics, and certainly from our 'good' priests and bishops: 'The truth, what does that mean? Who cares about the truth?'
"Words to the wind."
Father Haley also has written an essay on priestly celibacy, which can be found here.
With that I agree totally.
Prayers for Father Haley's re-conversion!
Very sad. I can certainly understand his frustration. Even as a layperson I spent years so disgusted with the seemingly unopposed triumph of evil in the Church that I could not even make myself attend Mass, because I never knew what horrible heresy or scandalous words I would hear from the clergy. I decided to stay away after I left in tears a few times because of the parody-like form of the Mass I had witnessed or because of the unorthodoxy and even, in one case, evil of the priest's words. And it seemed as if no bishops were doing anything, there were no good priests, and the Pope was so busy jet-setting that he seemed to be missing the fact that the Church was in flames.
But I finally made connections with an orthodox "remnant" and was able to come back, and I think that if this priest doesn't give up, he'll be able to do the same thing. Especially now, because it seems that in many ways, the ecclesial worm is slowly turning. We have a new Pope who seems much more interested in Church discipline and orthodoxy, some very good new bishops, and little nuclei of orthodox faithful and new religious orders. Plus, of course, we have the Internet, which really does help us to connect with other members of the "remnant." Personally, I think things are improving for us.
Prayers for him.
That is very true. I was recently at what I thought to be my "outer limits" and told a priest that I wasn't as sure as He was that I could handle all the trials that He had given me. I was definitely tempted by despair. I persevered in prayer even though sometimes I thought it was fruitless.
Regarding support for Fr. Haley, the last I heard there was a way to reach him through Roman Catholic Faithful. I have flagged Steve and Nina because they might know how to reach Fr. Haley.
All what??
The evil in the world? Your personal situation?
If you're free Thursday afternoon, I'll come pick you up and drive you to meet a family I know where the mother (in her early '30s) is slowly dying of bone cancer and will leave behind a husband and 3 small children. Then perhaps, when you return home, your trailer will appear as a palace and your lack of finances will be seen as a triviality.
Whatever injustice has been committed against this priest, whatever deprivations he faces, he needs to a)avert his gaze from his own navel, b) appreciate that in this world Christians, right now, are being murdered for their faith in the most horrendous way and c)utter with the Blessed Mother; "be it done unto me according to Thy word."
I've followed the occasional articles about this case and my initial instinct was totally sympathetic to Fr. Haley. However, having read this piece I have to say that the biggest threat to Fr. Haley right now is not Bp. Loverde. It's himself.
Pray for this man!!
Many times the Old Testament prophets asked God how much more they were going to have to endure, and they didn't always ask politely.
It is also easier to endure sufferings which come from the enemies outside the Church. When those who one believed to be friends and allies turn on you the pain is much worse.
Yes, there is the added element of betrayal.
Invoking the martyrs and confessors is mainly to provide a platform of contrast. The criticism really stems from the fact - out of his own mouth - that he is in a state of near-apostasy due to despair for his circumstances.
He certainly needs our prayers and enouragement to buck-up. But he is *not* left to carry his cross "mainly with his own strength." On his own, he could never carry it at all, nor could we carry our own crosses on our own. God's grace is always there to help him persevere. His being tested, as you say, is more along the lines of God allowing him to "fully" embrace that grace, or push it away, in whole or in part. Our cooperation with grace in these sorts of things is not necessarily "all or nothing." Derees of cooperation are also possible.
I would imagine that Father Haley is on the lower end of the cooperation spectrum right now. That's his fault, not God's. Pointing that out might be to his benefit, if he sees this thread or it's mentioned to him. Meantime, a dissection of his low spirits is perhaps also beneficial to others on this forum who are wavering under their own crosses.
This is a really sad and soul wrenching commentary. I only wish Father Haley would contact Father John Corapi if possible. Father Corapi's personal story, conversion, and ultimate ordination speak so clearly of hope. I think so many of us are disgusted with what goes on in AmChurch, but need to send a definite message to Father Haley that he and his situation are in our thoughts, prayers, and sacrifices.
Wow . . . this priest has hit the nail right on the head! At least so far as this former convert is concerned.
I joined the Catholic Church in 1983-84 to leave the modern world, doubt, skepticism, and isoliation behind. Instead I entered a world where every one of those things was multiplied a hundredfold and the "errors" I left behind seemed like shining beacons of sanity.
It was hard to give up the idea of being Calvinistically "saved" in favor of a general salvation of the human race wherein each individual still spends his life walking a tightrope over Hell. But then to find all those "unsaved" priests quoting Anthony Wilhelm while the "stupid" heretical Protestant rednecks were still saying "thus sayeth the L-rd" made me ashamed of my new religion. The "unchanging" Catholic Church, the "pillar and ground of the truth" was a cesspool of higher Biblical criticism, evolution, science-worship, and (most ironically) a radical acceptance of every superstition from every culture in the world except Jews and rednecks (highfalutin' overeducated bishops who couldn't condemn a literal interpretation of Genesis often enough seemed to have not a word to say about folk Catholicisms that mixed chr*stianity with voodoo, Meso-American paganism, or wrapping snakes around statues in Italy).
The "infallible" "indefectible" Church has defected, and orthodox Catholics can perform all the mental contortions they want to ("it's not official," "the Pope doesn't know about it"), but that doesn't change the fact that the "impossible" has happened.
I am sorry this poor man, suffering on the brink of the abyss as I once did (though my trials were nothing compared to his) is being condemned by the Suzy Sunshines whose dogmatism will not allow them to admit what is right before their eyes--and this truth is much more apparent than the "truth" of evolution that so many Catholics swear by.
what a shame, pray for this priest and all priests, they need our prayers.
I will pray for him, but I was only sympathetic until I hit this line. God is never at fault, period. Sadly, this poor man has allowed some sissies in the priesthood to knock him completely off his spiritual game to the point where the results are on him, not them.
With all due respect, your "sob story" is getting old, given the number of times you've posted it on threads related to Catholicism.
And just what has the "oldness" of it got to do with anything, other than the fact that it embarrasses you and other dogmatists?
You took the words out of my mouth. The Saints are nearly always persecuted and abused during their lifetimes. It is a sign of God's favor, not of His turning away.
I missed the first part of this story so I don't know why he has been suspended. But he really needs to say a few more prayers in a spirit of humility and contrition.
Suffering that is dedicated to God can be a positive thing. Suffering merely suffered is an evil.
He blew the whistle on several pieces of clerical sexual misconduct, both 'ordinary' adultery and homosexual perversion.
Yep. And we should all keep him in mind in our prayers.
Have you never read the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), or the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23)? The situation as you describe it is almost to be expected, considering the times. In any case, all the marks of indefectability and infallibility you allude to do NOT pertain to each and every member of the Catholic Church. Doctrine has NOT changed. Deliberate defiance and denial of doctrine has taken place, primarily at the lower-end of things with individual priests, nuns, etc. Even some bishops are complicit at least to the extent of looking the other way while these things have happened. A few bishops are active facilitators, I would even go so far as to say. All of this fullfills the two parables I've cited.
But, if you were looking for stability in teaching, you abandoned the one source of that stability when you left the Church. I, and many others here, have suffered through as much as, or (probably) much more, than you describe in your personal observations. All of us, however, can still discern the Truth for what it is, and the source of that Truth which is, as you yourself identified it, its "pillar and ground."
God alone knows why the Church has been suffered to exist in its often sorry state of late. Perhaps it's an internal chastisement of the Church. But there are all sorts of signs that the worst is over. The present pope is showing many signs that he, at least, is bound and determined that our state of self-inflicted inconsistency is about to be forcibly redirected.
Don't let the manifestly inconsistent attitude of many cafeteria Catholics be so off-putting. They are about to find out that the cafeteria is "closed." But the door is always open for people to return when they left in circumstances you describe...
I find it pathetic.
You think you're the only person in the entire ~2000 year history of the Catholic Church who's ever been offended or scandalised by highly placed heretics??? Don't be any more absurd than necessary. I suspect that I could match you offense for offense, scandal for scandal. And you nor I have anything on the likes of St. Athanasius in the line of being offended and scandalised by highly placed heretics. Cutting and running is the wrong approach.
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