[Lilllabettt]

"Gargiulo said McCarrick told him he wanted him back as a priest, but that he would have to be celibate."

My beloved Archbishop, Cardinal McCarrick, gives me grief pretty much every day of my life. That said, what should he have said to this Gargiulo man? No, I don't want you back as a priest? Sure, go into schism, take your pink tights, your valid Sacraments, and burn?

I think the big difference in how the two Bishops responded has to do with the timeline of events. Cardinal McCarrick was intervening before this priest abandoned his flock, while Archbishop Myers wrote his letter afterwards.

[Incorrigible]

Cardinal McCarrick has always been the diplomat or politician.  He went out to meet with this priest's "partner" and was polite as would be expected from him.  Though I've found many of Cardinal McCarrick's comments burgeoning on unorthodox, he did an interview with a Sunday morning host a few years ago in which he responded to a question about married priests and celibacy.  His answer was more eloquent than I can even paraphrase here but suffice it to say, my esteem for him went up despite his allowing a lot of kooky priests into the Newark archdioceses.

In contrast, Archbishop Myers is viewed as more conservative and orthodox, especially in New Jersey and in comparison to when Cardinal McCarrick ran the Newark archdioceses.  I view the quotes from the former Fr. Gargiulo as a dig at Myers.