If High Ranking Priests Don't Resign Dirty Laundry will be Publicly Aired During Lent

MINNEAPOLIS, March 9, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It seems like all hell is breaking loose in the archdiocese of St. Paul - Minneapolis. In recent weeks 27 priests signed a petition against Archbishop Harry Flynn's backing for a measure to protect the traditional definition of marriage (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031006.html ). The diocese is refusing to release those names and it has not publicly ordered the priests to be silent about their heterodox views, but it has, at the same time, silenced a faithful priest who objected to the graphic sex-ed program advocated by the archdiocese (http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06030602.html ).

Like many dioceses in North America, the archdiocese has been plagued by the scandal of priestly sexual abuse. The diocese is unique however, in that a movement of faithful Catholic lay men has chosen to publicly confront the scandal, not by demanding - as do most such groups - that the Catholic Church become more liberal and abandon priestly celibacy, but by direct confrontation and demands for faithfulness.

The group's website explains, "For an atheistic culture, celibacy is incomprehensible - and unnatural. But for Catholics, we know our nature is fulfilled by love for God our Father. Our purity codes could not match the splendor of our message if they were easy. Celibacy is difficult, but it marks the priesthood with a spiritual focus, pursued in imitation and anticipation of Christ. Our priests take on a difficult discipline, but it allows them to lead the laity in other difficult disciplines that the world says can't be done - daily prayer, communal fasting and worship, faithful marriage and teenage virginity."

The Dan O'Connor society, named after a father allegedly killed by a priest with homosexual tendencies who had reportedly sexually abused boys, is an organization of men, of fathers, says founder Dr. David Pence. The organization has compiled evidence, not only on abusive priests but also, on the men in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church most responsible for allowing and even facilitating such abuse.

The group has called on three prominent priests in the diocese to resign, and hoping to avoid unnecessary public scandal, the society has requested they resign voluntarily before they are forced to act. By acting, the society means to publish a white paper which would reveal publicly the details of the misdeeds of the three men named. That white paper is to be revealed, if necessary, near the end of Lent.

The most prominent figure on the list is the diocesan Vicar General, Rev. Kevin McDonough, who prior to his appointment as Vicar General in 1992 was the diocesan Chancellor and the Rector of the local seminary.

Rev. Dale Korogi, who took over from McDonough as Rector of St John Vianney Seminary from 1990 until 1992 and is currently the pastor of Christ the King parish, has also been asked to resign. Finally, Rev. Jerome Boxleitner, who headed Catholic Charities and St Joseph Orphanage in the diocese and is now retired, has been asked to end his relationship with the diocese.

The society admits it is unpleasant to name names but states its case this way: "It is distasteful to name names, but it is individuals who are responsible for the corruption of the priesthood, not the Church itself. It is better to name the traitors than to dishonor Christ's reputation and the purity of the ancient priesthood."

Dr. Pence told LifeSiteNews.com in an interview that it is common practice in dioceses where priests are found to be sexual abusers to place those abusive priests in administrative positions so as to 'keep them out of harms way'. However, says Pence, those positions are often the judicial positions which would deal with priestly sexual abuse. The society's founding document explains, "Presently we are granting abusers lifetime employment in the very judicial positions needed for clergy reform and diocesan justice. Putting these abusers in 'administrative positions' is like the President appointing a rapist to the Supreme Court as a way to keep him out of the general population."

An example from the archdiocese is the case of Rev. Joe Wajda, who was appointed Judicial Vicar from 1998-2002 after having reached a civil settlement in a publicly revealed case of sexual abuse against young males.

Dr. Pence told LifeSiteNews.com that the society sees the destructive homosexual subculture within the priesthood as tied to feminism and its attack on patriarchy. Thus, the society aims to re-establish that fraternity among men - a fraternity of fathers - spiritual and biological. "As Catholic fathers we observe the devious and immature homosexual cliques that have infiltrated so many of the diocesan chanceries and seminaries of our Church in America," says the founding document. "We want the collar back. We have taught our children to respect 'Father,' and we want to be assured that Father will protect them. Fathers do not have sex with their children. Fathers do not have sex with other men. These are the oldest taboos in human history, and they are central to the purity code that defines the Catholic family."

These men are tough, and their solutions are manly and straight forward. "The priests of every diocese know the offenders far better than any legal system. Instead of naming and removing known predators, we set up a national 'name that body part' program for Catholic grade school children. Instead of using our own church judicial structures to aggressively search out offenders, we park criminals in those positions and wait for the civil legal system to compensate a tiny fraction of the exploited. Instead of a priestly brotherhood fostering protective fathers, the priesthood has become a neutered bureaucracy," says the website.

Watch for news from the Dan O'Connor society in the coming weeks, for it'll soon be 'time to roll'.

Dear Friends in Jesus and Mary,

For those who do not know me -- I am an Orthodox Indian Catholic of Portuguese Descent from the Former Portuguese Colony of Goa on the West Coast of India.

My Ancestors were evangelized by zealous Portuguese Jesuit and Franciscan Missionaries in the 1580's when Goa was a Portuguese Colony.

I have a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament but specially to the "DIVINE MERCY" as well as to Our Lady.

I have some new updates as well as news on our beloved Father Altier from a couple of web sites or Blogspots.

1.http://www.salvific.com/church-online/

March 12, 2006

More About Fr. Altier, VIRTUS

This post is a continuation of coverage of Faithful Priest Silenced.

Interest in this news continues to propagate across the globe.

In fact, this humble little blog continues to receive thousands of visits each day, the traffic being sustained as the story is discussed elsewhere on the internet. It’s an amazing study in social communications in the internet age.

Interestingly, it has been said that the Archbishop himself prefers the “vastly more appropriate Arlington-Harrisburg program [cf. Formation in Christian Chastity Program and Safe Environment Program] which incorporates the essential delicacy and discretion that teaching about chastity requires.” More on this in a moment.

If you haven’t already done so, we ask you to please contact the archbishop and communicate your concern for Fr. Altier. In addition, please share this information about VIRTUS with your family and friends so it may gain wider distribution than was previously possible.

All concerns should be directed in a spirit of charity to:

Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn
226 Summit Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102
(651) 291-4400
communications@archspm.org

Learn more about the problems with the VIRTUS program by watching or listenting to Is Your Child at Risk?, a video produced by Catholic Parents Online. You may also purchase a copy of this video on DVD. The Church Online is in no way affilliated with Catholic Parents Online.

•The pastor of St. Agnes, the Rev. George Welzbacher, has made a statement about the situation. Here is the transcript (emphasis original):

Deluged as the rectory was, beginning Thursday, March the second, with telephone calls and e-mail transmissions with respect to the current status of Father Altier, I felt constrained, as pastor of St. Agnes Parish, to compose a brief statement assuring one and all that Father Altier still serves in good standing as the associate pastor of St. Agnes Parish.

At all of the Masses offered here at St. Agnes on the weekend of March 4th and 5th my statement was read from the pulpit without further comment. Since many have asked for a copy of that statement, I am printing a transcript here.

* * * * *

Let me state at the outset that neither was I consulted about the command issued recently by the Archbishop to Father Altier nor was I informed about it prior to its announcement in the media. And for very good reason: the Archbishop is under no obligation to explain to his priests the reasons for his commands.

During the ceremony of ordination priests take a vow of life-long obedience to their Bishop and to his successors. Fr. Altier accordingly (and quite predictably) honored that vow, submitting at once to the Archbishop’s command by withdrawing from hosting his weekly call-in show on Relevant Radio and by removing the content of his website "A Voice in the Desert".

It is important to make clear that Father Altier’s faculties for maintaining his sacramental and teaching ministry here at St. Agnes Parish remain essentially intact; he will continue to say Mass, to hear confessions, to preach and teach and to give spiritual direction exactly as he has done in the past. I can offer no further comment because what I have just told you constitutes the entire sum and substance of my knowledge of this whole affair.

Should anyone question the Archbishop’s authority to restrict or even to terminate an apostolate conducted by any of his priests via the electronic media, the code of Canon Law, canon 831, section 2 clearly states: “It is for the conference of bishops to establish norms concerning the requirements for clerics and members of religious institutes to take part on radio or television in dealing with questions of Catholic doctrine or morals.”

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops accordingly adapted canon 831 to the conditions prevailing in the United States by adding the following complementary norm for canon 831, section 2: “The National Conference of Bishops, in accord with the prescriptions of canon 831 §2, hereby decrees that, provided no harm to the Church could result from their presence, clerics and members of religious institutes may participate in radio and television programs which treat of Catholic doctrine and morals.

A cleric or religious who regularly takes part in such programs must be qualified by his or her knowledge of the subject and the teaching of the Magisterium, and must obtain the permission of either his or her proper diocesan bishop or the diocesan bishop of the place where the radio or television program is originally broadcast. In the case of members of religious institutes, permission of the competent superior is also required.”

This complementary norm was submitted to the Roman Congregation of Bishops and was officially approved as having regulatory force by the Cardinal Prefect and by the Secretary of that Congregation. “This norm was granted recognitio by the Congregation for Bishops in accord with article 82 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus and issued by decree of the Congregation for Bishops signed by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect, and His Excellency Most Reverend Francisco Monterisi, Secretary, dated November 27, 2001.”

All of us are edified by Father Altier’s instantaneous and unquestioning submission to the Archbishop’s command, surely proof, were proof needed, of his humility. And as Psalm 149 assures us: “The Lord adorns the humble with victory.”

I have no further comment to make. I commend the Archbishop and Father Altier to your prayers.

In addition, Fr. Welzbacher has the following to say in the bulletin from March 12, 2006 (emphasis original):

A final important word to parishioners who are parents of children and teenagers: the St. Agnes Schools will NOT - repeat NOT - be using the “Talking about Touching” material as part of our participation in the mandated national program to protect children from sexual exploitation.

We will be using the vastly more appropriate Arlington-Harrisburg program which incorporates the essential delicacy and discretion that teaching about chastity requires. This is the program that I am told on good authority Archbishop Flynn himself prefers.

As long as I am pastor of St. Agnes parish our school at its various levels will give appropriate instruction on the virtue of chastity, a virtue without which the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be attained, but secular sex education will have no place in our curriculum.

Archdiocesan Double Standards

•Catholic clergy at odds over gay rights, Pioneer Press

•Double Standards in MN, The Cafeteria is Closed

•Yet more double standard in Minneapolis, bettnet

•One Dissenter to Another- will the irony never end?, Adoro Te Devote

•More Minnesota Dissent, bettnet

•The Fox in the Henhouse, Our Word and Welcome to It

•Fruit of a Poisoned Tree- There’s a New Age fox in the Catholic henhouse, Adoro Te Devote

The 69th Catholic Carnival - Lenten Edition

With Lent now underway, this week’s Catholic Carnival looks to be the biggest one we’ve had with many wonderful Lenten-themed submissions. Thanks to Our Word and Welcome to It for hosting.
Archived in: Catholic Carnival | 0 Comments

Archives of Fr. Altier’s sermons are still available at webarchive.org.

2.

http://www.runningoff.blogspot.com/2004_07_11_runningoff_archive.html

HE IS A YOUNG PRIEST - AND TODAY'S REASON FOR HOPE

Fr. Robert Altier isn't a holdover from 1950s Catholicism.

A reader sent me one of his tapes, "The Real Truth Behind The Scandal", which I listened to this afternoon. A tape that says a lot of things that are familiar to me because I've blogged some of them. But hearing a priest say them is riveting, at least for me.

Unfortunately, parts of the tape were badly recorded so that the voice fades out. I was able to hear only part of it.

That's the reason for exploring his website. Where I didn't find the tape, but did find a list of his homilies. Including this one titled "The Truth About Demons" which he delivered last February.

Now when was the last time you heard a priest say such things? This is the real Catholic cosmology that has been in short supply for 40 years. Here is his conclusion:

There is only one God; anything else is from the devil. The devil is real, and if we want to play with the devil we are going to get burned. You do not play with fire and walk away unscathed. So we need to make a clear choice.

We cannot do what Solomon did and say, “As long as I worship the one true God then I can play around with all these other ones.” No, we cannot. We need to get rid of sin, we need to get rid of everything that is not of God, and we need to worship the one true God and Him alone.

With such theology, it's some kind of miracle he made it through the seminary.

I hope he's not saying it too loudly around the ecumenists and interreligious dialoguers. He might find himself out looking for a job!

Count this website as my reason to hope for Wednesday.

# posted by Carrie: 12:03 AM

P.S.- Item Number 2 was a post from a BlogSpot which was started by an Orthodox Catholic Woman called Carrie Tomko.

She has since closed down this Blog Spot and started a new one with her own name. It is http://www.carrietomko.blogspot.com.

For those who are interested in New Sites that are hosting Father Robert Altier's Homilies Freepmail me if you want to.

There is a new site that is being hosted by a Catholic Apologist.

I share a lot in common with Father Altier although I am not living anymore in the United States as I experienced a lot of immoral behavior from Trappist Monks and Franciscan Friars when I was a Postulant in Formation.

Folks, let me say this once and for all. In a large number of Trappist and Benedictine Monasteries as well as Franciscan Friaries and to an extent in some Dominican Friaries in the United States and Europe -- Homosexuality is widespread.

There are a large number of Gay Monks and Friars who are acting out in a number of Monasteries and Friaries in the United States and in Western Europe and all that the Authorities are doing is turning a blind eye to everything.

May be very soon in the new future I will get in touch with the Daniel O'Connell Society.

I have published my experiences in these Monasteries and Friaries on a thread started by Freeper Salvation regarding an Explanation of the Prayer to Saint Michael by Father Robert Altier.

Note to Freeper anonymoussierra : Although, i am not Polish I understand what Jezu, ufam tobie means -- Jesus, I trust in you.

I would like to start a Thread on the Divine Mercy as the Diary is now available online in its entirety.

From reading much of the news in the last year or so about happenings in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, I can understand peoples' frustration over Archbishop Flynn. However, he is Orthodox and has done much to turn the ship (more like an oil tanker) around in this (I live in St. Paul) diocese. Much of what he has done personally has not gotten much press. Some has; such as his open and overt campaign to lobby the Minnesota State Legislature to place on the November ballot an amendment to our state constitution to keep marriage between a man and a woman. He also took a very public stand against the killing of Terri Shiavo and has been very critical of the Rainbow Sash Coalition in recent months. The local newspapers, especially the Minneapolis Star Tribune, have been very crital of Archbishop Flynn over these issues. These are the more public issues in which he has defended Church teaching. There have been other areas in which he has done much to promote true Catholic teaching and Orthodoxy.

Recently he appointed a very Orthodox priest to take over the major seminary here, the Saint Paul Seminary. Also, since he took over as Archbishop approximately ten years ago, vocations to the priesthood have gone up dramatically in this archdiocese. Last year, the St. paul Seminary ordained 15 men to the priesthood, the most in 45 years, and it was the second biggest ordination class in North America for 2005 (the biggest was in Chicago - a diocese over twice as big as ours). Our minor seminary is bulging over with students and there is expected to be an ever increasing number of priests ordained from St. Paul for years to come. Seminarians primarily give John Paul II AND Archbishop Flynn credit for their decision to be a priest. The young priests in our archdioces are very Orthodox and I know dozens of them. Without exception, they have all told me personally and privately how much they like and admire Archbishop Flynn.

Also, for the new priests who seek futher education Archbishop Flynn sees to it that they get it at the North American College in Rome. Why there? Because he knows they will get true Catholic teachings there as he wants only Orthodox priests teaching in his Archdioceses. Graduate Catholic studies in North American universities and colleges are contaminated with secular liberalism that Archbishop Flynn does not want to have exposed to his priests. People close to Archbishop Flynn have told me that he wants the St. Paul seminary to be Orthodox but with tenured professers, it will take time. However, within the next five years Orthoxy will be the order of the day with little, if any, vestiges of liberalism to be seen.

He is also sending more priests over to Rome to prepare them to eventually take over the University of St. Thomas, an archdiocesan Catholic unvirsity in St. Paul, which, like most "Catholic" universities, is hardly Catholic.

In addition, there is an extremely liberal "Catholic" college in St. Paul, the College of St. Catherine, that has been overtly hostile to Church teaching about a good number of things. Since the mid-sixties they have thumbed their feminist noses at the Church and none of the three predecessors of Archbishop Flynn did a thing about them. Archbishop Flynn has publically reprimanded the leaders of that college several times reminding St. Catherines of their duty to be true to Church teaching.

There are other examples where he has publically corrected or reprimanded liberal parishes throughout the Twin Cities that are too numerous to mention here.

In short, Archbishop Flynn is man who, in his own way and style, is turning the ship around here in the Twin Cities so that Orthodoxy will prevail. Unfortunately, he will not be around to see the full fruits of his efforts (or the Holy Spirit's work through him) as he only has three more years to be our Archbishop. Because of his efforts, his successor will definately have it easier then he has had it.

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