Posted on 05/04/2007 12:26:52 PM PDT by fgoodwin
The nation's first openly gay governor has become an Episcopalian and been accepted into a seminary, according to a published report.
Former Gov. James E. McGreevey, who was raised as a Roman Catholic, was officially received into the Episcopal religion on Sunday at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York, said the Rev. Kevin Bean, vicar at the church.
McGreevey has been accepted to study at the General Theological Seminary in New York, the oldest in the Episcopal Church, school spokesman Bruce Parker said Wednesday. Parker did not know whether the former governor wants to become a priest.
''Mr. McGreevey has been admitted to the master of divinity program and he will be starting in the fall,'' Parker said. ''Where Mr. McGreevey goes with this is up to him. We have a lot of people studying here who are not interested in ordination at all.'' Growing up in Middlesex County, McGreevey was an altar boy and attended Catholic schools. While in office, he continued to practice the religion, but differed from church teachings in several areas, including his support of abortion rights.
Religion has become an issue in his contentious divorce proceedings. His estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, has demanded that their 5-year-old daughter not be allowed to receive communion in the Episcopal Church because she is being raised a Roman Catholic.
The issue of gay clergy has exposed divides in the worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church in the United States. Anglican leaders this year demanded the U.S. denomination step back from its support of gays or risk losing its full membership in the Anglican fellowship.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Please ping your Anglican list.
Thanx
The Episcopal church has become the church of liberalism rather than the church of Jesus. It makes sense that McGreevey would be welcomed with open arms. Maybe they will take in Al Gore too and have “An Inconvenient Truth” in their pews instead of Bibles.
He joined the religion almost a week ago. Yeah, that should be enough time to be accepted to the priesthood.
Apart from the sex stuff, the other sleaze that went on in his administration is no problem either I guess. Pretty sad. If he were a conservative though, he’d be out of luck.
Is this like being thrown into the briarpatch ?
If McGreevey’s daughter is being raise Roman Catholic, she shouldn’t be receiving communion from the Episcopal Church. To do so would be excommunicating herself from the Catholic Church. I’m sure her father knows that.
If he knows, then perhaps he should study Matthew 18:6:
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
Can one of you clarify RC doctrine on excommunication in response to TF86’s comment?
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Since the child is supposed to be raised Catholic, however, the xGov should not allow her to receive in the Episcopal church. Aside from the doctrinal differences that have always existed, that church is now completely heretical and to receive there would be affirming all the nonsense the church is up to these days.
Like admitting to seminary a guy who joined the church last week . . .
(Sweet Holy Jesus on a Bicycle!)
I have a sense of needing to apologize to Episcopalians in general for this turn of events.
* Sorry *
sitetest
I clearly don’t see a problem with receiving Communion in a church, if you are a believer and accept the doctrine of what it means. Why would it matter?
I’d like to know where he went to school in Middlesex County, NJ. Does anyone know?
Catholics believe that during the Eucharist the bread and wine becomes the actual Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of Christ.
Most Episcopalians do not believe that. The very High Church Piskies do (I was one before I became a Catholic), but then you have the additional problem of the invalidity of Anglican orders due to the change in the consecration of bishops under Edward VI. No Apostolic Succession, no valid Eucharist.
So a Catholic receiving in another denomination would be acting a lie, so to speak, because you're acting as though it makes no difference -- when it does.
That's also why non-Catholics don't receive in the Catholic church, because they don't believe what Catholics believe and, again, it's acting a lie.
I’m not going to argue apostolic succession. Most Episcopalians I know do believe in transubstantiation. I’ve been on both sides of this issue and heard all the arguments of man but God hasn’t changed. And that’s what is truly important.
You asked a question; I gave you the answer. I'm not trying to argue, just to give you the reason a Catholic should not receive in a Protestant church or vice versa.
Amen!
The nation’s first openly gay governor
Oh Please, NYT.....”openly gay” is what your punk publisher is......this faggot got jerked out of his closet....that’s why his wife is now most likely sleeping with a Man, nowadays!
My point was that McGreevy is aware that his daughter shouldn’t be receiving communion from the Episcopal Church, when his ex-wife clearly intends for the child to be raised Catholic. I think he’s doing this out of spite. Because of the girl’s age, she probably won’t be “excommunicated” per se, because her parents are responsible for guiding the girl’s religious upbringing. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches generally forbid their members from receiving Communion in churches of other denominations.
And he’s going to teach a graduate class in ethics at Kean University. It’s nice to see him doing something so positive after all he’s been through.
Mrs.
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