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Kelly: With a pair of bolt cutters and sense of indignation, custodian cuts down what flies...
omaha.com ^ | March 11, 2016 | Michael Kelly

Posted on 03/12/2016 12:11:54 AM PST by Morgana

FULL TITLE: Kelly: With a pair of bolt cutters and sense of indignation, custodian cuts down what flies in church

On the first morning of the 31st annual Cathedral Flower Festival, with its theme of “A Night at the Movies,” an agitated church custodian made a bold move.

Mark Kenney, 59, who grew up in the parish, had worked at St. Cecilia Cathedral for three years. Around 8 a.m. on Jan. 29, he went to a work shed, picked up a pair of heavy-duty bolt cutters and ascended to a catwalk high above the mostly empty nave, or main sanctuary.

He looked through a peephole, he said, to make sure he wouldn’t hurt any people. And then he cut a steel cable, which sent a suspended, umbrella-carrying, hat-wearing Mary Poppins figure crashing to the floor.

Kenney then went downstairs and removed a cardboard Buddha figure from the Nash Chapel, which also featured costumed mannequins from “The King and I.” He threw the Buddha out one door and proceeded to toss costumed mannequins out two other doors.

Someone alerted the pastor, the Rev. Michael Gutgsell, who ran from the rectory next door to the church and saw Kenney.

“Mark,” he called out, “did you see who did this?”

(Excerpt) Read more at omaha.com ...


TOPICS: Humor; Religion & Culture; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; disney; marypoppins; stupity
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applause  photo:  applause.gif
1 posted on 03/12/2016 12:11:55 AM PST by Morgana
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To: Chode; Salvation; NYer; MNDude
applause  photo: Applause applause.gif
2 posted on 03/12/2016 12:14:32 AM PST by Morgana ( Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
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To: Morgana

May God bless him and turn the people of that church away from the world.


3 posted on 03/12/2016 12:26:57 AM PST by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: Morgana
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

My guess: Jesus would not be terribly offended at this. There are situations in which even Mary Poppins would be appropriate as a church decoration - mainly I suppose in a service that referenced the book/movie to provide a cultural connection and make a theological point in the sermon. I have no objection to using our fondest childhood memories to bring us back to the values that went with our childhood innocence. This does not appear to be one of those situations.

The world has changed unimaginably in these last few decades. In Treasure Island, even the pirates felt reverence toward the Bible and expressed misgivings about damaging the Good Book: "Dick's crossed his luck and spoiled his Bible, and that's about all . . . A Bible with a bit cut out! . . . Not it. It don't bind no more'n a ballad-book" (Long John Silver). Satan has accomplished things with the Baby Boom generation that he never even tried before. The denial of God's existence and the death of respect are two of the high points for that side.

4 posted on 03/12/2016 12:32:22 AM PST by Pollster1 ("A Bill of Rights that means what the majority wants it to mean is worthless." - Scalia)
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To: Morgana

Jesus and the moneychangers...


5 posted on 03/12/2016 12:32:25 AM PST by piasa
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To: skr; All

From the comment section it seems he has a lot of supporters. Many were not happy with the church doing this to start with.

I really wonder what this priest was thinking?


6 posted on 03/12/2016 12:32:45 AM PST by Morgana ( Always a bit of truth in dark humor.)
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To: skr

And I thought my pastor has been pushing it too far with his gigantic ugly speakers.


7 posted on 03/12/2016 12:35:11 AM PST by piasa
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To: Morgana
“I don’t think there’s any inherent idolatry.”

Uh, sure.

8 posted on 03/12/2016 12:58:01 AM PST by Slyfox (Donald Trump's First Principle is the Art of the Deal)
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To: Morgana

-—Kenney — who has served three terms of up to six months in federal prisons for crossing security lines at military bases in protest of nuclear weapons -—

Once a libtard, always a libtard...

At least he is now protesting for a worthy reason


9 posted on 03/12/2016 1:07:01 AM PST by Popman
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To: Morgana
The issue here is actually a very discussion-worthy one - i.e., one with lots of "meat."

But he says secular items such as movie characters are inappropriate in the sacred space of the cathedral and amount to sacrilege and idolatry.. [Rev.] Gutgsell, a former chancellor of the Omaha Archdiocese and a Catholic University-licensed "canon lawyer," an expert in church laws and rules, disagrees. "Obviously, context is everything," the priest said, noting that the cathedral also is home to about six concerts a year. No sacrilege or disrespect is conveyed, he said, in the concerts or the dozens of exhibits at the flower festival. "Cathedrals," he said, "are kind of the epicenter for culture presentation and development."

I would argue that they should first be epicenters of the worship of God - and that any secondary function might tend to detract from their primary function.

In a letter of termination two days after the festival incident, Gutgsell wrote to Kenney: "None of the florists and none of the volunteers, any number of whom took time off their work or traveled some distance, had the slightest intention or reason to dishonor the Cathedral. You assigned the word 'desecration' to the entire project and as a result slandered anyone associated with it."

Gee, whaddayaknow? None of the people involved in the project were against it! Whoduhthunk?

Regards,

10 posted on 03/12/2016 2:14:15 AM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Morgana

Why put objects like that in the worship space anyway? Churches don’t hold the Lenten Fish Fry ten steps away from the Tabernacle. He was wrong to destroy property that was not his to destroy, but the pastor was wrong to allow the worship area to be “decorated” that way. Plenty of blame to go around on both sides.

I go to Mass to worship God and not to be distracted by images from popular culture. We left one parish because the pastor, “Father Look-At-Me”, thought it was just dandy when the music minister sneaked bits of show tunes into his “performance.”


11 posted on 03/12/2016 2:37:48 AM PST by mrs. a (It's a short life but a merry one...)
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To: mrs. a

“the pastor was wrong to allow the worship area to be “decorated” that way.”

I spent a few days in Rome visiting all the religious sites with gaudy extreme decor and then took a night train to Geneva where the next day I toured the Reformation Church Museum with all of its bare pure white walls. The extreme contrast was amazing. It helped me to understand the times of Luther and Calvin.


12 posted on 03/12/2016 3:00:30 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings)
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To: tired&retired; redleghunter; Springfield Reformer; kinsman redeemer; BlueDragon; metmom; ...
I spent a few days in Rome visiting all the religious sites with gaudy extreme decor and then took a night train to Geneva where the next day I toured the Reformation Church Museum with all of its bare pure white walls. The extreme contrast was amazing. It helped me to understand the times of Luther and Calvin.

Indeed, but even more extreme is that of Mary Poppins being suspended from the ceiling. Maybe it was allowed in this Roman Catholic church since her first name was Mary.

More on complex Catholicism and the complex Catholic who cut Poppins down to size:

Kenney — who has served three terms of up to six months in federal prisons for crossing security lines at military bases in protest of nuclear weapons — then knelt at the communion rail and prayed until officers arrived and handcuffed him....

he will make restitution But he says secular items such as movie characters are inappropriate in the sacred space of the cathedral and amount to sacrilege and idolatry. Gutgsell, a former chancellor of the Omaha Archdiocese and a Catholic University-licensed “canon lawyer,” an expert in church laws and rules, disagrees. “Obviously, context is everything,” ...No sacrilege or disrespect is conveyed, he said, in the concerts or the dozens of exhibits at the flower festival. “Cathedrals,” he said, “are kind of the epicenter for culture presentation and development.”

Kenney won’t be walking around there anymore, at least not on the job. He was fired, and his archdiocesan “safe environment” certificate was revoked, meaning he no longer can work or volunteer when children are present.

He signed on for six years in the Navy but served only four. He worked as a mechanic in the nuclear program, but then saw actual missiles and believed they were immoral. He went AWOL several times, he said, and spent time in the brig before receiving an honorable discharge that cited his “unsuitable eccentricities.”

He now is a custodian at a nursing home. His wife of 32 years is a pharmacy technician, and they care for her 62-year-old sister, who has mental disabilities.

- By Michael Kelly / World-Herald columnist; http://www.omaha.com/columnists/kelly/kelly-with-a-pair-of-bolt-cutters-and-sense-of/article_6b73936c-9e2b-5ba4-8e19-cc9518c219ca.html

13 posted on 03/12/2016 4:14:16 AM PST by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned and destitute sinner+ trust Him to save you, then follow Him!)
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To: daniel1212
Kenney won’t be walking around there anymore, at least not on the job. He was fired, and his archdiocesan “safe environment” certificate was revoked, meaning he no longer can work or volunteer when children are present.

And he's been labeled as a sexual offender for what reason exactly?

14 posted on 03/12/2016 4:23:26 AM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: Morgana
knelt at the communion rail>

Communion rail??? I haven't seen one of those in a church in a long, long time.

15 posted on 03/12/2016 4:56:57 AM PST by stevem
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To: Morgana
With a pair of bolt cutters and sense of indignation, custodian cuts down what flies...

A LOT of so-called churches have become nothing more than social gatherings, NOT religious places of worship - there's more popularity and more MONEY is that approach.

16 posted on 03/12/2016 5:00:03 AM PST by The Sons of Liberty (My Forefathers Would Be Shooting By Now!)
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To: Popman

I wouldn’t put this down to his being liberal. Remember that there is no “pro nuclear war” side, and many people have been raised with the idea that continued escalation of nuclear arms would inevitably result in nuclear war. And while libtards embraced unilateral disarmament, many religious people saw the situation as out of control. His arrests were for non-violent offenses, crossing security lines at military bases to be arrested. He also protests against drone aircraft.


17 posted on 03/12/2016 5:08:41 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: Morgana

THE ORIGINAL Scary ‘Mary Poppins’ Recut Trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic


18 posted on 03/12/2016 5:10:48 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: Morgana
Like the rest of the mess in this country, what alarms people today was planted and grown to maturity long ago. Today, they are merely seeing the fruits.

The seminaries were the epicenter for Marxist infiltration long ago. Today's multicultural agendas and apostate thinking cannot be corrected by cutting down banners or tossing around objects.

The reason folks see it now is because they have mistaken religion for devotion to God. Over time, the religion changes (not God) and they do not see the error because most people rely on the approval and opinion of those around them - whether those in authority or those in the pews next to them. The Emperor's new clothes . . .

So, we come to the next to the last act. Now the errors become palpable to all but those who cling to empty forms of religion and not to their God. Where does one turn when leadership (clergy, gub’mint, teachers) all endorse what the contemplative man is alarmed by. For many, this is the moment of decision. Act alone, or do not act at all. A remnant will leave and the comfortable will stay.

In the final act, the true face of evil will be unmasked. This article merely represents a trial balloon. This is going on everywhere in the "Christian" church. This apostasy was floated because the senseless fools that are in charge cannot tell their right hands from their left. They wander in predetermined paths that all lead to the same god. In fact, in their delusion, they even preach that all paths lead to God. The fatal error is that their path, and that of those who follow in their apostasy, will only take them to the father of all lies.

It is coming, folks. The great whore is putting on her make-up for her grand entrance.

II Corinthians 6:17

19 posted on 03/12/2016 5:46:12 AM PST by WorkingClassFilth (Go Ted!)
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To: Morgana

“Archbishop George Lucas was out of town this week “

That explains the Hollywood sympathies.....

I thought this was a joke!


20 posted on 03/12/2016 5:56:30 AM PST by G Larry (ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS impose SLAVE WAGES on LEGAL Immigrants.)
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