Gay priests of Diocese A-J in revolt; demand Bishop conceal molesters, sue Catholic activists

Written press release mailed to diocesan bishop, priests, media outlets of Diocese of Altoona-Johnst | 5/15/03 | Priests Federation of Altoona-Johnstown

[Polycarp]

[bold emphasis in original document]

Priests Federation of Altoona-Johnstown

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord:

Whereas the rights and dignity of priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown are threatened by forces both external to the community of believers and internally by our bishop and his staff.

Whereas, in response to this threat, the Priests Federation of Altoona-Johnstown was secretly formed by 26 clrgy of this Diocese to demand the rights and dignity of all priests be respected and protected by our bishop.

Therefore, we, the Priests Federation of Altoona-Johnstown, joined with our fellow clergy, ask the following from our bishop:

Whereas our bishop insists on publicly defending lawsuits against this diocese and thus increasing the threat that more names of our priests be exposed in the media, we demand that our bishop cease and desist his public defense of any and all lawsuits concerning alleged priestly misconduct and instead settle these cases out of court so as to protect the reputation and well being of those priests so named and others that may be revealed in the course of any trial.

Whereas our bishop threatens and harasses homosexual priests into fearing for their office, we demand that our bishop cease and desist any and all harassment of homosexual clergy and instead work to protect the reputation and well being of clergy of all sexual orientations.

Whereas our bishop placates those who attack our diocese and its priests, we demand that our bishop turn the attention of his legal representation towards stopping the hateful and homophobic actions of George Foster, Brian Barcaro, Dr. Brian Kopp [FReeper "Polycarp"], et. al., who are set upon destroying the reputations of homosexuals priests and this diocese.

Whereas our bishop ignores the actions of certain priests who consistently act against the unity of this diocese, we demand our bishop suspend Fr. James Foster and Fr. John Nesbella immediately, for repeated and constant acts which threaten the unity of our community of faith.

Whereas our bishop removed Dr. David Brown [of "GoodBye, Good Men" book fame] from his position as intake psychologist and from candidacy for the permanent diaconate program due to the incessant demands of several Talibanic conservative clergy and laity, we demand our bishop reinstate Dr. Brown both to his position as intake psychologist and to the permanent dioconate program.

Whereas our bishop has ordained several men to the priesthood over the last several year who are unfit to serve the modern, post-concilular (sic) church, we demand our bishop conduct a complete review and overhaul of the priestly recruitment program:

I. Review the psychological reports of the men ordained since 1995 and order to counseling all those who are deemed to have serious mental deficiencies or proven inability to serve in the church of Vatican II.

II. Cease and desist sending seminarians to the present rigid seminaries used by our diocese and begin to use more pastoral seminaries for formation.

III. Deny orders to the present candidate for ordination to the priesthood because of a very negative psychological report and his inability to serve the present day church.

IV. Examine all present and future seminarians in greater psychological depth to determine their fitness and desire to serve the modern church.

We believe that it is better to have fewer clergy and more lay involvement than to have many rigid and juridical priests who drive women and men away from the community of believers.

Whereas the present staff our (sic) diocesan finance office (Larry Sutton, et. al.) shows no respect for our clergy and little if any knowledge of the day to day life of our clergy and our parishes, we demand that our bishop retrain or replace the staff of the finance office so as to respect the dignity of our clergy and their office.

Whereas our chancery shows little care or concern for our retired priests at Dimitri Manor or elsewhere, we demand that our bishop review and overhaul the priests retirement program so as to provide them with the comfortable retirement due to them after many years of thankless service:

I. Immediately increase the present monthly retirement benefit payment to $1,500.00.

II. Fully fund all future retirement needs 20 years into the future in a pension trust fund so as to guarantee monthly payments regardless of the future financial state of the diocese.

III. Separate all retirement monies from diocesan funds so as to protect them from being taken in lawsuits.

IV. Immediately form a committee to examine the deplorable living conditions at the Dimitri Manor priests retirement home.

Whereas the compensation of our priests under the present formula is inherently unjust as priests whose workload is heavy due to parish size are paid the same as priests in small parishes, we demand that our bishop install a new payscale to reflect a more appropriate and just salary based on workload and parish size.

We believe this list of demands is the same list Jesus himself would ask for if he were a priest of this diocese.

If our requests are not met, we ask our fellow clergy to prayerfully consider ways of peaceful protest. Ech should follow his or her conscience in discerning ways to show civil disobedience to our hierarchy until our voice of change is heard.

Sincerely in Christ,

Priests Federation of Altoona-Johnstown

N.B.: The PFAJ is a group of priests of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown united in a pursuit of justice and sworn to complete secrecy to avert the very real threat of retaliation by our diocesan bishop.

CC:
Brother Priests & Deacons
Concerned Laity
National Catholic Reporter
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat
Altoona Mirror
Centre Daily Times
WTAJ TV
WJAC TV
WWCP TV
WRTA Radio
WNTJ Radio
WRSC Radio

[Polycarp]

I'll stick with my mucho quick H&K 9mm, 147g's of JHP.

The best gun for self defense is the one you'll actually carry. A hand canon is useless in the safe at home.

My first carry piece was a used Kel Tec P-11 9mm, good, light, reliable cheap, great capacity for a little gun.

I'm looking at the new Kel Tec P3AT .380 to carry when I "can't" carry.

[ninenot]

You just can't help yourself with these lyrical improvisations, can you? There IS professional help, you know..

[ninenot]

Well--in Wisconsin, one cannot carry ALL the time.

However, that will change in June--at which point, the H&K goes for a fitting with a nice holster to keep it warm and dry.

[Polycarp]

But take it from a (foot) doctor, some cures are far worse than the disease.

BlackElk, I would definitely NOT recommend Dr. David Brown for such professional help.

Just my "professional" opinion...

[Polycarp]

the H&K goes for a fitting with a nice holster to keep it warm and dry

Seriously consider SmartCarry.

[Domestic Church]

" the letter said the federation is sworn to secrecy. Parks said the diocese knows of no such group"

Well if it is secret of course they don't know of them (wink wink.)

I thought Catholics weren't supposed to partake of any secret groups...and here we have a bunch of priests forming one?!

[arthurus]

I'd seriously consider ever giving another penny to the Church

A more appropriate response and one which occurs in real life is that one's tithe gets redirected to particular Catholic charities or religious orders or is remitted to Rome.

[ninenot]

Smart Carry and the LaserGrips.

[narses]

[narses]

CCI makes an awesome .22cal magnum, the "stinger".

[huskyboy]

I thought Catholics weren't supposed to partake of any secret groups...and here we have a bunch of priests forming one?!

No, the Church forbid members from joining secret societies, i.e. Masons, Knights Templar, etc. This is something different.

[huskyboy]

Given a choice, I'd NOT attend any Diocesan Mass where one of these 24 could naturally or supernaturally harm me or my children. Get it?

There were allegations since December about similar immoral activity going on in my diocese. More of a reason to stay away. When I found out it is sinful to give financial support to such things, I decided to keep going to the independent chapel as they have a better understanding of morality. Now I don't have to worry as much as to where the money I put in the collection plate goes to paying for.

[Jorge]

Oh really? Do your “homophobes” have latent homosexual tendencies that they are in denial of? That’s the true clinical definition.

Your so-called "clinical definition" is of course not the dictionary definition, nor is it the accepted meaning of the term "homophobe" as it is understood in our society.

So to avoid verbal contortions, I was of course refering to the *normal usage* of the term.

[Jorge]

When you use the term homophobe it’s right out of the homosexual propaganda book, that’s why you’re accused of being one of their propagators.

Are you trying to make me laugh on purpose or what?

Everybody on both sides of the debate knows what the term "homophobe" means..at least when it comes to it's normal use.

I am only accused of being "one of their propagators" by people who either don't have a clue as to where I actually stand, or they are completely unable to respond to my challenges and therefore must resort to personal attacks.

Believe me..I've been attacked from both sides of this debate. I've been called a homophobe by some gays and I've been called a pro-gay apologist by the some anti-gay homophobes.
None of it surprises me.

[Land of the Irish]

The subjective and highly political opinion of the lavenders is their problem and not the problem of normal people. We are the standard. They are the deviation. If their feelings are hurt, tough.

Good post.

[BlackElk]

Because I know you personally and know you to be a good guy, however, reformed, I will continue to refrain from treating you as I would a stranger. Anyone who can so annoy the Rev. Mr. Noisy Kimber cannot be dismissed. Of course, we await your arrival to the road to Rome. I know you will say that I wait in vain but I am icking you and drstevej out of the herd to pray for. I like steep challenges. Say hello to Tom and Lydia.

[BlackElk]

And a grateful tip of the antlers to you sir. God bless you and yours.

[BlackElk]

I tried to answer this morning but was unable to navigate through the refusal of the site to accept the post. Oh well!

I stand corrected on the derivation of "homo" but [phobia still means fear does it not? I am not about to pay them the compliment of fearing them. Better they should consider fearing normal folks than we should EVER fear them. If they want to mind their own business and stop haranguing us, that's OK too.

I have a deal for the curious crew of lavender Lances: Leave me and mine alone and we will be delighted to reciprocate. Stay in my face and watch out! Lavenders will never have our respect or our acceptance. If they think tyhey need it, they are permanently SOOL.

[BlackElk]

I would be the first to admit that my doggerel is not terribly memorable. The professional help needed is that of those more talented than I. Until I hear their own efforts, I have to believe that an attempt is better than none. The great classical artists like the Five Satins, the Orioles, the Platters, Chuck Berry, the King, Buddy Holly, Brian Wilson, Jackie Wilson and others of the truly classic age of music probably made mistakes at the outset too you know!

[Jorge]

What am I missing here? Homo is the Latin word for man in the sense of mankind as opposed to vir which is used exclusively to mean male persons. A phobia is a fear. Hence homophobia is a fear of mankind. Hence homophobe might reasonably be applied to someone who fears mankind. I have never even once seen this phony word "homophobe" used to describe one who "fears" mankind.

Right. And you will not see it defined this way in the average dictionary either.

So when we speak of a "homophobe" you can therefore assume the definition is that of one who has an extreme fear or dread of homosexuals...which is of course normal accepted usage of the term.