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

[Jorge]

I'm sorry if I have offended you.
While I believe those in authority in the Catholic Church should remove pedophile priests from positions of authority I believe homosexuals such as yourself should have the basic civil rights as all Americans.

But I will be praying for your deliverance.

[Cvengr]

I agree that homosexuals in America should have the same basic civil rights as others in America,....the right to be incarcerated for their heinous behavior and assault upon the institution of marriage, natural law, and equal rights of law abiding citizens.

God Bless Polycarp in his efforts to maintain a righteous policy within the Church leadership.

[Jorge]

I agree that homosexuals in America should have the same basic civil rights as others in America,....the right to be incarcerated for their heinous behavior and assault upon the institution of marriage, natural law, and equal rights of law abiding citizens.

God Bless Polycarp in his efforts to maintain a righteous policy within the Church leadership.

So I guess you also believe adulters, fornicators and all those who have sex outside of marriage should be stoned and/or incarcerated for their immoral behavior...unless of course you have no problem with... and bless the sort of homophobic hypocrisy we've seen by some on these boards.

[drstevej]

*** I believe homosexuals such as yourself should have the basic civil rights as all Americans.***

I consider this comment over the line.

[Cvengr]

Yes, people who violate the sanctity of marriage and destroy a marriage between a man and woman which was sworn before God are in violation of that covenant.

They also violate the righteous Spirit.

There is nothing wrong in a nation enforcing Divine will.

Most importantly all persons of that group fail to meet the criterion to be leaders (deacons, elders, pastors, priests) in the Church. Not everybody is qualified to be in senior positions in the Church. Admitting an avowed, unrepentant homosexual into Church leadership is similar to advancing a murderer into the same position. Both are inappropriate.

[Cvengr]

You're correct, My sarcasm was inappropriate. There is no 'right' to commit sodomy.

[Jorge]

*** I believe homosexuals such as yourself should have the basic civil rights as all Americans.*** I consider this comment over the line.

Whether you consider it over the line or not, the fact is most Americans believe homosexuals SHOULD have the same basic civil rights we all have...when if comes to housing, employement etc.
Fair is fair.

[Land of the Irish]

Go slither back under your rock, Whore'ge.

[drstevej]

What was over the line was calling Black Elk a homosexual. Is this a fact or did you bear false witness?

[Jorge]

Go slither back under your rock, Whore'ge.

Thank you for your contribution to this dialogue.
But if you think a juvenile name-calling will force me to agree with pro-homosexual pedophile priests in the Church..then you better think again. Not in THIS "land".

[Jorge]

You'll have to ask Black Elk. If I am wrong I apologize.

[drstevej]

I you do not know you are right, you are wrong to make an accusation.

[Land of the Irish]

But if you think a juvenile name-calling

You called Black Elk a homosexual; that's not only juvenile it's libel and slander. In the real world, falsely being accused of being a homosexual is an extreme insult. In your world, I'm not sure what it is.

[Jorge]

Hey...I've been called all kinds of things for criticizing the Church for their protecting homosexual pedophile priests....by this same poster.

If he is not a homosexual apologist then he needs to come clean.....but meanwhile I can make the assumption that "birds of feather flock together".

[Cvengr]

Should murderers have the same civil rights as those who are law abiding?

[Jorge]

What is this? The attack of the Pink Poodles?
Lighten up. I don't care about your or Black Elsie's sexual preferences....it's none of my business.
Stop whining!

[Jorge]

Should murderers have the same civil rights as those who are law abiding?

No. Murderers forfeit their rights.

But most people don't believe adulters and homosexuals who commit their acts with other consenting adults should be treated as murderers.

[Land of the Irish]

I don't care about your or Black Elsie's sexual preferences....it's none of my business.

But you do care that the homo's get their sexual preferences and civil sinful rights.

[Cvengr]

Perhaps most people don't in a corrupt society. How about the spouses of the influenced marriages who have their lives destroyed by the adulterous affair?

Does an outside majority overule the most intimate possible human commitment? Do we simply ignore the most fundamental aspects of human instincts and instead commit ourselves to promoting and condoning lust of others over sincere commitment to social agreements?

Marriage is a far more fundamental instinct dealt with in equitable terms than sexual lust.

[Cvengr]

But most people don't believe adulters and homosexuals who commit their acts with other consenting adults should be treated as murderers.

Ask a divorcee how they felt after they found out their spouse had been cheating on them for several years. Ask the children of a cheating spouse how they felt about their parent and that parent's behavior. Ask the family members, close and removed how they felt about a homosexual who intruded into their family and influenced their family member to leave the family.

The majority of the people directly involved hate the behavior and if they fail to act, only do so believing the adulterous or homosexual member of the family had already divorced themselves from the family anyways.

Inaction to homosexuality and adultery generally assumes the behavior is limited to simply one other person, but this is the greatest fallacy of sexual lust. It knows no bounds.