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]

Thank you. Keep those prayers coming. I have a wife and three young ones, I need God's protection for them when I'm not with them. One cannot underestimate the vileness and wickedness and violence of the homosexual activist juggernaut.

[DLfromthedesert]

You and your family will be in my prayers.

[Polycarp]

Thanks!

[Polycarp]

Thanks, I might be needing your help ;-)

[mercy]

Commendations to you in your fight. You are doing a great work.

As a protestant however the whole thing is absolutely beyond me. If I found out that such moral corruption was rampant with a church I attended I would demand the pastor be fired and if there was any hemming and hawing I'd just fo find a decent church elsewhere.

Seems to me the RC church has long since proved it is beyond repair. It's not like leaving the evil edifice means leaving the Lord. Why do you RC folks remain so loyal to such an awful institution? It's such a mystery to we on the outside.

It's not just a priest here or a priest there. It is obviously endemic. Whole seminaries are dedicated to queer priests. The Pope is covering for them. What gives?

[Polycarp]

Thanks for the prayers.

[Polycarp]

Thanks for your kind comments.

The issue of why we stay is the fodder for many other threads. My short response is John 6. Especially the second half of the chapter. But lets not go off on that tangent here.

[Jhoffa_]

What kind of insanity is this?

Have they not read that they are to obey the law, avoid even the appearance of sin and that the authorities "do not bear the sword for nothing"

They just wish to carry on as before and are asking the church to play "goalie" for them.

I can't believe it.. This is just nuts..

PS: I was glad to see you got a personal mention Mr. Kopp. Kudos to you sir!

[Polycarp]

There are many on this thread with whom I have little in common theologically, but have offered constructive criticism and words of encouragement and prayer.

Yours is the only post consisting wholly of malice.

Very telling.

[Polycarp]

PS: I was glad to see you got a personal mention Mr. Kopp. Kudos to you sir!

Thank you! I'll wear it as a badge of honor.

[narses]

If anyone else had posted this, I'd be POSITIVE it was a hoax, a fraud. How much worse must it get before the Lord sends an avenging angel to clean out the corruption?

[valkyrieanne]

Any chance this is an anti-Catholic fake, sort of like a Catholic version of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion," designed to stir up hatred against the diocese?

[mercy]

You know that you are battleing principalities and powers don't you? I'm sure you do. If I were you I would be very intrigued by the question how did this demonic power become so entrenched within my church. I suspect that even as educated as you are on the subject you still don't know the half of it. Even Paul knew when to fight and when to move on.

I'm not saying you should. If you prevent one child from being raped it is worth the effort. However if you cannot put the fire out ... one day you will have to start advising people to get out of the building.

[mercy]

Not long; however the case in point here is just the canary in the mine. The mine is gonna blow ... soon.

[Incorrigible]

I have to admit Polcarp, even though I'm very familiar with your posts, like narses, I could hardly believe what I was reading was for real.  It truly appears as a farce!

Dang!

I just moved away from a fairly orthodox, (novus ordo) parish and am currently drifting among three nearby churches.  It's awkward to have to evaluate parishes on how kooky the Pastor is.

[Polycarp]

If I were you I would be very intrigued by the question how did this demonic power become so entrenched within my church.

Satan knows the right address. So do I.

[Land of the Irish]

They have no idea that there was a mole in their midst.

I like it, please keep us posted.

[Little Bill]

I am Protestant, you have my prayers to drive out these troublesome priests who despise the Word of God.

[narses]

God knows when the right time is, but me, I cannot imagine it being much longer either. How truly, despicably EVIL. Like the grotesque co-founder of NAMBLA, these freaking evil, twisted villains are destroying children and families and seeking to use the Church as their shield AGAINST justice. What a total perversion of truth and justice, what an horrific travesty of Holy Orders, of chastity, obedience and poverty. Their fate is written in the Book of Life and Our Lord could not possibly have been more clear, "Woe to such persons. It would have been better they were never born then that they insulted one of my chosen one. It would have been better to tie a millstone about them and let them sink in the sea as that they attempted to lead one of my chosen ones along the wrong pathway."

[narses]

If you can, find a FSSP Indult Mass. Most of their priests are rock solid. Never, ever leave your children alone with any priest, not under these conditions. (Isn't that hideously ugly advice?)