[passive1]

Re: The Diocese of Arlinton, VA and Bishop Loverde - troubling times: Piece by piece Bishop Loverde is dismantling the system that Bishop Keating put into place that generated the miracles of vocations in your diocese: #1. Sacking Fr. Gould, the renown vocations director under Bishop Keating, apparently because of controversy over seminarian candidates with homosexual orientations. #2. Sending some seminarians to his former seminary in Ogdensburg, NY, Wadhams Hall, which in August, 2001 invited Fr. Richard Sparks of Berkeley, CA for a weeklong series of lectures. Fr. Sparks postulated at the 2001 L.A. Religious Education Congress meeting in February that Christ may have contemplated marriage with Mary Magdalene (perhaps preceded by heavy "petting"), and that St. Joseph may have wanted to "jump her bones" (the Blessed Virgin Mary), and that she fondled him and he fondled her. The sordid history of dissent in the seminary, encompassing the episcopacy of Bishop Loverde's term and spanning 18 years of documentation was published in the fall by The Wanderer. One may wonder whether the seminarians who came to Arlington under the belief that they would receive orthodox training might feel a bit of the bait and switch. #3. Bishop Keating was one of the few bishops in the U.S. who resisted female altar servers, which Bishop Loverde appears to be on the verge of installing in his diocese. It has been estimated that 85% of more of priests were at one time altar servers. Some bishops who have experienced great blessings of vocations have sought to maintain only boys as altar servers under the belief that it may assist further in vocations. These unfortunate events presage an uncertain future for the Diocese of Arlington.

[ArrogantBustard]

I'll take your #3 as more or less of a tripwire. If Bp. Loverde does that, I'll know he's not for real.

AB

[ThomasMore]

published in the fall by The Wanderer

I am a very doctrinally orthodox Catholic, and I stopped subscribing to The Wanderer.

[MudPuppy]

concerning post#80.....I've heard troubling rumors concerning allowing altar girls for a few months now.
I've written a letter to the Bishop asking him to NOT change things. Our churches in this Diocese are full
to overflowing and as far as I know there is no shortage of altar boys. Shortages come when boys feel like
they are being pushed aside.
There have been some troubling issues within our own parish in Frederickburg that we've asked to be
addressed and have been largely ignored.
The majority of our priests are wonderful, dedicated, hard-working men of God and I'm thankful for it.