Mardi Gras Party Priest Resigns

The Smoking Gun ^ | May 7, 2002

[Armando Guerra]

Memo to Catholic priests everywhere: If you plan on attending a future Mardi Gras, try not to be photographed shirtless next to a drag queen and some chiseled guys in biker shorts. Because that photo op just cost Rev. Thomas Bouterie his pastor's post at a church outside of New Orleans. The 47-year-old Bouterie--unknowingly snapped at last year's New Orleans bacchanal--appears in "Masking and Madness: Mardi Gras in New Orleans," photographer Kerri McCaffety's vibrant study of the annual Crescent City celebration. Following a meeting with diocesan brass, Bouterie announced Saturday (5/4) his decision to step down after 13 years as pastor of St. Louis Church in Bayou Blue, about 40 miles southwest of New Orleans. While no allegations of abuse have been made against Bouterie, a church spokesman said "these photographs could be a source of scandal for some and, thus, prevent Father Bouterie from effectively exercising his ministry." Bouterie said that his resignation was not "reflective of the current problems" in the Church, but more indicative of his "personal growth as a priest."

[El Sordo]

I hope that was sarcasm.

There's a grand differencec between moving among the heathen to minister to them and stripping your shirt to join the whores in whoring.

[Teacher317]

Did anyone notice where his right hand is going in the picture in post #11?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Those are some very large beads.

[aculeus]

Bouterie said that his resignation was not "reflective of the current problems" in the Church, but more indicative of his "personal growth as a priest."

Priceless.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I'm actually at a loss for words... The whole situation is so totally out of control.

[sobieski]

The fact of the matter is that the picture says it all: this is not a man of the cloth, not a man following the rules. What he did is what counts for him.

[sobieski]

No the point is the following: if you are a man and you have sex with a boy you are a homosexual. It is the homosexual lobby that is trying to say that there is some difference. Same sex relations are homosexual relations, and that is the clergy scandal.

[Palladin]

Is that Hillary in the striped dress?

[Ole Okie]

Wow! Calvin Coolidge was gay!?!?!? This is news!!!!

Probably would have been news to Cal's wife, also.

[St.Chuck]

Very funny caption.

[Armando Guerra]

Okay, I didn't get the answer to the black armband question so I had to do a search myself. The origin of the black armband is as a sign of mourning or protest. It appears that since the gay community is in constant protest, the black armband has become a fashionable accessory item signifying solidarity with the gay community (it is also quite spiffy looking). Perhaps the "reverend" supports this religious groups call for black armbands in support of gay marriages? click here

[Tuor]

The Church kicks this guy out over a "could be a source of scandal" and they do NOTHING to pedophiles??????

Standing fully clothed at a street corner is now some punishable offense? Heh. Whatever.

If the guy had been topless and dancing around with the whackjobs, then maybe they'd have something to talk about.

Tuor

[Atlantian]

I'd be spitting nails if this "priest" had been hearing my confessions for 13 years.

[Atlantian]

Please, no pictures of topless lesbians from the Atlanta Gay Pride parade. My heart couldn't take it.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

If the guy had been topless and dancing around with the whackjobs, then maybe they'd have something to talk about.

Actually he looked to be topless and fondling the butt of some whackjob in photo number two.

[Florida SunGod]

of blood poisoning from having stubbed his toe while playing tennis...

[Florida SunGod]

If you are a "man" and you have sex with a boy you are perverted, sick and twisted IMHO. But my point is that simply being gay does not equate to being a pedophile. I'm not gay, but I have had friends who are and they would be just as outraged at pedophile activity and juvenile sexual abuse as any straight person. (In fact, one of them was repeatedly and consistently abused by his father as a child himself) To label them automatically "perverse" is not correct. As to the photos, well not my cup of tea but not forming any judgments either.....

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Just being a man who has sex with a man is enough to make you perverted. While not all homosexuals are pedophiles, homosexuals already have a psychological disorder with respect to their sexuality and, as studies have shown, are much more likely to engage in pedophilia than the public at large.

[ThomasMore]

I know exactly what you're talking about. The guilt of sexual perversion has roots in our very culture because men have forgotten virtue and embraced vice. I have a brother-in-law and his wife who identify with that couple. Sad; they don't even recognize that they are accomplices to the depravity that surrounds them.

Pope Pius X warned us Catholics about modernism. Will we now heed the advice of this great saint? A lot will be made evident in June as to where the American bishops stand on morality and what they are willing to do to end the insanity and re-embrace the ways of holiness.