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Spy Wednesday and a Reflection on the Sins of the Clergy
Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 03-31-15 | Msgr. Charles Pope

Posted on 04/01/2015 7:50:45 AM PDT by Salvation

Spy Wednesday and a Reflection on the Sins of the Clergy

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

spywednesdaypainting

Wednesday of Holy Week is traditionally called “Spy Wednesday,” since it was on this day that Judas conspired with the Temple leadership to hand Jesus over. He would not accomplish his task until the evening of the next day, but this day he made the arrangements and was paid.

One way to reflect on this terrible sin is to consider that Judas was among the first priests called by Jesus. We see in the call of the Apostles the establishment of the ministerial priesthood. Jesus called these men to lead His Church and minister in His name. But one of these priests went wrong, terribly wrong, and turned against the very one he should have proclaimed.

We also see great weaknesses among the other “first priests.” Peter denied Jesus, though he later repented. All the others except John deserted Jesus at the time of His Passion. Yes, I am sad to say, only one priest, one bishop made it to the foot of the Cross. All the rest fled in fear. And so here we see the “sins of the clergy” made manifest. Christ did not call perfect men. He promised to protect His Church from officially teaching error but this does not mean that there is no sin in the Church, nor that those who are called to lead are without sin. The story of Judas shows that even among those who were called, one went terribly wrong.

In recent years there has been much focus on the sins of Catholic priests who went terribly wrong and sexually abused the young. The vast majority of priests have never done such things, but those who did so inflicted great harm.

There are other sins of the clergy that have nothing to do with sexuality but that also may have caused great harm. Maybe it was an insensitive remark. Perhaps it was a failure to respond at a critical moment such as a hospital visit. And how many of you have lamented deeply the scandal of silent pulpits, the silence of so many clergy in the face of a moral meltdown? Whatever it might be that has harmed or alienated you, please don’t give up on God or on the Church. If a priest or a Church leader has caused you grief please know that there are other priests, deacons, and lay leaders who stand ready to hear your concerns and offer healing. Let the healing begin. Ask among your Catholic family and friends for recommendations about helpful and sensitive priests or Church leaders who can listen to your concerns, address them where possible, and offer another opportunity for the Church to reach out to you with love.

On this “Spy Wednesday” pray especially for priests. We carry the treasure of our priesthood in earthen vessels; as human beings we struggle with our own issues. We have many good days, but some less-than-stellar moments, too. The vast majority of priests, though sinners, are good men who strive to do their very best. But some among us have sinned greatly and, like Judas, caused harm to the Body of Christ. Some of us may have caused harm to you. Please accept this invitation to begin anew.

If you have stayed away because of some hurt caused by any leader of the Church, strive on this “Spy Wednesday” to still seek Christ where He is found. He is among sinners and saints, in the Church He founded. The Church is perfect in her beauty as the Bride of Christ, but consists of members who are still “on the way” to holiness.

After all my verbiage, here is a music video that presents this message better than I ever could. If you have ever known someone who has been hurt, or been hurt yourself, allow this powerful video to move you.



TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; clergy; healing; holywednesday; holyweek; judas; lent; lent2015; msgrcharlespope; priesthood; priests; sin; sins; spywednesday; yearb
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1 posted on 04/01/2015 7:50:45 AM PDT by Salvation
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To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...
On this “Spy Wednesday” pray especially for priests.

Monsignor Pope Ping!

2 posted on 04/01/2015 7:52:15 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

Thank-you Salvation and God Bless.

Took a good look at that article and it made me realize that in my parish, which saw a very beloved priest go on a sabathical because of the passing of his dear mother and dealing with health issues as well. Plus also struggling with other parishoners who had problems adjusting to the new priest, to the point of them leaving the parish, all of this broke my heart. All this took place in over the last year or so.

How true, we must PRAY for those in the three levels of priesthood!


3 posted on 04/01/2015 8:04:27 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Salvation
We also see great weaknesses among the other “first priests.”

There were no "priests" in the NT church...

4 posted on 04/01/2015 8:55:22 AM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: RnMomof7

Christ breathed on the apostles, thus making them Bishops. For your information, a Bishop is a priest.


5 posted on 04/01/2015 9:16:05 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: RnMomof7

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

From the Gospel reading (John 20:20-23).


6 posted on 04/01/2015 9:18:33 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

the greek word for elder is different than the greek words for priest.. archiereus which translates into “High Priest” and hiereus which translates one that OFFERS SACRIFICES.

The role of the priesthood in scripture was to offer sacrifices.. That is what a priest does in scripture.. God set aside one tribe to be priests, they were not granted any land as God was their inheritance .

The greek have a couple words for priest

hiereus

1) a priest, one who offers sacrifices and in general in busied with sacred rites
a) referring to priests of Gentiles or the Jews,
2) metaph. of Christians, because, purified by the blood of Christ and brought into close intercourse with God, they devote their life to him alone and to Christ

and archiereus

Outline of Biblical Usage
1) chief priest, high priest
2) the high priests, these comprise in addition to one holding the high priestly office, both those who had previously discharged it and although disposed, continued to have great power in the State, as well as the members of the families from which high priest were created, provided that they had much influence in public affairs.
3) Used of Christ because by undergoing a bloody death he offered himself as an expiatory sacrifice to God, and has entered into the heavenly sanctuary where he continually intercedes on our behalf.

Neither role is given in scripture for the new church ..

Christ fulfilled the role of Priest on the cross.. there is no more sacrifice for sin

He is now our High Priest..

The word for elder is presbyteros here is the GREEK definition
1) elder, of age,
a) the elder of two people
b) advanced in life, an elder, a senior
1) forefathers
2) a term of rank or office
a) among the Jews
1) members of the great council or Sanhedrin (because in early times the rulers of the people, judges, etc., were selected from elderly men)
2) of those who in separate cities managed public affairs and administered justice
b) among the Christians, those who presided over the assemblies (or churches) The NT uses the term bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably
c) the twenty four members of the heavenly Sanhedrin or court seated on thrones around the throne of God

Now the Holy Spirit knows the difference in the greek words.. there is no priesthood provided for in the NT church.

There was no priests in the new church.it was about 300 AD before the first priesthood appeared..

Greg Dues has written Catholic Customs & Traditions, a popular guide (New London: Twenty Third Publications, 2007). On page 166 he states,
“Priesthood as we know it in the Catholic church was unheard of during the first generation of Christianity, because at that time priesthood was still associated with animal sacrifices in both the Jewish and pagan religions.”

“A clearly defined local leadership in the form of elders, or presbyteroi, became still more important when the original apostles and disciples of Jesus died. The chief elder in each community was often called the episkopos (Greek, ‘overseer’). In English this came to be translated as ‘bishop’ (Latin, episcopus). Ordinarily he presided over the community’s Eucharistic assembly.”

“When the Eucharist came to be regarded as a sacrifice, the role of the bishop took on a priestly dimension. By the third century bishops were considered priests. Presbyters or elders sometimes substituted for the bishop at the Eucharist. By the end of the third century people all over were using the title ‘priest’ (hierus in Greek and sacerdos in Latin) for whoever presided at the Eucharist.”


7 posted on 04/01/2015 9:55:16 AM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: RnMomof7; Salvation

There is no position in the New Testament “church” called priest and what the Catholic Church calls priests don’t even qualify for leadership in the New Testament church. The Catholic Church is a pagan “church”.


8 posted on 04/01/2015 10:01:22 AM PDT by CynicalBear (For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus)
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To: Salvation
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” From the Gospel reading (John 20:20-23).

An ecclesiastical gift to the church..The right to excommunicate from the church

Could you please show us where the apostles ever "heard' confessions"

Who did Jesus say to go to for mercy?

Luke 11:And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.

Heb 4;15For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

There was no confession to a "priest"in Romanism until 1215

9 posted on 04/01/2015 10:05:59 AM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: Salvation

Wow, I can’t remember when one of Monsignor Pope’s blogs was attacked like this. Must be the season for uptight anti-catholics to bash the church.


10 posted on 04/01/2015 10:15:21 AM PDT by Mercat
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To: Salvation

There are 3 levels of priests: bishop,priest, and deacon.


11 posted on 04/01/2015 10:16:39 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Mercat

BINGO! We have a WINNER!

My goodness, the anti-Catholic bashers have been bashing on a number of threads as of late.


12 posted on 04/01/2015 10:17:43 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: RnMomof7
New Covenant New Rules, and words can acquire different definitions as time goes by.

For instance scripture used to exclusively mean writings, now if refers to the Bible.

The Bible is an interesting word as well. It cam from the Phoenician Port city Bublos which is where papyrus came from. Then it came to mean papyrus.

This became Biblion which means plural of book. Then it became Biblia which is a collection of books. Finally we get to Bible.

Glad I could clarify this for you.

13 posted on 04/01/2015 10:29:39 AM PDT by verga (I might as well be playing chess with pigeons,.)
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To: Salvation
Christ breathed on the apostles, thus making them Bishops. For your information, a Bishop is a priest.

Only in your religion...There are no New Testaments priests nor are there any priests in the Christian churches...

This goes right along with that famous phrase, 'we don't pray to Mary'...

14 posted on 04/01/2015 10:43:45 AM PDT by Iscool
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To: Biggirl
There are 3 levels of priests: bishop,priest, and deacon.

In your religion maybe, but not in any Christian church...The priesthood was done away with...This is very clear bible doctrine...There is no need ever again in this age for a priest...

The Catholic priesthood contradicts God's preserved scripture...Your 'priest' doctrine turns the word of God into meaningless drivel...

15 posted on 04/01/2015 10:49:09 AM PDT by Iscool
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To: Iscool

First, please cite the scripture sources. Thank-you.


16 posted on 04/01/2015 10:59:07 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Iscool

It really is in your Bible too.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+20%3A20-23&version=KJV


17 posted on 04/01/2015 12:06:00 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Biggirl

Almost: Priests and Bishops are all “priests,” but deacons, while in Holy Orders, are not.


18 posted on 04/01/2015 12:26:39 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Be afraid only of thoughtlessness and pusillanimity." ~ Pope John Paul II)
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To: Tax-chick

I know that in the area of deacons, there are two types, transition and permenaint deacons. But for some reason, it is cited as 3 levels, bishops,priests, and deacons.

I may be going into advance college degree here. :)


19 posted on 04/01/2015 12:30:48 PM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Biggirl

Three levels of ordination, but only two are priests.

In the diaconate, both transitional and permanent deacons receive the same ordination. It’s intended that transitional deacons will be ordained as priests in the fairly near future ... but if they aren’t, they are still deacons.


20 posted on 04/01/2015 12:48:45 PM PDT by Tax-chick ("Be afraid only of thoughtlessness and pusillanimity." ~ Pope John Paul II)
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