The biggest aspect of the story to me, isn't the fact that this guy is certainly not fit to be in the same category with Padre Pio, but that his parishioners love him and his parish is huge and growing and it isn't made up of the usual suspects - the 60s enlightened crowd. I just don't get it. What is wrong with the vast majority of Catholics? We are almost like the UU's.
And that priest isn't going to retire until they take him out in a box (going by the second article).
I don't get it either. My Faith only just survived my time in Norfolk. Oddly, though, my "reversion" experience came about halfway through that time, and with obvious end in sight. I emerged the rightwing, orthodox radical that y'all have come to know and loathe. I think that, if you don't know what the Mass is really all about, because you've never been taught, some of these clown-priests could be fairly entertaining. I've no idea how deep their Faith is. Their knowledge is extremely shallow, though.
There is nothing specific that they stand for spiritually or doctrinally, yet they are thriving and growing by the hour attracting many lapsed Catholics. A friend of mine said they provide great entertainment during the services ("wheel-of-fortune and price-is-right combined").