THE TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC FAITH
Friday, 24 September 2010
ORDINATION AND SAME SEX ATTRACTION
Every bishop possesses the sacred duty of discerning the suitability of candidates for holy orders. St. Paul’s advice to Timothy is fitting for all bishops, especially today: “Do not lay hands too readily on anyone” (1 Tim. 5: 22). The church’s life and the way it manifests itself as the sacrament of salvation for the entire world leans inextricably on the shoulders of her priests. The supernatural “health,” one could say, of the church depends heavily on the fitness of candidates for ordination.
In the aftermath of the scandal of clerical sexual abuse of minors, the church and society have focused partly on the role of homosexuality. The question has arisen as to whether or not it is advisable for a bishop to admit a man with predominantly homosexual tendencies, or what some call “same sex attraction” (S.S.A.), to the seminary and/or present him for holy orders.
Thanks to a recent Circular Letter in 1997 from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments concerning the suitability of candidates for holy orders, some guidance and assistance from the Holy See have already been given in order to tackle the thorny and difficult issue of suitability.
The letter says that a vocation is based on “a moral certitude that is founded upon positive reasons regarding the suitability of the candidate.” Next, it mentions the fundamental reason not to admit a candidate to holy orders. The document says: “Admission may not take place if there exists a prudent doubt regarding the candidate’s suitability (Canon 1052 §3 with Canon 1030). By ‘prudent doubt’ is meant a doubt founded upon facts that are objective and duly verified.” Later, the congregation advises that it would seem “more appropriate to dismiss a doubtful candidate” than to lament the sadness and scandal of a cleric abandoning the ministry.
In other words, the congregation seems to suggest that even if there is only a “prudent doubt,” based on objective facts, about the suitability of any candidate, the best and safest course of action is not to admit him to holy orders. The church does not ask for certitude that a man does not have a vocation but simply that a doubt has arisen through a prudent examination of evidence. Even though there may be a lack of certitude but a definite prudent doubt, a proper ecclesiastical authority should judge the candidate to be unsuitable.
What about a candidate with S.S.A.? Does it introduce a prudent doubt about suitability resulting in not admitting an applicant to a formation program or not issuing the call to holy orders?
In order to determine the existence of a “prudent doubt,” it would be helpful to clarify the meaning of the term “homosexuality.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes it as “an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex.” Some may experience a wide range of intensity or different types of attractions to persons of the same sex, as some experts propose. Although, in the context of determining suitability for ordination, it would seem appropriate to limit the definition of the term “homosexuality” to describe those with exclusive or predominant tendencies, because a “prudent doubt” can be better verified objectively based on the clear presence of the disorder. With this clear information, a bishop can then make his decision concerning suitability.
Some have described S.S.A. as a sexual “orientation.” At first glance, this description may seem to have some merit. The sexual attraction of someone with S.S.A. is “toward” persons of the same sex, and this “tending toward” could easily be described as an “orientation.” However, to classify homosexuality as an “orientation” may obfuscate the serious disorder that exists and the distortion that has been introduced into a biblically inspired Christian anthropology.
Genesis speaks of God creating an image of himself by making man “male and female.” In this dual and complementary relationship of persons, man finds within himself or can, in a certain sense, “read” in his body and in the body of a person of the opposite sex, a tendency to “leave his father and mother” and “cling” to the other (Gen. 2: 24). The sexual orientation, the “tending toward” another of the opposite sex, is “written” in man’s created constitution. It is part of what Pope John Paul II calls the “nuptial meaning of the body.” Any other tendency to “cling” to another (be it to persons of the same sex, children, beasts, objects) is an aberration of the divine economy in which God reveals himself by creating an image of himself in the orientation of male to female and female to male.
The “orientation” of those who have another attraction, other than the divinely constituted one, is not a true “orientation.” It would be better described as a “disorientation.” It is fundamentally flawed in its disordered attraction because it can never “image” God and never contribute to the good of the person or society. This is why the Catholic Church teaches that the disorientation of homosexuality is “objectively disordered.” Homosexuality may be an inclination, tendency or condition but it is fundamentally “dis-orienting” in that it tends toward a corrupt end. The attraction as such is not a sin. Only when one chooses to pursue the attraction in thought or deed does the disordered inclination become a disordered, and therefore sinful, choice.
Nevertheless, homosexual tendencies are aberrations that can and should be addressed by both the individual and by competent experts with the aid of behavioral sciences as well as by spiritual means, including prayer, the sacraments and spiritual direction. According to some experts, S.S.A. can be treated and even prevented with some degree of success. But does it introduce a “prudent doubt” when determining suitability for ordination?
There are a number of significant negative aspects to S.S.A. that contribute to a “prudent doubt” with regard to the suitability of a candidate for holy orders.
First and foremost among them is the possible simultaneous manifestation of other serious problems such as substance abuse, sexual addiction and depression. With more than one serious disorder, a candidate may find it difficult to respond to the demands of formation, and the seminary or religious house may struggle to accommodate the extra needs involved in the healing process of the individual.
Likewise, there is an increased possibility that persons with S.S.A. may be more familiar with certain patterns and techniques of deception and repression, either conscious or subconscious, which were learned in trying to deal with their tendencies in a largely heterosexual environment. After years of hiding or of being confused about their abnormal attractions, it is possible that duplicitous or pretentious behaviors could appear. These kinds of personal defects make the moral formation of the candidate much more difficult and can negatively affect the formation of the other candidates.
Another aspect that would contribute to a “prudent doubt” concerning a candidate with S.S.A. is a question about his adherence to church teaching. There are many men and women with S.S.A. who uphold and defend the church’s teaching on homosexuality. But if someone with S.S.A. is insecure about dealing straightforwardly with his disordered attractions or has some doubts about their disordered character, he may tend to possess a distorted and erroneous view of human sexuality. Thus, there exists the risk that such an individual will struggle with or even deny the clear teaching of the church regarding his disordered inclinations and any acts that might flow from these tendencies.
Part of the distortion of S.S.A. is the tendency to view the other person of the same sex as a possible sexual “partner” or even to reduce the other (also a temptation for heterosexuals) to a sexual object. In such a clearly male environment as the seminary and the priesthood, the temptation is ever-present for those with the disorder. This temptation could present very difficult circumstances and the overwhelming presentation of the object of their attraction (men), which is naturally part of an all-male and intensely close community, could make their efforts to live chastely or to be healed of their disorder very difficult.
Furthermore, as has been the unfortunate experience in some seminaries and dioceses, cliques may form based on the disordered attractions. This could hamper the healing process that might be possible for some, because the effeminate affective manners and a certain “acceptability” of the disorder are often promoted in such groups. Also these cliques can confuse young heterosexual men in the growth of their understanding of manhood and in developing skills and virtues to live a celibate life, because they can often see modeled in members of these cliques a disordered view of human sexuality and of proper masculine behavior.
Another question for determining suitability for a candidate with S.S.A. is whether the individual can live celibacy. Celibacy is a vocational choice to which one is bound by a vow or promise to live chastely for the sake of the kingdom of God by foregoing the good of marriage and family life. It is a sign of one’s identification with Christ, one’s availability for service to the church and of the spousal union between Christ and the church in the kingdom of God.
People with homosexual tendencies can live certain aspects of celibacy, but their commitment is significantly different from that of heterosexuals because it compromises two fundamental dimensions of celibacy.
On the one hand, celibacy involves a sacrifice of a good for a greater good. It sacrifices ordered and good inclinations toward spouse and family for the sake of the kingdom. For someone with S.S.A., an act of binding oneself by a vow or promise to abstain from something that one is already bound to avoid by the natural law (attractions toward someone of the same sex) seems superfluous. To avoid doing something (heterosexual acts) that one does not have an inclination to do is not a sacrifice. The struggle to live chastely may be extremely difficult for someone with homosexual tendencies, and these struggles would truly be meritorious and virtuous as acts of chastity, but not necessarily of celibacy.
Likewise, the spousal dimension of celibacy seems unclear for those with S.S.A.. Celibacy is a way of living the spousal character of Christ’s relationship with his bride, the church. Through the celibate life, the priest redirects his sexual attraction to the opposite sex toward another “body,” the church, which is a “bride” in a complementary spousal relationship. He exercises a spiritual fatherhood and lives a supernatural spousal relationship as a sign to the church of Christ’s love for her. Someone afflicted with S.S.A. cannot redirect his inclination toward a complementary “other” in a spousal relationship, because homosexuality has disordered his sexual attraction toward the opposite sex. It then becomes difficult to be genuinely a sign of Christ’s spousal love for the church.
If it can be said that a man with homosexual tendencies can live a celibate life, at the very least it is lacking some important elements due to S.S.A., and it could be another reason to conclude that there exists a prudent doubt as to his suitability for holy orders.
It would seem that if there are firmly established facts, both from an objective psychological evaluation and an examination in the external forum of past and present behavior and choices, that a man does indeed suffer from S.S.A. as an “exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex” (Catechism, No. 2357), then he should not be admitted to holy orders, and his presence in the seminary would not only give him false hope but it may, in fact, hinder the needed therapy and healing that might come from appropriate psychological and spiritual care. It may be that a man could be healed of such a disorder and then he could be considered for admission to the seminary and possibly to Holy Orders, but not while being afflicted with the disorder.
The Pauline exhortation not to “lay hands too readily on anyone” is a heavy responsibility for any bishop; but if a candidate’s suitability is scrutinized with prudence, the act of “laying on of hands” will bear abundant fruit in the lives of those who will be touched by the ministry of a priest.
The Rev. Andrew R. Baker, a priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., is on the staff of the Congregation for Bishops in Rome.
Andrew R. Baker | SEPTEMBER 30, 2002
THE GOOD SHEPHERD INSTITUTE: INTERVIEW WITH FATHER DE TANOUARN
Interview with Father de Tanoüarn the Good Shepherd Institute
The Good Shepherd Institute was created by the Holy See on the feast of The Nativity of Our Lady (Sept. 8th) as a traditional society of apostolic life. When it was founded less than two months ago, it began with five former French SSPX priests who had left or been expelled from the Society. It now claims at least nine seminarians from several countries with many others, including many priests, showing interest in taking up with the newly created institute. Although it is headquartered in France, the GSI is not in any way consigned to any geographic boundaries, and is already garnering interest many other areas around the globe.
According to their official charge, the GSI is authorized to administer any and all traditional sacraments. The churches under its control will be given official “parish” status, although this can only be done with the express permission of the local bishop. Also of note, not only are they permitted to critically analyze the documents of the Second Vatican Council, but they have a specific mandate - in fact a duty - to do so.
The creation of the institute took most by surprise, save for those few whom had managed to catch wind of it beforehand, but were sworn to secrecy.
When the “French Connection” and I were discussing the matter, he informed me that he was sure that he could arrange an exclusive with one of these priests. I told him I would put some questions together. For this interview however, being that he is the one on the scene in France and being that he is the one who has built a rapport with these priests, I insisted that in addition to my questions he should ask a few as well. French Connection agreed.
Hence we are blessed to have as our guest, Father Guillaume de Tanoüarn. In addition to being one of the “Bordeaux 5”, Father de Tanoüarn is the author of "Vatican II et l'Evangile" (Vatican II and the Gospel) and "L'Evidence Chrétienne" (Christian Obviousness). He is also founder of the Saint Paul center in Paris.
Please be mindful when reading the interview that it had to be translated into French and the answers had to be translated from French into English.
Enjoy.
Father, you’re one of the five former SSPX priest who founded the Good Shepherd Institute. How did this happen? And who initiated the contact with Rome?
Well, we began as a group of 5 priests who already knew each other. The five included Fr. Héry – he and I were in seminary at the same time, where we had lengthy and deep discussions. Then there is Fr. Philippe Laguerie, who as my first superior I was under his orders for 7 years. Then there is Fr. Aulagnier, with whom I wrote the book “La Tradition sans peur” (Tradition Without Fear), in which he fully confides. Incidentally the book was prefaced by Fr. Laguerie. Then there is Fr. Forestier, who although I’ve known for shorter period of time because he is younger, we appreciate each other pretty much.
So we were a group of 5 priests, bound by sacerdotal friendship. It’s hard to say where the idea came from. It just came and grew.
Now, if you mean the chronology of how the Good Shepherd Institute was erected, I must mention the actions of Fr. Barthe who negotiated with Cardinal Hoyos. The result was an act of adhesion, which give us the right to constructive criticism toward the Second Vatican Council (“constructive”, as opposed to “polemical”) showing full respect for those involved. This in fact was always the position of Archbishop Lefebvre, who wanted to read the Council of Vatican II in the light of Catholic Tradition.
Paradoxically, Cardinal Ricard, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, also played a role by urging Fr. Laguerie to regularize his situation after he was ousted from the SSPX.
And we shall not forget the very nature of things: It was not possible to remain suspended for great a period of time. A Catholic heart can’t stand it too long. We found in Rome warm understanding, pastoral charity, and also great diplomatic skills by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos.
I think that traditionalists can’t remain separated from Rome unless they want it so - either because they fear the episcopates or because they are eager to remain aloof, spiritually speaking.
You are answerable to the Ecclesia Dei commission – which has been in existence since 1988 – Why did you wait until 2006 to join up?
In 1988 and in the years that followed, the spirit in Rome was totally different than what it is today. In 1988, with the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei Adflicta, Pope John Paul II (bene volens male volens) set an attitude of tolerance toward traditionalists. They were allowed into the institutional Church, but only through the back door.
The FSSP was created at that time as a sort of “decontamination chamber” to help traditionalists transition toward the Church of Vatican II. Soon enough, it was clear the maneuver would not work - with most FSSP priests refusing this ecclesial prospect and not willing to play such a role. Many tensions resulted, such as the nomination of a non-elected superior in 2000.
Step by step, by the end of the reign of John Paul II, the mindset changed. The liturgical question became important, which had been considered insignificant until then. There was an encyclical (Ecclesia de Eucharistia) in 2003 and a pastoral letter (Redemptionis Sacramentum) in 2004. At first, the idea was to improve the way the Pauline Mass is celebrated – but it evolved and the idea of a liberalization or Tridentine Mass emerged.
Today, the election of Benedict XVI confirms this. The pope wishes a liberalization of the traditional rite – and even though the new motu proprio hasn’t been published yet, the Good Shepherd Institute benefits from that freedom. We’re no longer second class Catholics whose fantasies are merely tolerated – we’re the custodians of a liturgical treasure which benefits the entire Church by manifesting the glory of Her divine Spouse.
So there’s a new state of mind in Rome, and you become part of the Ecclesia Dei circle of influence. What’s you’re specific charisma there?
We’re not the fifth wheel of the Ecclesia Dei car, or the thirteenth wheel if you wish, as thirteen groups are answerable to that commission, the Good Shepherd Institute being the youngest one. We’re not serving a “circle of influence”; we’re fully in the Roman Catholic Church, which we wish to serve at a difficult time in Her history. We have a double specificity: From a pastoral point of view, and according to the name we choose for our Institute, we want to open personal parishes -traditional personal parishes - in France and elsewhere. Personal parishes are not much of a problem in the USA, but in Europe they are a new concept – a concept that raises deliberate hostility from French bishops.
Also, we want to contribute – as much as we are able – to theological work and aide in renewing Catholic intelligence. The time has come to definitively quit religious ideologies which were imposed in the sixties. Our age is one of uncertainty and fear, and we want to respond to this by proposing the traditional Roman Catholic forms of liturgy and theology.
You mention ‘religious ideologies’ – would you define this?
For example the ideas which fall under what the philosopher Jacques Maritain called “the “temporalization” of God’s kingdom” – in other words, an unhealthy mixture consisting of politics and religion, but also (and more subtly) those theologies which mistake therapy for spirituality or self development for eternal salvation. Faced with these tendencies, we feel it’s essential to show in the liturgy “God felt by the heart” as Pascal (the 17th century philosopher) said. We want to show, without any fear, the power of seduction the Catholic Faith has when it is in all of its splendor, and we want to appeal to everyone’s responsibility toward the truth of its destiny.
Today cultural challenges won’t be met unless Catholics stop considering Vatican II as the new tables of the law, and enthusiastically rediscover the richness of the great Roman Catholic Tradition.
How will you expand? You need altars, you need priests. What about bishops?
For the time being, the GSI has the Saint-Eloi church in the center of Bordeaux, where our headquarters are located. It’s a 13th century church, a magnificent building that had been abandoned, but was restored by a group led by Father Laguérie.
We have a seminary in Courtalain, 150 kilometers (93 miles) away from Paris, which was just opened. The seminary hosts 7 first year seminarians; one is a Pole, one is a Mexican, and one is Brazilian, the others are French.
In Paris, where I am, we opened a cultural center with courses and conferences that reach outside of the traditionalist circles. 300 people attend Mass here on an average Sunday.
Also, we opened a house in Rome (a “procuracy” is the technical name) with 4 students. Two are seminarians and two are priests. We’ve got contacts in Latin America – where some 10 priests around Fr Rafael Navas are on the verge of joining the GSI. We’ve also got some other contacts, here and there.
Last but not least, we’ll have three ordinations very soon.
Regarding France, I’m optimistic despite the bishops here. They are often hostile and seem to be laid back in the eighties, as if they didn’t take into account the evolutions of the Universal Church. But I’m optimistic, for a simple reason: demography. There are more churches than priests in France, and the ratio isn’t getting any better. Also, I feel the bishops will finally follow the pope’s will - even those who don’t hide their John Paul II nostalgia.
Some think (or fear) that the Good Shepherd Institute was erected in order to destabilize the SSPX.
We don’t intend to compete with the SSPX. The SSPX has created a stronghold to stay within until the crisis is over. That was their angle. Ours is different. We put ourselves at the pope’s disposal, without any delay, which is a less comfortable position, but a more exciting one. We don’t seek confrontation with the SSPX, but we wish to debate truly, in order to elaborate theological answers following Vatican II.
That’s the reason we’re organizing a large meeting in Paris on November 20, under the motto ‘Catholic Tradition – our Common Good’. The SSPX was at the top of our invitation list, we wanted them to take part in the debates. SSPX superiors decided they couldn’t accept, but I’m confident things will change with the passing of time – whatever personal wounds this attitude may conceal.
This is no time for division. All those who sincerely want to see traditional liturgy and traditional theology returned to the faithful must unite - as Catholic Tradition really is our common good.
Thank you Father for answering our questions. Is there anything you would like to add ?
Yes – I understand some members of your forum doubt the Good Shepherd Institute will succeed, or that it will even remain traditional. As you know: “By their fruits you shall know them”. I tell your readers: ‘Wait and see’. Would you agree on another interview, say by next year? By this time we’ll be able to draw a first appraisal of the Good Shepherd Institute.
By John Grasmeier and the French Connection
Angelqueen.org
November, 2006
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
BANCO DO VATICANO SOB SUSPEITA
Investigação: Alegada violação de normativa europeia
Banco do Vaticano está sob suspeita
O Instituto para as Obras Religiosas, mais conhecido como Banco do Vaticano, volta a estar sob suspeita, com o seu presidente, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, e o director-geral, Paolo Cipriani, a serem investigados pelo Ministério Público de Roma por alegada violação de uma normativa europeia adoptada em 2007 para evitar lavagem de dinheiro.
Numa medida preventiva enquanto decorre a investigação, a magistrada Maria Teresa Covatta, a pedido dos procuradores públicos Nello Rossi e Stefano Rocco Fava, mandou congelar 23 milhões de euros depositados no Banco do Vaticano. Segundo os investigadores, o Instituto para as Obras Religiosas pretendia transferir 20 milhões de euros da conta que foi congelada para a sucursal de Frankfurt, Alemanha, do banco norte-americano JP Morgan, e mais três milhões de euros para o Banco del Fucino, sem comunicar às autoridades italianas os nomes dos clientes, como exige na Itália o artigo 55 do decreto 231, que faz eco da normativa europeia.
Foi esta omissão – punida com uma pena até três anos de prisão e uma multa que pode atingir os 50 mil euros – que colocou Tedeschi e Cipriani sob investigação.
Esta não é a primeira vez que o Banco do Vaticano está sob suspeita. Em 1982, esteve envolvido na declaração fraudulenta da bancarrota do Banco Ambrosiano e em 2009 o jornalista Gianluigi Nuzzi denunciou no seu livro ‘Vaticano S.A.’ que o banco lavava dinheiro da máfia.
SANTA SÉ "ESTUPEFACTA"
A Santa Sé não tardou a reagir à investigação iniciada pelo Ministério Público de Roma ao presidente e ao director-geral do Instituto das Obras Religiosas (IOR), manifestando a sua "perplexidade e estupefacção" pela iniciativa e sublinhando que mantém a máxima confiança naqueles dois responsáveis da instituição. "É conhecida a nossa clara vontade de actuar com plena transparência no que respeita às actuações financeiras do IOR. Tal implica o cumprimento de todos os trâmites destinados a prevenir o terrorismo e a lavagem de capitais", afirma num comunicado, no qual adianta que os dados informativos necessários sobre a operação em causa estão já disponíveis no departamento do Banco da Itália competente para os receber.
CORREIO DA MANHÃ 22-09-2010
Por:Sabrina Hassanali com agências
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
PRESIDENTE DO BANCO DO VATICANO INVESTIGADO
Violação de nova lei contra lavagem de dinheiro
O presidente do banco do Vaticano IOR (Instituto das Obras Religiosas), Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, está a ser investigado pelo Ministério Público de Roma por violação de uma nova lei contra a lavagem de dinheiro.
A investigação, que também envolve um outro responsável do IOR, já levou ao congelamento preventivo pela polícia financeira de 23 milhões de euros do IOR depositados num outro banco, precisou a agência italiana ANSA citando fontes judiciais.
Os dois homens são suspeitos de não terem respeitado uma clausula de uma nova legislação italiana anti-branqueamento de 2007 que tornou obrigatória a menção do mandatário de qualquer operação financeira bem como o objectivo e a natureza da mesma.
Em Junho, o jornal ‘La Repubblica’ tinha afirmado que o banco era suspeito de estar envolvido em operações de branqueamento de dinheiro e que uma investigação tinha sido aberta pelo ministério público de Roma.
O IOR - que gere as contas das ordens religiosas e de associações católicas - é uma estrutura que beneficia da extra-territorialidade concedida ao Estado pontifical e por isso não tem de respeitar as normas financeiras em vigor para os estabelecimentos italianos.
Segundo o ‘La Repubblica’, a justiça tinha descoberto que o banco geria contas em estabelecimentos italianos sem nome de titular e que eram identificadas apenas com a sigla IOR.
Por uma das contas, descoberta em 2004, transitaram "cerca de 180 milhões de euros" em dois anos, referia o jornal.
"A hipótese dos investigadores é que pessoas com residência fiscal em Itália utilizam o IOR como ‘guarda-chuva’ para esconder diferentes delitos, como a fraude ou a evasão fiscal", precisava o jornal.
Há cerca de um ano, o IOR mudou de patrão com a nomeação para o posto de presidente de Etorre Gotti Tedeschi, representante em Itália do grupo espanhol Santander, para substituir Ângelo Caloia, Segundo os media, Tedeschi, especialista de ética da finanças, foi escolhido para repor a ordem das contas do IOR.
O Instituto ocupou as primeiras páginas dos jornais com a falência em 1981 do banco italiano privado Banco Ambrosiano, do qual o IOR era o principal acionista.
CORREIO DA MANHÃ 21-09-2010
Monday, 20 September 2010
AMERICAN PRIEST USED CHURCH MONEY IN A LAVISH LIFESTYLE
Connecticut priest was charged this week with first-degree larceny in the theft of almost $1.3 million from his church's coffers to fund a lavish double life that included swanky hotels and male escorts, said Capt. Chris Corbett of the Waterbury Police Department in Connecticut.
Father Kevin Gray, 64, a former pastor at Sacred Heart Church
in Waterbury, allegedly embezzled money from the church over the course of seven years.
He used it to pay for fancy restaurants, clothing, vacations, hotels, a New York City apartment and a male companion's tuition at Harvard University, according to an affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate WTIC and filed with the Connecticut Superior Court.
The affidavit says that between June 2003 and March 2010, Gray spent about $205,000 at high-end restaurants, $132,000 in hotel stays and $85,000 at clothing stores. While in New York City, he frequented the Waldorf Astoria, Omni Berkshire, and the W Hotel Times Square, among other posh hotels, the affidavit states.
He also allegedly shopped at high-end retailers including Barneys, Armani and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Along with expensive taste, Gray allegedly kept company with a number of male escorts, and allowed some to have credit cards in their name on his account.
One escort, Islagar Labrada, allegedly charged more than $49,000 to the account.
"Some items Mr. Labrada charged included a stay at the Sheraton in Buena Vista, Florida, storage facilities, computers, computer software, cell phones, anti-aging creams, artwork, Louis Vuitton stores, a home alarm system and bicycles," the affidavit reads. "Mr Labrada also charged $8,864.69 to Crunch Fitness Gym for membership fees."
Another man, Weirui Zhong, who told police he met Gray in Central Park in 2005, said Gray paid for his rented apartment in New York, a piano, dogs and Harvard University tuition since 2008, according to the affidavit.
Zhong told authorities that when he pressed Gray about why he was always paying him with checks from Sacred Heart Church, Gray told him that he won big cases as an attorney, and that he put all his live savings into the church account.
He also lied to Zhong and his parishioners that he was suffering from cancer, the affidavit says.
"Gray became very bitter with the church starting in 2001 when he was transferred to a parish in New Hartford while his mother was dying in New Haven," according to the affidavit. "Mr. Gray stated that when he started in 2003, he began taking the money because he felt the Church owed it to him."
His official salary over those seven years totaled just over $184,000, or almost $27,000 a year.
According to the affidavit, Gray scammed an additional $221,000 in 2005 by signing an agreement with Wireless Capital Partners, a communications company based in Los Angeles, California, to allow a wireless antenna to be placed in the church, though doing so was strictly prohibited.
Gray's scheme came to light after a routine audit of the church's finances by the Archdiocese of Hartford found numerous accounting discrepancies.
"At the financial level, the Archdiocese continues to work with the parish to improve its financial controls and to address issues arising from the situation such as insurance coverage and outstanding indebtedness," the Archdiocese said in a statement. "At the spiritual level, we continue to pray for healing and consolation for the parish family as it moves forward, and for guidance and reconciliation for Father Gray."
THE PANORAMA SEX SCANDAL
Catholic sex scandal as undercover reporter 'films priests at gay clubs and having casual flings'
By Nick Pisa
Caught in the act: A priest - still wearing his dog collar - approaches a gay 'accomplice' of the undercover reporter as their casual affair is caught on camera in the Italian magazine Panorama's footage
The same priest later prepares to read Mass
Rome's 3 GAY priests caught in video at gay clubs and having casual flings'
Benedict XVI and the Vatican shall never sleep in peace again until its total demise happen as predicted by the Third Secret of Fatima. While the newly released Code of Canon Law attracted so much uproar from the media worldwide, see our coverage in God's Rottweiler
Hardly a week went by and this caught on video in the headlines of Italy's newspaper has erupted.
A gay priest sex scandal has rocked the Catholic Church in Italy today after a weekly news magazine released details of a shock investigation it had carried out.
Using hidden cameras, a journalist from Panorama magazine - owned by Italian Prime Minister and media baron Silvio Berlusconi - filmed three priests as they attended gay nightspots and had casual sex.
Today there was no immediate comment from the Italian Bishops Conference and the Vatican - which has been rocked by a series of sex scandals involving paedophile priests since the start of the year.
A preview of the Panorama article sent out by email last night added that video footage from the investigation would be made available.
The article describes how the reporter was assisted by a gay 'accomplice' as they 'gate-crashed the wild nights of a number of priests in Rome who live a surprising double-life.'
In it's preview, Panorama added: 'By day they are regular priests, complete with dog collar, but, at night it's off with the cassock as they take their place as perfectly integrated members of the Italian capital's gay scene.'
Panorama described its investigation as 'deeply disturbing' as it detailed how three priests - two Italians and a Frenchman - happily took part in gay events and had casual sex.
The Catholic Church forbids priests to have sex and homosexuality is also seen as a 'sin' .
In 2008 the Vatican issued guidelines which said that any would be trainees should not join if they had 'deep-seated homosexual tendencies'.
In one part of the investigation Panorama said that one priest, named as Carlo, willingly put on his cassock to have sex with the reporter's gay accomplice, adding 'all of which was filmed by the hidden camera'.
The magazine also described how they had attended a Mass which was celebrated by Carlo.
In its preview Panorama insisted that it had carried out through checks and established that all three priests were bona fide but would not reveal their real names or any other details.
Panorama editor Giorgio Mule said: 'This was a two week investigation and was not aimed at creating a scandal but showing that a certain section of the clergy behaves very differently.'
JPIIPPA John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Sunday, 19 September 2010
THE WILLIAMSON SCANDAL
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| The scandal surrounding Bishop Richard Williamson's Holocaust denial refuses to go away. |
Pope on the Defensive
The Intractable Brothers from SSPX
By Sebastian Fischer, Julia Jüttner and Philipp Wittrock
The Vatican is upping the pressure, public prosecutors are continuing to investigate and criticism keeps rolling in -- but the Society of Saint Pius X refuses to give in. Even worse, the Catholic Church is running out of levers to force it to comply.
The lawyer was careful to sound serene. The brothers belonging to the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), says Maximilian Krah, want to live a form of Catholicism that recognizes the superiority of papal authority. "I don't recognize the brotherhood that I know in the current media coverage," he complains. And Richard Williamson? He isn't a typical SSPX member, Krah says. Really. He's not.
Williamson, though, has recently become the best known member of SSPX. He is a notorious Holocaust denier and one of the four bishops whose excommunications were recently lifted by Pope Benedict XVI. Krah represents Williamson and the rest of his SSPX brothers in Germany. The message Krah is intent on communicating these days is the one that Williamson himself should be sending: conciliatory, moderate and understanding. Indeed, given the Vatican's Wednesday call for Williamson to distance himself from his statements doubting the existence of the Holocaust, one would think that the ultraconservative SSPX would likewise be tempering its tone.
But it's not.
Take Father Franz Schmidberger, a member of SSPX headquarters in Germany. He went on German radio on Thursday to censure German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her critical comments about the pope's handling of the scandal and about the need to clearly condemn Holocaust denial. "She doesn't understand, after all, she's not Catholic," he said. Then he turned his attention to the Prophet Muhammad. He had "sexual contact with an eight or nine year old girl," Schmidberger said according to a statement released in advance of the interview's broadcast. "In today's terminology, we would certainly call that child molestation. But I don't want to belabor the point, I haven't specifically studied the issue."
His position on the Prophet's biography is one that is highly controversial -- and one that certainly isn't new. One year ago, a right-wing populist politician in Austria got in trouble for giving voice to the same viewpoint. And it certainly isn't the kind of stance that will further dialogue among religions. That, though, is clearly not a concern of Schmidberger's. Indeed, he also made his feelings about Judaism clear. "Christ explicitly sent his apostles into the world to convert all peoples, including the Jews, to him," he says.
In the interview, Schmidberger distanced himself from Williamson's statements regarding the Holocaust, but he did say that Holocaust deniers could certainly remain part of the Catholic Church. "As long as he remains faithful to the Catholic dogmata, of course," he said. And what about the pope's decision to lift the excommunications of the four SSPX brothers? "It was absolutely necessary, because faith has become extremely diluted and we are living in a neo-heathenish society."
Prohibited from Performing Liturgical Rites
Still, as much as SSPX members like Schmidberger talk about submitting to papal authority, it has become clear just how little they do so. On Thursday, this disobedience once again became clear. The Cologne daily Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that Bernhard Fellay, the Swiss bishop who is also the superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X, inducted so-called "minor orders" -- as the lower ranks of Catholic clergy are called -- last Sunday.
Fellay is another of the four bishops whose excommunications were recently lifted. However, the quartet remains suspended as bishops -- which means they are still prohibited by the Vatican from performing liturgical rites or administering the Sacraments.
It is, church jurist Peter Krämer told the newspaper, "an act of deliberate disobedience of the pope." It also touches on the central question now facing both the Vatican and the SSPX: Can the affair be brought under control by the pope's demand that Williamson retract his denial of the Holocaust?
Chancellor Merkel, whose comments earlier in the week placed Pope Benedict XVI under enormous pressure, signalled on Thursday that she was satisfied with his demand of Williamson. She said "it made it clear that a denial of the Holocaust can never be made without consequences." Some, though, think the pope still needs to do more.
German Green Party leader Claudia Roth is one of them. She told SPIEGEL ONLINE on Thursday that it has to be made crystal clear "that Williamson, who has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, and the anti-democratic, reactionary SSPX cannot be part of the Catholic Church." The Central Council of Jews in Germany have also demanded that the Vatican turn its back on the SSPX.
Showdown within the SSPX
The affair promises to continue. Holocaust denial is forbidden by law in Germany and on Jan. 23, public prosecutors in Bavaria opened an investigation into Williamson for incitement. Should he be found guilty, he could face a fine or even a jail term. Krah is defending him and he is basing his defense on the conditions under which the now-notorious interview -- in which Williamson told a Swedish television station that he did not believe any Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers -- was conducted. "If you give an interview in English to a Swedish television station, you can't automatically assume that it will be broadcast in Germany," Krah told SPIEGEL ONLINE. Krah also says that the two journalists who conducted the interview said there were no plans to broadcast the interview in Germany. The journalists -- Göran Svensson and Ali Fegan -- disagree. "There was no agreement with Williamson regarding when and where the interview would be broadcast," they say.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605945,00.html
SSPX IN GERMANY UNDER FIRE
Williamson's Colleagues under Fire
SSPX in Germany Criticized over Anti-Semitic Statements
Bishop Richard Williamson triggered a scandal with his comments denying the Holocaust. Now it has emerged that the German branch of the ultra-conservative SSPX has also made a number of anti-Semitic statements in its publications.
While the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is trying to practice belated damage control regarding the scandal over Bishop Richard Williamson's comments denying the Holocaust, further information has emerged about anti-Semitism within the German branch of the ultra-conservative Catholic organization.
The German branch of the SSPX is under fire over anti-Semitic comments in its publications.
The latest issue of the SSPX's newsletter for German-speaking countries, which has been obtained by SPIEGEL, contains several anti-Semitic statements. "The Jewish people were once the chosen people. But the majority of the people denied the Messiah on his first coming," reads the February issue's cover story, entitled "Signs of the End of the World." According to the newsletter article, this is why the Bible's Gospel of Matthew states, "His blood be upon us and upon our children," a phrase historically used by some Christians to justify anti-Semitism.
The newsletter also states: "And this terrible curse arose. The Jews were expelled from their country, repeatedly rejected and persecuted up until our own time." Therefore, the Jews must "convert as a people to Christ. … Eventually the mercy of God will triumph over the stubbornness and blindness of the Jewish people." The newsletter was only published last week -- long after the controversy over Williamson became public.
The German television station ARD also reported having found anti-Semitic statements in the publications of the SSPX's German branch. According to ARD, an SSPX text published in 2000 contains the following: "There is no doubt that Jewish authors played a significant role in the destruction of religious and moral values during the last two centuries." Another section reads: "The lending of money at high interest rates and the usury practiced in this way (...) made the Jews hated."
"There's some truth in there," the head of the SSPX's German branch, Father Franz Schmidberger, told ARD in an interview. However he said that the SSPX wished to "live together in peace with all people, including the Jews."
Referring to the passage about the Jews converting to Christianity, Schmidberger justified it by saying it was not an ethnic but a religious statement. He told ARD that even Saint Paul talked of "a veil which was over the Jewish people … and which prevented them from recognizing and adopting the Messiah."
The Central Council of Jews in Germany reacted angrily to the revelations. "I was alarmed to discover the SSPX has anti-Semitic attitudes," Vice President Salomon Korn said. Admittedly the statements in the SSPX's German publications could not be compared to Williamson's denial of the Holocaust, he said, "but Williamson is the tip of the iceberg."
The basis for the SSPX's ideas were ancient prejudices against Jews, he said. "Genocidal anti-Semitism grew on the basis of this religious approach, which is now centuries old. And this kind of thinking is responsible for the Nazis' crimes against humanity."
ARD also discovered that Schmidberger had said in an October 2001 speech that a desecration of a cross where, for example, an arm is torn off the figure of Christ, is objectively a greater sin than the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In the interview with ARD, the priest confirmed this statement and defended it. Reacting to the interview, the spokesman of the German Bishops' Conference, Matthias Kopp, said the statement was unacceptable.
The SSPX in other countries has been taking steps to dampen the scandal caused by Williamson's comments. On Monday, Williamson was removed from his position as head of a seminary in Argentina. The Web page of SSPX in the US has also removed an article arguing that Jews are guilty of deicide for killing Jesus. The page was viewable as recently as last Friday.
The scandal over Holocaust denial erupted at the end of January when Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of four SSPX members, including Williamson. At the time he took the step, the pope was apparently unaware of Williamson's views on the Holocaust nor was he aware of the interview with Swedish television. The ensuing scandal has seriously damaged the reputation of the Catholic Church in Germany and elsewhere.
Last week, Benedict called on Williamson to retract his views on the Holocaust. In an interview with SPIEGEL, however, Williamson rebuffed the pope, saying that he first had to study the issue. He said he was planning on reading "Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers" by Jean-Claude Pressac. "Historical evidence is at issue, not emotions," Williamson told SPIEGEL. "And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time."
On Monday, Jewish leaders in the US said after meeting with top Vatican officials that they were optimistic about Vatican-Jewish ties. A group of American Jewish leaders will meet with Pope Benedict XVI in person on Thursday to commend him for his "firm stand" on Williamson, the Associated Press reported.
With reporting by Peter Wensierski
2/10/2009
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