Catholic Church op-ed is filled with falsehoods | PennLive.com

Dr.Drane wrote an offensive and illogical editorial. As a bio-ethicist, he should restrict his pontificating to areas of medicine and its moral application. Instead, he attacks the Roman Catholic Church with ad hominem and non sequitur false arguments.

Pejorative slanders like calling the bishops ‘theologically unsophisticated’ and naïve do not prove his premise. He implies that the Catholic hierarchy is sexist and discriminates against women.  That would only be true if Holy Orders were a right every baptized human being enjoyed. On the contrary, clergy (deacons, priests and bishops) are ordained men by divine institution. Jesus Christ established ordained ministry as a gift and not as an entitlement. No Catholic male can even demand the call to Holy Orders.  There must be discernment and affirmation by the Bishop who is a successor of the Apostles. It is infallible teaching that Holy Orders is reserved to baptized males only as Pope John Paul the Great taught in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.

The Pope and Bishops alone have teaching authority, called the Magisterium. It is not extended to theologians or bioethicists. Furthermore, faith and morals are not subservient to public opinion or contemporary culture. Hence, the Church’s doctrines on marriage being reserved to one man and one woman; on the sinfulness of abortion, euthanasia and contraception; etc., are not open for debate as they are based on the truth of the immutable Natural Moral Law. Fidelity and loyalty are neither conservative nor liberal, they are just right.

Catholic Church op-ed is filled with falsehoods | PennLive.com

PAPAL MESSAGE FOR THE DIAMOND JUBILEE OF ELIZABETH II

Vatican City, 6 June 2012 (VIS) - Made public today was a message sent by the Holy Father to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom who is currently celebrating her Diamond Jubilee (sixty years since she became monarch). The English-language text bears the date of 23 May.
"I write to offer my warmest congratulations to Your Majesty on the happy occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of your reign. During the past sixty years you have offered to your subjects and to the whole world an inspiring example of dedication to duty and a commitment to maintaining the principles of freedom, justice and democracy, in keeping with a noble vision of the role of a Christian monarch.

"I retain warm memories of the gracious welcome accorded to me by Your Majesty at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh at the beginning of my apostolic visit to the United Kingdom in September 2010, and I renew my thanks for the hospitality that I received throughout those four days. Your personal commitment to cooperation and mutual respect between the followers of different religious traditions has contributed in no small measure to improving ecumenical and inter-religious relations throughout your realms.

"Commending Your Majesty and all the royal family to the protection of Almighty God, I renew my heartfelt good wishes on this joyful occasion and I assure you of my prayers for your continuing health and prosperity".

Annual Global Rosary Relay | World Priest Day

Annual Global Rosary Relay | World Priest Day

blast from the past (at least my own)

something to ponder on summer weekends

Happy Feast of Saint Joan of Arc

On a lighter note… ‘Doctor Who’ fans hack a road sign

Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say? |

exterminate

40 Hours

 

please pray for my two parishes (Our Lady of Good Counsel & St. Bernadette) 

as we celebrate our annual Forty Hours Eucharistic Adoration.

Our preacher this year is Father Brian Wayne from St. Joan of Arc, Hershey

Annual Conference Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

Annual Conference | Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

24th Anniversary of Priesthood

William Cardinal Keeler ordained me and my four classmates to the holy priesthood twenty-four years ago today.  Each year since then I have renewed my consecration of my priesthood to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Clergy and Mother of Priests.

ACT OF ENTRUSTMENT AND CONSECRATION OF PRIESTS TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Church of the Most Holy Trinity - Fátima,  Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Immaculate Mother, in this place of grace, called together by the love of your Son Jesus the Eternal High Priest, we, sons in the Son and his priests, consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart, in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.

We are mindful that, without Jesus, we can do nothing good and that only through him, with him and in him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.

Bride of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the inestimable gift of transformation in Christ. Through the same power of the Spirit that overshadowed you, making you the Mother of the Saviour, help us to bring Christ your Son to birth in ourselves too. May the Church be thus renewed by priests who are holy, priests transfigured by the grace of him who makes all things new.

Mother of Mercy, it was your Son Jesus who called us to become like him: light of the world and salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14).

Help us, through your powerful intercession, never to fall short of this sublime vocation, nor to give way to our selfishness, to the allurements of the world and to the wiles of the Evil One.

Preserve us with your purity, guard us with your humility and enfold us with your maternal love that is reflected in so many souls consecrated to you, who have become for us
true spiritual mothers.

Mother of the Church, we priests want to be pastors who do not feed themselves but rather give themselves to God for their brethren, finding their happiness in this. Not only with words, but with our lives, we want to repeat humbly, day after day, Our “here I am”.

Guided by you, we want to be Apostles of Divine Mercy, glad to celebrate every day the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar and to offer to those who request it the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace, you who are fully immersed in the one universal mediation of Christ, invoke upon us, from God, a heart completely renewed that loves God with all its strength and serves mankind as you did.

Repeat to the Lord your efficacious word: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3), so that the Father and the Son will send upon us a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Full of wonder and gratitude at your continuing presence in our midst, in the name of all priests I too want to cry out: “Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).

Our Mother for all time, do not tire of “visiting us”, consoling us, sustaining us. Come to our aid and deliver us from every danger that threatens us. With this act of entrustment and consecration, we wish to welcome you more deeply, more radically, for ever and totally into our human and priestly lives.

Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth in the desert of our loneliness, let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness, let it restore calm after the tempest, so that all mankind shall see the salvation of the Lord, who has the name and the face of Jesus, who is reflected in our hearts, for ever united to yours! Amen!


© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
---

Parish Priest's Prayer to Mary Most Holy

O Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen,
Mother of the Church, a priestly people (1 Pet 2,9),
Mother of priests, ministers of your Son:
accept the humble offering of myself,
so that in my pastoral mission
the infinite mercy of Eternal High Priest
may be proclaimed:
O "Mother of Mercy".

You who shared the "priestly obedience" (Heb 10, 5-7; Lk 1, 38),
of your Son,
and who prepared for him a worthy receptacle
by the anointing of the Holy Spirit,
keep my priestly life in the ineffable mystery
of your divine maternity,
"Holy Mother of God".

Grant me strength in the dark hours of this life,
support me in the exertions of my ministry
entrust me to Jesus,
so that, in communion with you,
I may fulfil the ministry with fidelity and love,
O Mother of the Eternal Priest
"Queen of Apostles and Help of Priests".

Make me faithful to the flock
entrusted to me by the Good Shepherd,
You silently accompanied Jesus
on his mission to proclaim
the Gospel to the poor.

May I always guide it
with patience, sweetness
firmness and love,
caring for the sick,
the weak, the poor and sinners,
O "Mother, Help of the Christian People".

I consecrate and entrust myself to you , Mary,
who shared in the work of redemption
at the Cross of your Son,
you who "are inseparably linked to the work of salvation".

Grant that in the exercise of my ministry
I may always be aware of the "stupendous and penetrating dimension of your maternal presence"
in every moment of my life,
in prayer, and action,
in joy and sorrow, in weariness and in rest,
O "Mother of Trust".

Grant, Holy Mother, than in the celebration of the Mass,
source and centre of the priestly ministry,
that I may live my closeness to Jesus
in your maternal closeness to Him,
so that as "we celebrate the Holy Mass you will be present with us"
and introduce us to the redemptive mystery of your divine Son's offering
"O Mediatrix of all grace flowing from this sacrifice to the Church and to all the faithful"
O "Mother of Our Saviour".

O Mary: I earnestly desire to place my person
and my desire for holiness
under your maternal protection and inspiration
so that you may bring me to that "conformation with Christ, Head and Shepherd"
which is necessary for the ministry of every parish priest.

Make me aware
that "you are always close to priests"
in your mission of servant
of the One Mediator, Jesus Christ:
O "Mother of Priests"
"Benefactress and Mediatrix"
of all graces.

Amen.

Il Volo - Mamma "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY"

Il Volo - Mamma - YouTube

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Forest Murmurs: Confraternity of Catholic Clergy Northern Branch

Forest Murmurs: Confraternity of Catholic Clergy Northern Branch: Yesterday two of us from Hexham and Newcastle set of early to reach Leyland to attend the meeting of the Northern Chapter of the British branch of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy

Never underestimate the self-giving of the Catholic priesthood | CatholicHerald.co.uk

Never underestimate the self-giving of the Catholic priesthood | CatholicHerald.co.uk

Update

Mom is out of ER & in private room. Drs gave her glucose & lasix. Blood sugar back to safe range. Probably will B in hosp. over weekend. Please continue your prayers

Urgent prayers needed !!!

My mom was rushed to ER for extremely low blood sugar. Please keep her in prayer. Very serious.

North America - EWTN

ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM SKURLA ENTHRONEMENT ON EWTN

North America - EWTN

Cathedrals Across America:

Enthronement Of William C. Skurla As The 5th Metropolitan Archbishop Of The Archeparchy Of Pittsburg

Sun. May 6 at 1:30 PM ET, Mon. May 7 at 12 AM ET on EWTN television

Metropolitan Archbishop-elect William C. Skurla, D.D. has been appointed as the fifth Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and head of the Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Pittsburgh, the only Eastern Catholic Metropolitan Church sui iuris (self-governing) in the United States.

Regina Cleri (Queen of the Clergy) ora pro nobis

Our Lady

Queen of the Clergy

and

Mother of Priests

pray for us

Deacons and Priests of the

Confraternity of Catholic Clergy



Election 2012 (Official HD Version - Catholic)

Test of Fire: Election 2012 (Official HD Version - Catholic) - YouTube

Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

Noted priest: Come November, Catholics should vote for...

April 16, 2012

By Matt C. Abbott

I asked noted Catholic priest-author-EWTN personality — and president of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy — Father John Trigilio Jr. (who thankfully is recovering from a serious automobile accident he was involved in on March 16) to answer the following question:

Taking all things into consideration, would it be better for a Catholic to vote for President Obama or Mitt Romney?

Now, as you'll see, Father Trigilio won't say specifically who you should vote for, but I think, if you read between the lines, you'll know who he believes you shouldn't vote for. I'll even give you a hint as to who that candidate is (the one you shouldn't vote for): His last name rhymes with "Osama."

Here's Father's response (slightly edited):

Legally and morally speaking, as a Catholic priest and pastor, I cannot and will not tell my parishioners (or anyone, for that matter) who they should vote for in an election. I can say who I myself will choose in the voting booth, but I won't since we have a wonderful tradition in the United States of the secret ballot.

Nevertheless, as an ordained priest of the Catholic Church and as a pastor of two parishes, I can and must inform my people of the principles they need to know and use in their selection of a candidate. Pope Benedict XVI, while he was still Josef Cardinal Ratzinger and prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope John Paul II, issued a statement in June 2004. That document explicitly states that abortion and euthanasia are always grave and mortal sins. Furthermore, not only are politicians who support abortion guilty of formal cooperation in evil, voters are likewise culpable if [they] were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate's permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia. This is found in the Nota Bene found at the end of the letter.

What happens, though, when the voter is pro-life and the candidate-politician is pro-abortion (alias 'pro-choice')? Cardinal Ratzinger continues: "When a Catholic does not share a candidate's stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons."

This sentence, like any verse in the Bible, must be taken in context with the entire document in order to be accurately understood and interpreted. The N.B. is attached to the entire letter, and specifically paragraph three states emphatically:


'Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.'
There it is in plain English. There is no legitimate diversity of opinion among Catholics with regard to abortion and euthanasia. Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia.

The 'proportionate reasons' is an essential qualifier. Hence, if there are only two candidates running for the office of president, senator, representative, governor, and so on, and both are pro-abortion, a Catholic may vote for one of them (1) as long as they do not personally agree (which would be formal cooperation in evil) and (2) they must choose the candidate who is more pro-life or less pro-abortion than his or her opponent.

In other words, Candidate A favors unrestricted abortions on demand at any time of pregnancy, and Candidate B only tolerates abortion in cases of rape, incest and when the life of mother is in jeopardy. Neither position conforms to the natural moral law or the magisterial teachings of the Church. Yet, the lesser of two evils can be tolerated when there is no alternative. Whether Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian or tea party, when the choice is between two candidates who are not 100 percent pro-life/anti-abortion, the one who is more pro-life and less 'pro-choice' must be selected over his or her opponent.

Even though there are many valid and important issues (like the economy, the environment, death penalty, war, health care, family and marriage rights), there is a hierarchy of values. The right to life trumps all other rights and privileges. The Declaration of Independence clearly states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Notice that the inalienable right to life is mentioned first, even before liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is no 'right' to an abortion. Abortion is legal, but so was slavery and racial segregation at one time in America. There is no 'right' to contraception, either. Both abortion and contraception are legal in the United States, but they do not and should not be financed by the government since the taxpayers are the ones who pay the bills.

Bottom line is that no priest, deacon or bishop needs to say who to vote for in any election. We do not and should not mention any names or political parties. On the other hand, we must and are obliged to inform our people of their moral duty to use a well-formed conscience in choosing a candidate. Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) and the CDF made it crystal clear: Not all moral issues are of the same moral weight. The right to life is paramount; economic, environmental, military, and social issues are secondary, if not tertiary. When the choice is between a candidate who manifests his or her pro-abortion position and a candidate who professes to be pro-life, the moral obligation is to choose life by choosing the pro-life politician.

It is not that we are single-issue voters, but there is a proportion, a hierarchy of values in which the right to life outweighs all other concerns. The unjust killing of innocent lives is not eclipsed or overshadowed by any other concern. When there are two candidates whose stand on abortion is basically the same, then other issues can and must be brought into the equation to make a prudent vote. When Election Day comes this November, we should know well who is more pro-life and who is more 'pro-choice.' Then our well-formed conscience should tell us to choose the former over the latter.

Axios

Today, Fathers Ken Brighenti, Dennis Dalessandro and I attended the Divine Liturgy of Enthronement of Archbishop William Skurla as Metropolitan of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh for the Ruthenians. Byzantine bliss.

CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO

another video



Timothy Cardinal Dolan & Archbishop William Skurla

Easter in Marysville

Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen

Resurrexit sicut dixit

Catholic Clergy in America say NO to Colleagues in Austria: say YES to Pope in Rome

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HARRISBURG, PA (6 April 2012)

Five hundred priests and deacons of the national association, the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, pledge their complete loyalty and obedience to the Pope and Magisterium and, by means of fraternal correction, exhort their dissident Austrian brothers of the 'Pfarrer Initiative' to repent and recant. Disobedience among deacons, priests and bishops is not only scandalous to the faithful but injurious to the Mystical Body of Christ (the Church). We are not just resigned to the discipline of celibacy and merely tolerant of the doctrine of a male priesthood, we totally accept and embrace them. The marks of the Church (one, holy, catholic and apostolic) are personified in the Petrine ministry. Hence, to obey the Pope is to obey the Church, the Bride of Christ. Like Judas who betrayed Christ, dissident clergy betray the same Lord by their prideful refusal of submission to lawful authority.

Dissent from Magisterial teaching and disobedience to Papal authority are incompatible with Catholic Christianity. Jesus founded the Church and instituted the Sacraments. Holy Orders is one of the sacraments and it is the essence of the hierarchy (which means an orderly chain of command). The soul of Holy Orders is obedience. Clergy must lead by example, as did Our Lord, who submitted to the will of His Father. When Deacons, Priests and Bishops disobey the Church and her chief shepherd, the Pope, they do a grave disservice to the people they have been sent to serve.

The CCC professes allegiance to the Holy Father, especially in all matters of faith and morals. We see obedience to the authority of the Church as obedience to Christ. As the Bishop of Rome, the Pope is head of the Church. Vatican II and the Catechism (1992) define his authority as, "supreme, full, immediate, and universal," by divine institution.

Rev. Fr. John Trigilio, Jr., President of the Confraternity said: "As all priests renew their promise of obedience each year, we urge our fellow clergy all over the world to imitate Jesus in His humility. Pride prevents one from obeying. Jesus who was Priest, Prophet and King, founded the Church so she could continue His work of teaching, sanctifying and shepherding. He simultaneously created ordained ministry in order to implement that three-fold mission. Hence the deacons, priests and bishops of the Church exist to serve and service is substantially obedience. The cleric submits his will as did the Son to the Father."

on the mend

I want to thank Father Zuhlsdorf, Matt Abbott and everyone on the internet who was kind enough to keep me in their prayers. On Friday, March 16th, I was in an automobile accident. After spending three days in ICU at Clearfield Hospital (Pennsylvania), I was discharged and my Deacon Jim Rush drove me back to my parish. Although there were no broken bones (Deo gratias), I did incur injuries to my leg, arm, chest and lower torso (severe bruising and contusions).  My Guardian Angel deserves a raise and promotion as I am most grateful for no breaks or fractures and am VERY grateful to be alive.  I was driving back to my parish after visiting my mother in Erie. She had major surgery on her spine last month in Pittsburgh. The operation was successful but she encountered several complications which placed her in ICU for a few days. She was then discharged and taken to skilled nursing facility in her home town of Erie.  I was driving (300+ miles one way) every week to be with her.  The Blessed Mother has been watching over her (and me).

I turned 50 on March 31st and sat with the elderly and handicapped priests at the Chrism Mass last Monday at the Harrisburg Cathedral. I was the youngest one in that pew but felt like the rest of my infirm brethren.  We had to watch that our canes did not fall on the floor during the Bishop's homily.  Father Ken Brighenti (Vice Rector of Mount St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, MD) has been very good in helping me recuperate and my doctor is pleased with my slow but steady recovery. I have been overwhelmed by the many cards and emails from friends at EWTN, Catholic Answers Radio, readers of our Dummies' series and those of you who read this humble blog.  Your prayers and support for both me and my mother are an invaluable treasure.  It will take some weeks for my wounds to fully heal but I am most fortunate the Good Lord and His Blessed Mother have never left my side.  Please continue to pray for mom as she, too, slowly recovers.

Please pray for my schoolmate Bishop William Skurla as he prepares to be installed as Archeparch of Pittsburgh for the Ruthenians on April 18.
GOD GRANT HIM MANY YEARS

Please pray for the soul of my late cousin, Father Stefan Katarzynski, a priest of the Diocese of Erie, who died today (April 5) in 1978. He was found murdered in his rectory. His parish had been beset with robberies and there was an active Satanic cult in the area at the time. Father Steve (as we called him) was very influential in me entering High School Seminary. He and my late pastor, Msgr. Ennis Connelly, were true role models, along with my mentor and dear friend, Father Bob Levis (who lives down the hall from my mother at the same nursing home).  REQUIESCAT IN PACE

BUONA PASQUA

PERSONAL PRAYER REQUEST

  Liz Trigilio on left

My mother is having major surgery this Wednesday, Feb. 29th to treat severe spinal stenosis. 

PLEASE keep her in your prayers. She has several risk factors including aortic stenosis, so the operation will be serious.

The discalced Carmelites in Erie, Poor Clares in Hanceville and Sister Servants of the Eternal Word in Irondale, AL, are all praying and I ask EVERYONE to join in.

Constitutional Law and Natural Moral Law Abomination

President Obama and Health and Human Services Sebelius have not given Catholic Americans a real alternative. The original mandate compelled Catholic institutions (other than churches, parishes and dioceses) to provide and fully subsidize contraceptives and abortifacients to any and all employees who asked for them. This was obviously reprehensible for it violated Natural and Divine Law which condemns these items as material cooperation in evil.

Abortifacients are the worst for they actually and directly kill a new embryo before implantation in the uterine wall. Once conception (fertilization of the female egg by the male sperm) takes place, a new and distinct human being exists, body and soul. The DNA of the new human is not identical to the mother’s, but similar. In every cell and organ of her body, the same DNA resides but in the embryo is a different DNA as it is the building block of a NEW human person now growing within his/her mother. Abortifacients do not prevent conception, they prevent implantation. They force the woman’s body to eject a non-viable fetus, which is defined as ABORTION. This is an unjust killing of an innocent human being and is murder plain and simple.

Contraception, on the other hand, is the prevention of fertilization. It nevertheless violates the Natural Moral Law since every conjugal act of human sexual intercourse is simultaneously dual oriented to love (unity) and life (procreation). Artificially separating procreation from marital unity (of husband and wife) is immoral and sinful as we were reminded by Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae. Contraceptive sex and test tube conceptions are both wrong for the same reason. Human sexuality is a gift not a right. God allows human beings to participate in the act of creating a new human person, hence the term PRO-CREATION. New human life is meant and intended to take place within the confines a human family, i.e., with mom and dad as husband and wife living together in the same home as one family.

Making Catholic schools and hospitals provide free contraceptives and abortifacients (by assuming the cost totally themselves is completely unjust, unfair and unconstitutional. The government was trying to compel religious institutions to violate their own moral code which of itself is violation of civil law. The US Constitution has a Bill of Rights, FIRST of which is the FREEDOM OF RELIGION. It is not the freedom FROM religion but the freedom OF religion. This freedom is mentioned before the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and freedom to bear arms. Nowhere in the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, etc., is there a freedom to have contraceptives on demand and without cost. President Obama and Secretary Sebelius (and Planned Parenthood) were attempting to violate the Natural Moral Law and replace it with immoral civil positive law. Contraception is legal in America. That was not always the case. Married couples could not legally obtain contraceptives until 1965 and unmarried couples until 1972. All mainline Protestant churches and denominations condemned abortion and contraception until the Lambeth Conference of 1930.

Now it is 2012 and the US Government wants to make it mandatory that women have FREE access to contraceptives. While the Catholic Church condemns artificial birth control, she realizes that in a pluralistic democratic-republic such as ours, the majority of citizens may not agree and thus these items may be legally permitted. Permission is different from obligation, however. Mandating the free access of something which violates the moral and spiritual conscience of others is an abuse of secular power. The State cannot impose material cooperation in evil. It is immoral and violates the very definition of a just and valid law.

Lex est quaedam rationis ordinatio ad bonum commune, ab eo qui curam communitatis habet, promulgata 
(law is a command of reason for the common good, promulgated by the one who has care of the community) 
This definition of law as found in the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas is the basis for all human law, ecclesiastical and civil. The Nuremberg Laws were not for the common good and were therefore immoral and de facto invalid.  Immoral laws are sins of the legislator. Complying with immoral laws are sins of the citizens.

Cardinal Elect Dolan and the USCCB were totally correct and proper in their public denunciation of this mandate. Moving the financial obligation, however, from Catholic schools and hospitals to insurance companies does not make the mandate moral or acceptable.

The mandate itself is wrong, immoral and sinful from the believer’s conscience which the FIRST AMMENDMENT protects. The material cooperation in evil still takes place, albeit now by means of the insurance companies instead of Catholic schools and hospitals. What if these institutions are SELF-INSURED? Would it not be the same result? There are Catholic insurance companies. What about the moral and spiritual consciences of the Board of Directors and stock holders of the insurance companies? Why must they be compelled to pay for something which by definition is a CHOICE? Contraception is not a medical procedure, it is an optional treatment called VOLUNTARY, DISCRETIONARY and ELECTIVE. Therefore, it is unfair and unjust to compel anyone to pay for this, in part or in whole. Neither the tax payer (via the state) nor the church nor the insurance company should pay one cent for contraception. Since it is readily available at every pharmacy and supermarket today, there is no burden being placed on citizens to obtain at their own cost such non-essential medical devices.

Even though the liberal press and media glamorize the scandal that most Catholic couples use contraceptives despite the Magisterial condemnation of them, this HHS mandate is not about the use but about the subsidizing and supplying of contraceptives. Should store owners be compelled to sell pornography if they find such things offensive and immoral? What if the government told businesses they had to supply (at cost) prostitutes for their employees (male or female)? Telling schools and hospitals they or their insurance companies have to provide contraception is no different. Legally obtainable items are not de fact morally acceptable items.

The First Amendment GUARANTEES that religion is RESPECTED and PROTECTED. It is also evident that there is no state church, no national religion per se. Yet, our founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution were formed on and from a Judaeo-Christian ethic and background. Inalienable rights come from GOD not the state. While no one religion is to be established, neither are any religions to be impeded from free exercise. Therefore, the First Amendment guarantees that Catholic hospitals, schools, organizations, institutions and insurance companies can reject any request to supply and/or subsidize (partially or in full) any procedure or treatment considered a violation of religious conscience.

The so-called right to privacy the Supreme Court invented with Roe v. Wade and which many in Congress invoke to shove contraception down our throats does not exist in either the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. There is no amendment protecting such a theoretical construct. The right to life, however, is a pillar of our American society. The unborn have an inalienable right to life. Some contraceptives work in fact as abortifacients and therefore unconstitutionally rob the innocent of their lives.

Shifting the costs of contraceptives to insurance companies is merely a shell game and glamorous example of presidential prestidigitation. Merely a slight of hand trick, in reality this revised mandate is the same as before. Elective and optional treatments are being forced upon those whose moral conscience finds these methods objectionable. Next, the government will compel businesses and institutions to pay for medical gender change operations if this goes unchallenged. Same sex marriages will be imposed on churches soon after they are legal in all fifty states. Then what is to stop bigamous marriages to follow? If it is not legal to defend the tradition of one man and one woman, then neither is it legal to restrict marriage to just two people. Logic and reason show that once conscience is suppressed, then all is in danger.

This is not a republican-democrat issue per se and neither is it a battle between Obama supporters and Obama opponents. It is not a war between CNN and Fox-News. This is a constitutional and natural moral law violation. If female employees (or male for that matter) want contraceptives, then like cigarettes and alcohol, which are also legal items, let them obtain these things on their own time with their own money. Forcing institutions, schools, hospitals, churches, businesses or governments to pay for them in part or in whole; to provide them in any way, shape or form, is WRONG, IMMORAL and UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Protestants, Jews and Muslims will be joining us one way or another, either to protest together or to suffer together if these offensive procedures become law of the land.

Our bishops have made a courageous stand and the clergy and laity need to compliment them for it. This cannot be a fight for the episcopacy alone. Lay citizens have an active role to play, however, in VOTING and ELECTING and even RUNNING FOR OFFICE which clergy cannot and should not do. To do nothing would be a sin of omission at the very least, which sadly some did at Nuremburg during the 1930’s and in the USA during the time of slavery and segregation.

Father Michael Anthony Vogt, OSFS

Attended the ordination of seminary schoolmate in Wilmington, DE. Bishop Malooly ordained Mike Vogt at Salesianum HS today at 11:30 am. Fr Ken Brighenti and I went to school with newly ordained back in the 1980's (along with Bishop Skurla) and five of us went to Rome in June 1985 for the ordination of our colleage Fr. Dominick

Youth a strong presence at DC March for Life :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Youth a strong presence at DC March for Life :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

2012 March for Life

New Metropolitan Archbishop for the Ruthenians

     
We were schoolmates in major seminary

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Most Reverend William C. Skurla, as metropolitan archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
 
He will be enthroned in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2012.
 
Skurla was born in Duluth, Minn., on June 1, 1956, the son of the late John and Mavis Skurla. He attended Catholic and public elementary schools and graduated in 1974 from Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn.
 
He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1981 with a concentration in philosophy. He then studied at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Northampton County, receiving a master's of divinity in 1986 and a master's of theology in 1987.
 
Skurla entered the Byzantine Franciscan community in Sybertsville, Luzerne County, in 1981. He was ordained a priest in 1987 at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in Freeland, also in Luzerne county.
 
He served as pastoral administrator at St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church in Tucson, Ariz., from 1993 until 2002.
 
He was enthroned as bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys on April 23, 2002 in Phoenix.
 
In December of 2007 he was appointed bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic and was enthroned at St. Michael Cathedral, Passaic N.J., on Jan. 29, 2008.
 
Skurla, 55, succeeds Metropolitan Archbishop Basil M. Schott, who died after a short illness in June 2010.
 
The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the only self-governing Eastern Catholic Church in the United States, meaning it is directly under the authority of the pope rather than a Catholic patriarch in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. It stretches from Erie to Texas and has 58,000 parishioners and 65 priests in 78 parishes.

Urbi et Orbe

Some scenes from the Eternal City during our current visit (Fr Brighenti & I)

Happy Catholic: Going to the Heart of the Matter: Reviewing "Catho...

Happy Catholic: Going to the Heart of the Matter: Reviewing "Catholic Mass for Dummies.": For the Ordinary form, the Roman Rite uses the following colors: [...] Red: Used for Pentecost; Palm Sunday; Passion of the Lord; feasts ...

Homily 2011-12-16 - Fr John Trigilio - Ph D - Th D - Advent Weekday

Homily 2011-12-15 - Fr John Trigilio Ph D - Th D - Advent Weekday

Homily 2011-12-12 - Fr John Trigilio Ph D - Th D - Our Lady of Guadalupe

Homily 2011-12-13 - Fr Ken Brighenti Ph D - St Lucy - Virgin - Martyr

Homily 2011-12-14 - Fr Ken Brighenti Ph D - St John of the Cross - Pries...

Bambinelli / Gaudete Sunday

    

This weekend is not only GAUDETE SUNDAY but also Bambinelli Sunday when the Pope blesses the Baby Jesus figurines brought by the children of Rome to be blessed by the Successor of Saint Peter.  Began by Pope John Paul the Great, parishes around the world now invite the wee people to make a connection with the nativity set at home and the local church where they worship each weekend.  More than mere decoration, the Christmas Creche was created by Saint Francis of Assisi to make the Christmas celebration what it is supposed to be, a RELIGIOUS EVENT.

God our Father,
you loved us so much
you sent us your only Son,
Jesus,
born of the Virgin Mary,
to save us and lead us back to
you.

We pray that, with your blessing,
these images of Jesus might
be
a sign of your presence and love
in our homes.

Good
Father,
give your blessing
to all who gather with us this
Christmas,
family and friends.

Open our hearts,
that we might
receive Jesus in joy,
do always what he asks of us
and see him in those
who need our love.

We ask this in the name of Jesus,
your beloved Son,
who came to give peace to the world.
You who live and reign forever and
ever.

Amen

BTW, thank for all the prayers for my Mom while she is hospitalized.
She is doing better and although she still needs two major surgeries either before or after the New Year, her trust in Divine Providence is truly inspiring.

prayer request for mother

    

Please keep my mom (LIZ TRIGILIO) in prayer.  I took her to Lourdes in November, 2008.  She has been in the hospital since last Wednesday when her blood pressure became dangerously high (severe acute hypertension).  She also needs operations on her heart and on her back (lower spine) once she is well enough for surgery.  Mom will be 78 next February. A widow since 1998, my mother buried three of her four children before my dad died. Both of them took exemplary care of my brother Michael during his short life of 26 years battling Muscular Dystrophy followed by my father's battle with leukemia. He died six months after my younger brother Joseph was killed by an underage drunk driver who never spent one day in jail nor one dime in fines.

Thanksgiving was a very quiet day as she was too weak and too ill to leave the house or even to get out of bed.  Deo volente, she will be discharged before this weekend and be on the road to recovery soon.  The Discalced Cloistered Carmelites in Erie need her as she is sort of an extern in that she helps out as one of the sacristans and as a gal-Friday doing shopping and driving the nuns to doctor appointments now and then. My brother Mark and I appreciate your kindness in offering any prayers you can for our dear and beloved mother. Being 300+ miles away (from my parish to her home) makes it difficult but the Good Lord and His Holy Mother have blessed us with the help of some very good friends and family members.

   If anyone would like to send a get well card, please address it to:
LIZ TRIGILIO
c/o CARMELITE MONASTERY
510 EAST GORE RD
ERIE, PA  16509-3799

Double-Standard

USA Today says there are parallels between Penn State sex scandal and the Catholic Priest sex scandals. In one sense, they are right. In another, they are dead wrong.

On the one hand, ANY and EVERY act of sex abuse of a child (pedophilia) or teenager (ephebophilia) is a heinous crime and most grave moral sin. EVERY sex abuser, regardless of their gender, religion, occupation should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Yet, we also live in a democratic republic where the rule of law states that EVERYONE IS PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. Even Roman Law (the basis for ecclesiastical canon law) guarantees DUE PROCESS for anyone accused. The burden of proof rests with the accuser not the accused.

However, when it comes to clergy, because a handful of bishops botched the situation by ignoring complaints or clandestinely transferring known or accused sex abusers, due process is sometimes denied. When a priest is accused of sexually abusing a minor, he must (by Dallas Charter) immediately be removed from public office and then an investigation ensues. When a bishop is accused, however, he does not step down.

LIkewise, when a civilian (layman) is accused, he retains his civil liberties and constitutional rights. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty..

Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with allegedly sexually abusing eight boys (pre-pubescent) over a period of 15 years. He was an assistant coach to the famous Head Coach Joe Paterno.  While immediate superiors were alerted no one made sure that a follow up full disclosure be made to the local police.

While it is horrible that any acts of child sex abuse ever take place, we must admit the disgusting reality that perversion knows no boundaries.

Catholic Priests, Protestant Ministers, Jewish Rabbis, single celibate men and maried men alike, black and white, poor and rich alike; parents, siblings, relatives and neighbors, coaches and scout masters, teachers and others have committed vile acts against children. If you crunch the numbers and do the math, you'll see that Catholic Clergy are NOT the most populous offenders.

CNN did a special the other day on defrocked Catholic priests who were accused of pedophilia but never convicted for their crimes they committed on innocent victims. Problem is that MANY if not MOST perverts can legally buy or rent homes in local neighborhoods near innocent CHILDREN. But the report made it seem as if ONLY ex-Catholic Clergy were the villans and no one else. POPPYCOCK. !!!  Most child abuse is done by parents, siblings and close relatives. Yet, one case is one too many. Pedophilia is not a Catholic nor a celibate issue.  It is a perversion and an immoral evil which do not discriminate victims or perpetrators.   

Fools for Christ / Catholic Dummies

Saint Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:10 that "we are fools for Christ."

The original Greek word used in the sacred text was μωροὶ (moroi), the root word for the English word MORON.

No one takes offense at this literary device which obviously does not convey a literal interpretation. It is a figure of speech. It is a METAPHOR. Saint Paul did not intend to offend his brother Christians. He was using a biblical theme, however, that in the eyes of the world, the man of faith appears foolish. The secular world does not believe in God nor in the immortal soul nor in life after death. Certainly, the secularist does not believe in the resurrection (of Christ or of the dead in general). For believers, death is merely going to sleep. The secularists consider Christian doctrine of soul and the hereafter as foolish nonsense since it cannot be proved empirically. Earlier in his epistle to the church in Corinth, Saint Paul says "we preach Christ crucified, a scandal to Jews and a folly ( μωρίαν = morian) to Greeks."

Hence, the interpretation of ANY word depends on the CONTEXT. 
Fr. Levis said a million times on WEB OF FAITH that whenever you take a TEXT out of CONTEXT you get a PRETEXT.

Therefore, the use of the word DUMMIES in the titles of our books is meant to be METAPHORICAL and not literal. It is a figure of speech in the same line and tradition of Saint Paul when he says we are FOOLS FOR CHRIST. He neither insults Jesus nor His followers.

The title, by the way, is copyrighted and owned by the Wiley Publishing Co.  They hired (contracted) me and Father Ken Brighenti to write CATHOLICISM FOR DUMMIES (and four other titles: Women in the Bible for Dummies; John Paul II for Dummies; Saints for Dummies: and Catholic Mass for Dummies)

The SECOND EDITION of CATHOLICISM FOR DUMMIES has just been printed and is now available on line (Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble), at your local Catholic bookstore and at EWTN Religious Catalog

The Dummies series has over 800+ titles, from Cats for Dummies and Dogs for Dummies to Quantum Physics for Dummies and Differential Calculus for Dummies. The premise is that the book is about a serious topic but written in such a way that the reader does NOT have to be an expert to understand the book. Yet, every now and then we get emails from devout and good people who take exception to the title and feel offended. Our purpose and intent was NOT to insult any more than Saint Paul meant to offend the Corinthians. In fact, most college and high school students have read several different varieties of Dummies (and Complete Idiot's Guide) to many, many subjects, including the Bible for Dummies and Latin for Dummies, just to mention two off hand. Knowing that, we secured IMPRIMATURS for CATHOLICISM FOR DUMMIES (1st and 2nd editions) as well as CATHOLIC MASS FOR DUMMIES. This allows the books to be used in RCIA, CCD, adult education, et al.  Fallen away Catholics, adult children and alumni of Catholic grade schools have found the books helpful in reintroducing them to the Catholic faith.

Catholicism for Dummies conforms to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (hence, the granting of the imprimatur). Not all books in this genre have that authentic seal of orthodoxy. We used the structure of the FOUR PILLARS OF FAITH (the Creed, the Seven Sacraments, the Ten Commandments and the Our Father or Lord's Prayer) as the CCC uses to organize the material and thus covering Catholic doctrine, worship, morality and spirituality.

Father Brighenti and I hope you will enjoy and find the 2nd Edition of CFD an easy read but also an edifying one in that it wets your whistle to read more about the faith.
The recently released (a few months ago) CATHOLIC MASS FOR DUMMIES has a history of Mass, explains the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite, the Byzantine and Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgy, the use of Latin and the Vernacular, vestments and vessels, Holy days, liturgical year and liturgical calendars, etc.

The upcoming changes in the English translation of the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal are also explained just in time for the implementation in North America November 27.

Now they call us the "Dummies' Priests" and I say, "but we are ALL fools for Christ." I URGE Catholic parents (whether your son or daughter is in high school or college) especially if they are grown up and living on their own but no longer practice the faith, PLEASE, get our book and strategically leave it in your son or daughter's home nice time you visit.  Don't give it to them outright.  Don't leave it on the kitchen table (or dining room table or living room table for that matter).  Leave it in the bathroom or mix it in with their other periodicals, newspapers and printed reading materials. That way, they MIGHT glance at it when NO ONE IS LOOKING or when no one is around. 9 times out of 10, they read more than a page or two. Many read more than one chapter. I have been told by lots of Catholic parents that their adult children who WERE lukewarm or who defected to other religions, have now been reconsidering their position and a good number actually approach their local parish priest or campus Catholic chaplain.

I know some may think this a shameful self-promotion but that is not true. I meet, speak, email, with many Catholic parents who wonder where did they go wrong and why are their adult children no longer practicing Catholics. Some of the blame goes to horrible inadequate catechesis. CCD and religion books in the days before the Catechism (pre-1992) had sociology and psychology replacing theology. Butterflies and pet rocks replaced the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Some of the blame goes to whacky priests and nuns who live in a time warp and refuse to admit that the '60's are OVER. Woodstock is long gone. Some blame goes to lax parents who presumed their local parish and parochial school would teach the unadulterated faith to their kids and never checked it out by ASKING Johnny or Susie what they learned in CCD or religion class. Some blame goes to so-called Catholic colleges who hired dissidents and gave them tenure so students could be brainwashed to accept heterodoxy while mommy and daddy paid outrageous tuition fees. Some blame goes to bishops who did not investigate seminaries and colleges in their dioceses to make sure EX CORDE ECCLESIAE was implemented and that the Catechism would be taught and known by teacher and student alike in all levels of Catholic education. Some blame goes to pastors who did not review catechetical material and just gave carte blanche to DRE's who never took theology classes but did attend workshops and seminars given by ex-priests, femme-nazi nuns (incognito, of course) and unorthodox liturgists who have monosyllabic names. Enough blame to go around for everyone, I guess. But now, with the revised English translation and the implementation of Summorum Pontificum allowing universal celebration of the Extraordinary Form, there is GREAT HOPE a Catholic Renaissance will unfold. REVERENCE for the HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS and RESPECT for the Magisterium will have a reciprocal effect. LEX ORANDI, LEX CREDENDI. Our Holy rituals and rites are organically and integrally connected to the holy truths of our holy religion. Previous eras attempted to desecrate our church by removing sacred language, sacred art, and sacred science. Secular and pedestrian language (prayers and hymns), secular (a.k.a. modern) art, and secular humanism crept in over the past half century but God gave us JP2 and B16 to steer the barque of Peter back on course. More young people know their faith, love their faith and practice their faith than the secular media portrays. WYD attracts myriads and unlike the occupy Wallstreet gang, there are no incidents of violence, disrespect, or misbehavior. There are two or three middle generations who need prayers and guidance. There is no such thing as a 'lost' generation, just an uncatechized (or often, a poorly or improperly catechized) one.

 

Why Priests are Happy and Sometimes Not

Recently, I attended a symposium on the priesthood at Catholic University of America. The keynote speaker was Msgr. Stephen Rossetti. He spoke on the data he included in his recent book “Why Priests Are Happy: A study of the psychological and spiritual health of priests.”  The evidence speaks for itself. Most priests are in fact happy BEING priests. A few, in fact a very small minority, are unhappy and regret making promises of celibacy and obedience. These fellows are much like their lay counterparts who regret either their choice of spouse or even being married at all. There will always be a few who did not choose properly and perhaps were too immature at the time or were pressured to make such an important and lifelong decision. Nevertheless, the commitment to one’s spouse, be it a woman or the Church, is a decision for life. That is told to men before they make it and it is reiterated throughout their lives. Society on the other hand, tells these guys that no decision is forever. Modern culture thrives on the supremacy of the ego, hence, some people disregard solemn oaths ‘until death do us part.’ Priesthood (in the Latin Rite) is a marriage of the ordained man to his spouse, the Church. And like all married men, that marital bond is intended for life even if one later realizes he made a mistake. The time to change your mind is BEFORE saying ‘I do’ whether to a bride or to a bishop.

Where I take variance with Monsignor Rossetti is that while most priests are happy being priests, which includes celibacy and obedience, not all enjoy how priests are treated. A very few may resent getting up in three in the morning to anoint a dying person at the nursing home or may regret sacrificing a wife and kids to comfort them in late middle age and beyond. Those kind of priests who fortunately few and far between. Most priests know it comes with the job and they offer it up for a higher purpose. What many priests dislike, however, is when they feel like they work for a corporation more than for a family of faith.

The corporate business model some bishops and dioceses espouse make pastors feel like middle management and not as spiritual shepherds of the local, neighborhood flock. Most priests do love the priesthood. Most love being priests and doing priestly work. Most are willing to sacrifice time, opportunity and reward for the higher good of saving souls. What most priests do NOT like is the often oppressive bureaucracy emanating from diocesan headquarters. Canon law and liturgical rubrics are not the problem, but often the plethora of diocesan regulations and policies that go well beyond micromanagement. Vatican II spoke of subsidiarity, yet most times even legitimate options afforded priests are being transformed into mandatory rules as if Father is not qualified to decide for himself.

No one is saying that we should change the priority of study at the seminary. Philosophy and Theology must remain first and foremost. Perhaps, one semester on management would help so that a new pastor would be confident in hiring or firing employees; in knowing when replacing the boiler takes a back seat to replacing the roof; in balancing a budget for an average size parish with a school and CCD program three or four times as large as the school; should he try to keep and/or get new religious sisters to teach or go all lay.

Mundane as the business of running a parish can get, even that is doable if you have some competent parishioners to advise and guide you on parish council and finance committee alike. What really makes priests unhappy, however, is the injustice done to brother priests by their own kind. There will always a few parishioners who misunderstand or just dislike you for no reason whatsoever. Some personalities will spread rumor and gossip about the priests of the parish from time to time but many will quietly approve and appreciate what you do.

Professional jealousy and clerical sycophants are what discourage priests. When their bishops do not treat them as sons of the church but as lower level managers whose task is to be a company man at all times, then you get some unhappy priests on your hands. When the same guys have been on Personnel Board for the past 20 to 30 years; when assignments are made not based on qualifications but on church politics and ‘who you know rather than what you know;’ when special treatment is given to those who went to the bishop’s alma mater while those who had to fight tooth and nail to preserve their orthodoxy and virtue while in the seminary are made to feel like misfits after ordination; these make for disillusioned clergy to be sure.

Foibles of parish life are like family life. Any husband and father realizes that no family is perfect and that every day has its challenges. Likewise, every priest knows that no parish is perfect (and no pastor or parochial vicar is perfect either). There are good days and bad days. Many challenges and many opportunities for grace and conversion. What deflates priests, is not celibacy or Magisterium, but subterfuge, duplicity and deceit from their own ordained brethren. When church ceases to be about faith and more about solvency, then priestly zeal can drop dramatically. Yes, bills must be paid and responsible financial procedures and policies be in operation. On the other hand, bishops do not need ‘yes’ men, they need honest, courageous, and un-ambitious advisors to give them reliable and responsible counsel. Sometimes, you wonder if the old Soviet Union did not reincarnate or morph itself into a diocesan bureaucracy.

Priests are happy being priests and doing priestly things, like celebrating the Sacraments, teaching the faith, visiting the sick, and helping parents form their children into Christian men and women. What makes us unhappy is being treated like we’re guilty before we even know what the accusation is. What kills priestly zeal is corporate red tape and extreme micromanagement. I promised respect and obedience to my bishop and his successors but not to a committee or board advising him on numerous matters.  That is not to say most priests who work in chanceries and central administration are not devout, sincere, hard working or competent men. Most are. But there are places where the tenure has been so long and the cronyism so pronounced that middle management makes itself indispensible and necessary. During the worst of the clergy sex scandals, it was not just the perverts who misbehaved and a few bishops who swept things under the carpet, it was also a few middle management clergy giving bad advice and a few becoming a buffer between priest and bishop. When that happens, good priests are unable to communicate important information to their chief shepherd because someone in between has blocked or intercepted the message. Access to the bishop for any priest has to be unfettered as any son would be to his dad. When the corporate model is enshrined, however, it feels like only the vice presidents and board members have access and lower level employees just do their work and keep quiet.

I have been ordained 23½ years and can truthfully say I would not be happy doing or being anything else in the world. I love being a priest and love doing priestly things. What disheartens me and my colleagues is not the human element but the dark side of human nature which can tarnish any human heart, be it clergy or laity, priest, deacon or bishop.

When priests are told they need to get anger management treatment merely because they preached a homily in support of Humanae Vitae and in condemnation of birth control and abortion; when priests are admonished for enforcing canon law and requiring sponsors for baptism and confirmation to be Catholics in good standing; when priests are reprimanded for exercising their legitimate liturgical options as stated in universal law; when pastors spend sleepless nights over meeting diocesan assessments; when assignments and transfers are arbitrary and haphazard rather than based on experience, history and qualifications; then zeal begins to erode and evaporate.

On the other hand, when priests feel like they actually belong and work in a family of faith rather than in a corporate business, they are willing to endure any hardship, obstacle or inconvenience. When priests feel that their bishops see them as spiritual sons rather than ordained employees, they will love them in return and serve them to the best of their abilities.  Most priests ARE happy but they can be even happier. Does not mean more pay or more vacation. Does not mean eliminating celibacy or the hierarchy. It means ditching the corporate model once and for all. Bishops are more than Vice Presidents and corporate executives. They are SHEPHERDS and priests and deacons are there to serve and assist them.

It helps when church authority is employed to discipline all instances of misbehavior (like teaching heterodoxy or committing liturgical abuse) and not just when it involves personally disagreeing with one’s superiors or their prudential judgments. Stepping one someone’s toes is not the same gravity as denying a revealed truth or committing sacrilege, yet often those crimes go unnoticed or unpunished while minor infractions of diocesan policy are punished with severity and swiftness.

The aftermath of the scandals has made some of the faithful suspicious but most still trust and love their priests. The excessive and over-the-top sacrosanct respect given to the clergy until the end of the 1950’s has gone and rightfully so. Sadly, some parishioners have become more bellicose, contentious and disrespectful especially when a priest is merely defending church doctrine or enforcing church discipline. Yet, even these burdens can be borne as long as the priest feels he is supported downtown as well. Priests expect to be called on the carpet if we are guilty of misbehaving in any way but we also presume to be backed up when we defend Holy Mother Church by those lukewarm Catholics who seek to make her irrelevant in matters of faith and morals.

A good and holy priest, like Father Robert Levis, who just turned 90 this summer, is now living in a nursing home. He was very active until two years ago when he fell and suffered a concussion to the head and later broke his hip. Yet, he spent 65 years of priesthood faithfully serving the Church. Most of his time was spent teaching at Gannon University especially as Director of the Pontifical Center for Catechetical Studies. Staunchly defending the Magisterium in a time when there was no universal catechism (before 1992) and when most religion texts for children had butterflies and clouds rather than Commandments and Seven Sacraments, he valiantly fought for orthodoxy from pre-K to Grade 12. He championed Catholic colleges and universities to return to their Catholic roots and embrace Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Ridiculed by some but loved by so many more, Father Levis not only exemplified defensor fidei, he also personified priesthood. Offering Mass every day of his priesthood, he served in local parishes every weekend, sometimes driving many miles in horrible snowy weather.

Father Levis regularly came to my home to anoint, bring Holy Communion and hear my brother’s confession. Michael had been suffering from Muscular Dystrophy all his life and was in a wheelchair as a teenager and bedridden in his early 20’s. He died at the age of 26 but looked forward to Father Levis’ monthly pastoral visits. And there were hundreds of people Father Levis visited and thousands he counseled and gave spiritual direction. Many conversions and reversions are owed to his effort. Writing software and then books to teach the faith to youngsters and teens alike, Father Bob is most famous for being the primary host of WEB OF FAITH on EWTN.

Despite all his achievements and successes, he was never elevated to any papal honor. Many of his contemporaries were made Monsignors but not Father Levis. He would never seek it nor expect it. But no one on this earth can deny that if anyone ever deserved it, it was Levis. In other dioceses outgoing bishops often get some purple for their loyal supporters. Being made a Monsignor does not make a priest happy nor does denying the honor make him unhappy. Seeing a political use of the papal honor, however, leaves a bad taste among many. Father Levis despite his confinement has always been a happy priest. He LOVES his priesthood. I and many others think all honors, be they papal knighthood or being made a chaplain to his Holiness, they should go to priests who earned it by going over and beyond what is already and normally expected in every priest. Happiness would be knowing that a dear beloved friend and mentor was finally given the honor and recognition he was due BEFORE he left this earth.

I have other priest friends who are of Levis’ ilk. They, too, personify priestly piety and holiness. They are parish priests, seminary faculty and hospital and prison chaplains. They are devout, orthodox, reverent and deeply in love with the Church, the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Mother and totally loyal to the Roman Pontiff. But they are not political nor are they company men. It is unlikely any of them will receive formal honors or recognition. That will not make them unhappy but it will make those of us who appreciate and revere them most unhappy. When I was a child in Catholic grade school, I remember the pastor, Monsignor Connelly giving a shiny silver dollar to the student who made the most improvement, who attended the most school days, who got the best grades. That recognition made many of us aspire to do better and try harder. If the pastor had given awards to his favorites, on the other hand, no one would have been encouraged in the least bit. Yes, there are many happy priests who are happy being priests and happy doing priestly work. The few who go beyond the required and who show courage in time of adversity, honor and integrity in time of opposition and heroic virtue day in and day out should be recognized so as to show the rest it can be done. Excellence is not a fantasy. Celibacy and obedience are not seeds of unhappiness, either. Sacrifice, self-denial and perseverance help fighting the good fight and finishing the race.

When the human element of the Church is fair and just, that enables the rank and file to busy themselves with the pastoral work that has to be done. When there is cronyism, politics, skullduggery and intrigue among the clergy (upper and lower), then the zeal can be robbed from those who find it distasteful and inappropriate. Happiness is the natural object of the human person that is why we seek eternal happiness in the next life. Happiness is like joy. It comes from having inner peace which is tranquility of order. When our will conforms to the Divine Will, there is harmony and peace in our soul and that creates a sense of happiness. Knowing you are doing what the Lord wants you to do makes you happy. But human beings can also bring unhappiness when they distort the truth and when they deny justice to fellow human beings. A former bishop told me that he loved to get letters of support for his priests since most people only write their bishop when they want to complain about a priest and rarely to compliment him. We have all had the experience of the nasty letter from the irate parishioner who feels mistreated. Whenever a positive letter came in, this bishop made the same effort to call the priest in and share the contents. If more parishioners wrote supportive letters before their pastor got transferred or before he leaves this earth, it might help keep more guys happy on the job. When you doubt that your efforts have any effect, that there may be no fruit to your labor, it can be discouraging. Hence, I always tell people when I visit other parishes that they need to express their satisfaction from time to time, to their priest and to their bishop. No need to remind them to complain when he is not doing what he is supposed to do, people react immediately and rightfully so. Jesus often gave encouragement and so should all of us.