Same old, same old
MONTREAL -- In an unusual public dissent with their leaders, 19 Quebec Roman Catholic priests published yesterday an open letter taking issue with the church's opposition to both same-sex marriage and the ordination of active gays into the priesthood.
Does the church "have the last word on the mysteries of political, social, family and sexual life?" the 980-word letter asks. "In these matters, the official teaching of the Church has shown itself more than once to be wrong."
One of the authors, Father Claude Lefebvre of the Saint-Étienne parish in Montreal, said the letter stemmed from a discussion group of Quebec priests who felt uneasy about the church's official discourse.
"We don't want people to believe that everyone within the church thinks the same way," he said in an interview.
Well at least this puts them out in the open and you only wonder if thier bishop will do anything about it. The majority of priests that signed a similar letter in the Diocese of Phoenix last year are no longer in ministry, though I would be surprised to see that happen here.
Known as 
I was just blogging this same thing. What bugged me most about the whole story was that one of the priest signatories was reported as being a former prostitute and barman in a leather bar. Nice...
and you only wonder if Marc Cardinal Ouellet will do anything about it.
http://tinyurl.com/qcwrv
"Lefebvre"!! That's one of those tragic-comic ironies that only happens in real life.
Perhaps they have all been hit on the head and have forgotten what it means to be Catholic. It means that you believe that it is correct and cannot err. Even my seven year old knows that.
Maybe the bishop will have his hand forced...or maybe they will all remove themselves.
We can hope.
This is really strange. If the Church does not "have the last word on the mysteries of political, social, family and sexual life", then who or what entity does? And who will the entire faithful look to for guidance if that is the case?
I suppose those priests think they themselves have the last word on this. I shudder for their flock.
Kathy, I noticed the same thing. Utterly hilarious, in a sad sort of way.
"We don't want people to believe that everyone within the church thinks the same way,"
No one has believed that for a long time. There's a word for this sort of thing: heresy.
Fwiw, none of the priests is in Cdl. Ouellet's diocese (Quebec city).
Thanks RC, post fixed.
Pity we're not in the blurred social lines of the Middle Ages. I would have liked to start readying the pyres. Bring wood & oil!
By all means, bring wood and oil--in the name of the Gospel of Life.
Jeff, if it's Montreal that's Cardinal 'I support civil unions' Turcotte.
Ouellet however is still the much-vaunted Primate of Canada so if he had any courage whatsoever he could say something or do something about it.
Of course if you're looking for bishops the bishop of the Catholic Church then the only one is Bishop Fred Henry. He's in Calgary.
I blogged about this too and if you google Fr. Raymond Gravel, the prostitute and leather bar man turned priest you find many interesting articles about him. His bishop supports him and a letter from then Cardinal Ratizinger has not been enough to bring him in line.
"Does the church 'have the last word on the mysteries of political, social, family and sexual life?'"
Oh, I'm sorry- the correct answer is: "Yes."
> "In these matters, the official teaching of the Church has shown itself more than once to be wrong."
It has? Would you care to enlighten an ignorant person and tell me when?
Sad that your immediate reaction is to tell these honest men to SHUT UP.
And you wonder why the pedophile scandal happened? Because of the same cult of silencing to which you subscribe.
Kevin -- look up the record of church teaching on Judaism, torture, religious liberty, usury, slavery, for starters.
I dont want them to shut up, i want them to leave and stop calling themselves catholic priests, which they are not. If you believe, stay, if not, go, quite simple. I give you the same advise, Father.
SOVII wrote:"And you wonder why the pedophile scandal happened? Because of the same cult of silencing to which you subscribe"
If only they WOULD keep silent about their perversions! Why oh why do they think I need to know about them? Of course, when they make noise, we know who they are and can protect our young from them.
No, SOVII, the pedophile scandal happened because homosexual men decided to break their vows of celibacy, deny the gift of chastity and diddle boys & teens. They CHOSE to commit grave acts of sin against the bodies and souls of young men in order to satisfy their derranged and disordered appetites. And also because bishops didn't report them to police, but dandled them on their knees and sent them on to do it again to another parish. "Silence" does not produce constant acts of perversion in mature, pious people!
Don't let the vague and empty flatulance of the 'spirit of VII' allow you to stay willfully blind and purposefully deaf to the ancient and true Teachings and Traditions of the Church (unlike the actual documents of VII which reinforced the Faith). This progressive position is in direct opposition to Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, no matter how you want to play with the wording or deny its context. There is no dignity in the 'gay culture', and no one can 'create' dignity by approving of that which is sinful by its very nature. It is perverse, sinful, and shameful and always will be. Repentence, prayer, penance and the Sacraments are the hope of those who are trapped in it to be free of it, not acceptance of it by the rest of society. Do you honestly think that living it openly will protect the young from it? No. "Acceptance" of such perversions will only worsen those trapped in it and create excuses to molest more boys, pulling more innocent into it. The likes of the APA and NAMBLA will see to it that pedophilia is made legal and 'safe' for the perp and OUR silence will make victims of the innocent. You see, liberalism *ALWAYS* creates the exact opposite of its stated intent (Quinn's First Law)
A corollary: Scratch a liberal, find a fascist.
From my own blog... www.uponchristianhill.blogspot.com
"This recognition of that unique emphasis that both men and women are created in the image of God is why we value sexual intercourse as sacred. When a man and woman come together it is unifying both emphases of God. The completion of the sexual act with mutual giving of oneself is the love of God. Anything less is taking away from that love He has given us. "
Sorry but acts of homosexuality do not have any unifying element, but also alot of heterosexual non-intercourse acts don't have it either.
I think I'm going to give up posting comments on blogs for Lent. When you show us stuff like this, I can only think of sarcastic and uncharitable things to say.
"'We don't want people to believe that everyone within the Church thinks the same way'..."
If the Church can't think the same way, doesn't that mean that God is divided? Or does this mean that those who do not think the same way are not part of the same Church?
I think it's the latter.
It's not so much the thinking differently that is the problem. We have all had issues that we do not fully understand yet. It's the public dissent and failure to submit your own will to that of the holy church that is the problem.
Lent starts tomorrow.
Nice save, Andrew!