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| Raymond Lahey, Bishop of Antigonish in Nova Scotira |
Now, he is only charged and not convicted, and our secular system presumes him innocent, but according to one report he raised suspicion at the Ottawa Airport that caused a further investigation.
Another report indicates that the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary may have known that he possessed child pornography over twenty years ago while a priest in Newfoundland. All of this will come out in court.
How did this happen?
Did he not just lead a committee that made a multi-million dollar settlement with victims of pederasty and paedophilia in that diocese?
We are all sinners and we all know that sexual sins are the most common. We are bombarded with sexual imagery daily. For those of us who are single, divorced, annulled it is even harder--it is even our cross. We know it most clearly, most intimately, most directly. We have a remedy when we fall (and God forgives us easier than we forgive ourselves). It called the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But did Leahy use this remedy? Did he go to confession over these matters? While his "confessor" could not report on what happened inside the confessional his confessor could and should have certainly ensured that Leahy undertook his duty to God, the Church and the law of the land through a penitential command which must be obeyed.
If true, Leahy's actions are repugnant, vile and destructive to the children involved directly and indirectly; his actions have damaged the Church--the Bride of Christ! Once more we see and hear more scandal brought about by our own clergy and we hang our heads in shame. Read the "comments" on-line in any of the papers about this event and note the anti-Catholic bigotry and hatred that is out there. Leahy has caused this wound in the Holy Catholic Church and aided the Church's enemies, but so have others. Where is the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on this matter? Where is his outrage that a fellow bishop would bring such harm to a child and such ill repute and scandal on the Church?
My advice for Leahy and anyone who has any contact with him? If you're guilty, then plead guilty! Do it now! And then commit your life to one of prayer and penance to save your own soul and that of the rest of us. Do it at a Cistercian monastery and give your generous pension to those whom you have corrupted.
Senator Edward Kennedy, we can all hope, is at least at the bottom-rung of purgatory and no lower. God is just and merciful. "Senator Kennedy killed that girl (Mary Jo Kopechne) the same as if he put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger" in the view of lead investigator and State Police Detective, Lieutenant George Killen. Kennedy's marriage matters are well-known, but even more well known are the public policy initiatives that he undertook. From open access to the murder of unborn children, to embryonic stem-cell research to human cloning to support for so-called "same-sex marriage" he has been at odds with the truth of the Catholic Church and its teachings.
Kennedy gave a whole new generation of Catholic politicians such as Pelosi, Biden and Sibelius an excuse to forsake the truth as they swore to uphold it and the most perfect constitutional republic in human history on the holy book holding these truths. Senator Kennedy may have received the sacraments and have been reconciled on his death bed. If that happened he was due a Catholic funeral. But, Sean Cardinal O'Malley was wrong; the funeral should not have been a public affair or a de facto canonisation of Kennedy or his work and that is what it was. The least the Cardinal Archbishop should have done and had the power to do was to prevent the televising or any electronic communication of the Funeral Mass. He could have gone as far as say that no print reporters are permitted to take notes during the Mass. That was his duty and obligation to prevent scandal. He chose not to do the right thing and on this matter, the Cardinal failed.
Father Tom Rosica has been very outspoken lately since this funeral and very critical. I really wish he would stop and that he would simply run the network and either kill his blog or keep it oriented towards programming or faith and not this divisiveness.
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| Father Thomas J. Rosica, CSB |
Produce more documentaries on the Dominican Sisters and comment less in the media.
On Leahy, Rosica wrote that Leahy was a "kind and gentle pastor, particularly sensitive to the needs of those who have suffered the scourge of sexual abuse"
It would have been more helpful if Father Rosica were to have written that this crime against the children and the Church must stop and must that we must call for a literal cleansing of the Church in Canada from these vile, despicable, repugnant cretins.
Enough of the chest-stroking liberal tolerance, what do we think has caused all of this? What is it exactly that you are all afraid of?
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| Winnipeg Archbishop James Weisgerber |
In the October Plenary to be held in Cornwall, he has placed on the agenda, bloggers. His Grace, has no authority over me in this matter or this blog or any other. Media such as LifeSiteNews and even little blogs such as this have a purpose. Tell me Your Grace, may I address the plenary? Father Rosica is. Gaillardetz is. What about the rest of us? Don't we have a right to have a say in important matters affecting the Church and culture? Or should we just shut-up and let y'all run it.
If bloggers were around forty years ago, we would have watched the Second Vatican Council and read the documents and fought for the truth.
Tell us Archbishop Weisgerber, what will you do at Cornwall to ensure that any homosexualist, pornography viewing, sexual molesting bishop or priest in this country are found and removed from their position?
8 comments:
Vox,
An outstanding post !!!
A friend of mine - well connected, highly respected - recently told me that a certain seminary, about 40 years ago, had a good half of the seminary body that was homosexual.
Questions can then be raised: who allowed them in? who was the rector and dean? Did any of these men go on to ordination? Are any in the episcopacy? Did any of these men abuse children?
The present police investigation is merely criminal. The Church authorities must undertake a forensic investigation and trace back through the academic and seminary contacts these various individuals to key points of infiltration. Otherwise, we are bound to have further "scandals". Moreover, in a sense, the worse scandal is the failing to preach and live the faith? Obviously the Faith will not be taught in its fullness by infiltrators.
Indeed, we can conclude that anything else is a counter-faith, a false faith, an antichrist "faith".
Hey Vox: It is commemdable that you want to be restrained & charitable in your commentary, but may I suggest that it may not be good policy to delay making comments when these issues crop up. Waiting too long can only increase your frustration & then a response may be "over the top", not the case this time. Don't be a "Rosica" and shoot from the lip, but don't wait too long to sound off either.
I hope this makes you feel better:
http://www.catholicregister.org/content/view/3482/1017/
In case that link doesn't work, it's called "Good people on both sides fall prey to scapegoating" and you can find it on http://www.catholicregister.org.
Hello Seraphic Spouse,
Your columns in the Catholic Register are one of its few bright lights. Your column was sincere and full of relevance. Alas, we are all divided and Satan has his glee. So what do we do...just shut up and let those in power in the Catholic media continue with their control? Who put Rosica in charge? Why is his opinion any more relevant than mine? Just because he wears a collar? They want involvement of the laity but then can't stand it when we're right and they're wrong. We're not passive now, not dumbed down any more. There is a course to run, a race to finish and a faith to keep.
You are correct; they are afraid because they can't control the internet and free ideas. I could write a dozen letters to the Catholic Register, I've tried but what good does it do? I had to bombard the former editor to allow me a small column instead of an overly edited letter to respond to Michael Swan's trash about the Traditional Latin Mass. Yet, the Register continues on its web page to have the "Land Mass" of Father Jim Profit, S.J. up there with all its liturgical abuses praised by Swan. The Catholic Register's editors don't care, the CCCB does not care. Yes, they are the bullies and they will be taken down. So, what of this little blog and others like it. Do we sit by and say nothing, do nothing.
Where I sang tonight as Cantor, Father was very sad. No doubt he was very hurt by the actions of Leahy and he spoke about it. He spoke of vocations of marriage and religious life and of all of us as the baptised. All of us have a vocation and a duty to live up to.
The Catholic Register, the CCCB, bishops in various dioceses and priests and laity alike; all of us have failed in our vocations. We must find anew our call to stand up for the truth and Holy Mother Church; and the bishops must purge from the Church this "filth" or God will do it for them.
Thank you for dropping by.
Vox, by no means do I think that you or any sincere Catholic blogger should shut up. Indeed not.
I think that all Catholics should continue reading, writing and blogging on their faith. Think of all the wonderful Catholic communities and connections that have sprung up on the blogosphere. I met my wonderful husband through my blogging. He reintroduced me to the beauties of the Traditional Latin Mass. And when I wanted to find out where I could find one in Toronto, I checked your blog first.
The bishops are going to discuss blogs and the internet, and I hope they are given good advice from real bloggers and successful internet stars, not just print-and-TV guys. The days of print-and-TV are waning. Just as the days of the "Spirit" of Vatican II (as opposed to the documents of Vatican II) are waning and being replaced by a return to orthodoxy and beauty.
I know that you are angry, and I know that much of this is good anger, or zeal. You yourself have worked very hard to encourage beautiful liturgies, and that is marvellous. What a great gift to the Church in Toronto!
The difficulty with zeal in difficult times, like the times we are living in, is that it can start becoming wrath. St. Thomas wrote that anger was good, but that wrath was (of course) sinful. Zeal is in accord with the intellect; wrath is not. One thing wrath can do is blind you to who your friends and potential allies really are.
You may remember the bad old days of the Catholic New Times. Well, you have to admit that the Catholic Register is not the New Times! But one thing about the Register: it includes voices from across the spectrum of the Church. When you open it up these days, you seen not only Higgins and Swan, but Coren and Cummings-McLean. You've got Father Rolheiser, and you've got Father Lewis. You've got teenagers, and you've got older people. But, at the same time, there are no voices from the extreme left. There are no proto-Protestant, trendy nun types writing for the Toronto Catholic Register. I understand your frustration with Michael Swan and the former editor; you will just have to take it from me that these are both fine men. (Trust me on this! They are not the enemy.)
I wasn't sure I was going to write about the Rosica crisis. But I did. And do you know why? Because I knew readers who care so deeply about life issues, readers like you, would read JBM's comments and be close to despair. I really care about ALL the readers of the CR, but I have a special love for those who love orthodoxy and holy liturgies.
Now, I will say one thing about Father R, with whom I have personally butted heads before. You're not going to like this but, yes, because Father R is a priest, he has more authority (per se) in the Church than we do. HOWEVER that does not mean that we cannot disagree with him, or that we have have to stop writing or blogging.
We are all hurting right now, Vox, especially with these new revelations about Lahey. But I am sure that you are helping heal the Church with your music. As Father Z, says, "Save the Liturgy, Save the World!" And you're helping to do that, so hopeful and as JP2 said, "Be not afraid!"
Keep blogging, keep singing, and let's all keep trying as hard as we can to forgive those who trespass against us and to try to figure out what it is that God sees in the people who anger us most.
Your post is right on and very well said. Words should not be minced when there is an evil which has desecrated our beloved Catholic Church. I believe all Catholics throughout the world are sickened by this wretched epidemic. The deviant actions and utmost betrayal of our faith in these "supposed" instruments of God has shaken the foundation of our Catholic heritage. I believe that the culture of any organization is tempered by the attitudes at the top. We must see stronger action (not words) from Pope Benedict to rid our church of this debilitating disease once and for all.
As Christians, we are taught to forgive. But we must learn from our mistakes and not forget. The guilty and those who shift these priests from one church to another should be removed from the Catholic family of priests. There is too much at stake.
The CBC report on "child porn" found in then Father Leahy's home 20 years ago was of "teenaged boys sexually aroused" this tends to indicate Leahy is involved in Homosexual behavior not paedophilia.
Ignore the Liberal detractors Vox. Keep on blogging!
Just to clarify my previous comment: when I say "Homosexual behavior" I include consumption of pornographic materials. We don't know if Leahey is guilty of actual sodomy yet.
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