I personally want to thank all those who are paying so that I can read Paul's Substack for free. (Otherwise I would have to beg him for a paid subscription and he can't afford it any more than I can. 😊)
I discovered Chris Damien a couple months ago after he dug into Blessed is She. It was a massive moment for me because BIS had been so incredibly abusive to people on the Facebook who just had questions.
I want to say, I respect your feelings on the matter. I can see why you feel that it might be over the top. However, I loved the title. I think we *should* be "dramatic" about what happened. Publicly lying in order to shame innocent people is barbaric....and the fact he was celebrated is horrific. "Did wrong but retired" and "did wrong but is not a priest anymore"....To me, there are no buts....no excuse.
I do also think that a union/coalition/group of lay ministers both paid and volunteer would be ideal. Not just protection *for* the employees but protection should a lay minister fail that the church recognizes that it was an employer.
Thank you for this comment. I fully agree with the point about lay employee unions.
As for the title, I think my reaction to it as being dramatic is in part because it feels weird thinking of events in my story being *that* dramatic.
But what the pastor and diocese did was dramatic. And sadly not at all uncommon. Which I guess adds to the reasons why maybe accepting and labeling the drama is important.
I think you've read some of my substack but I'll share a story here, names changed. This is one of many stories from my adulthood that is just....bad. But for a second let's pretend it *was* my big run-in issue with the Church.
I am asthmatically (deathly) allergic to incense. At my parish there were 3 Franciscans, Ancient Father Roy, long retired and Father Jim (very young) and Fr. Oliver who came much later. Br. Zeke was there the whole time. Fr. Roy and Fr. Jim had known me for sometime. Fr. Roy's love of incense was legendary, having twice set off the fire alarms due to incense use. When I wanted to attend Mass I'd call ahead of time, then poke into the sacristy and remind Fr. Roy or Fr. Jim and then attend. This was extended to Fr. Oliver when he was placed when Fr. Roy had to leave for a medical condition. Then, for some reason Fr. Jim left for an extended period leaving only Fr. Oliver and Br. Zeke. And I'd do this every single week.
Fr. Oliver was a HUGE parish favorite. He could do no wrong. One Holy Day I called the office and had to leave a message. Called again. Got Fr. Oliver. He was like "oh, ok". Then when I went I checked in with Fr. Oliver before Mass. We good? Yep. Checked with Br. Zeke. Yep. Waved to the alter servers. Good? Yep?
Not even 3 minutes later holding my 2.5yo and pregnant Fr. Oliver comes out swinging the thurable as if he were Tarzan on a jungle vine. I booked it. I was sick for a week. I called the office and the secretary sniped at me "Fr's spirituality- is more important than one parishioner." Br. Zeke said nothing. No one did. The Bishop couldn't have cared less because he wanted the Franciscans to manage the parish.
How would you really and truly label that if you were trying to get people's attention? You don't even need to sensationalize it. As an outsider to my life....what do you write as a eye-catching intro?
Depends on what bit you’d want to highlight most. The lying? The abruptness? The after the fact initial shaming? The lack of recourse? The severity of the physical impact on you and your pregnancy? The impact on your spiritual wellbeing of the betrayal? First blush as an attention-getter, I’d say something like,
“Father Suddenly Poisons Pregnant Daughter After Years of Respecting Her Deathly Allergy; Family Patriarch Washes Hands: The Truth Behind Limp-Wristed Bishops and the Priests Who Betray Their Flock”
Congrats on the house & the other milestone accomplishments. I smiled at the lists of prep tasks required before moving in; know those things well. Peace.
I personally want to thank all those who are paying so that I can read Paul's Substack for free. (Otherwise I would have to beg him for a paid subscription and he can't afford it any more than I can. 😊)
I discovered Chris Damien a couple months ago after he dug into Blessed is She. It was a massive moment for me because BIS had been so incredibly abusive to people on the Facebook who just had questions.
I want to say, I respect your feelings on the matter. I can see why you feel that it might be over the top. However, I loved the title. I think we *should* be "dramatic" about what happened. Publicly lying in order to shame innocent people is barbaric....and the fact he was celebrated is horrific. "Did wrong but retired" and "did wrong but is not a priest anymore"....To me, there are no buts....no excuse.
I do also think that a union/coalition/group of lay ministers both paid and volunteer would be ideal. Not just protection *for* the employees but protection should a lay minister fail that the church recognizes that it was an employer.
Thank you for this comment. I fully agree with the point about lay employee unions.
As for the title, I think my reaction to it as being dramatic is in part because it feels weird thinking of events in my story being *that* dramatic.
But what the pastor and diocese did was dramatic. And sadly not at all uncommon. Which I guess adds to the reasons why maybe accepting and labeling the drama is important.
I think you've read some of my substack but I'll share a story here, names changed. This is one of many stories from my adulthood that is just....bad. But for a second let's pretend it *was* my big run-in issue with the Church.
I am asthmatically (deathly) allergic to incense. At my parish there were 3 Franciscans, Ancient Father Roy, long retired and Father Jim (very young) and Fr. Oliver who came much later. Br. Zeke was there the whole time. Fr. Roy and Fr. Jim had known me for sometime. Fr. Roy's love of incense was legendary, having twice set off the fire alarms due to incense use. When I wanted to attend Mass I'd call ahead of time, then poke into the sacristy and remind Fr. Roy or Fr. Jim and then attend. This was extended to Fr. Oliver when he was placed when Fr. Roy had to leave for a medical condition. Then, for some reason Fr. Jim left for an extended period leaving only Fr. Oliver and Br. Zeke. And I'd do this every single week.
Fr. Oliver was a HUGE parish favorite. He could do no wrong. One Holy Day I called the office and had to leave a message. Called again. Got Fr. Oliver. He was like "oh, ok". Then when I went I checked in with Fr. Oliver before Mass. We good? Yep. Checked with Br. Zeke. Yep. Waved to the alter servers. Good? Yep?
Not even 3 minutes later holding my 2.5yo and pregnant Fr. Oliver comes out swinging the thurable as if he were Tarzan on a jungle vine. I booked it. I was sick for a week. I called the office and the secretary sniped at me "Fr's spirituality- is more important than one parishioner." Br. Zeke said nothing. No one did. The Bishop couldn't have cared less because he wanted the Franciscans to manage the parish.
How would you really and truly label that if you were trying to get people's attention? You don't even need to sensationalize it. As an outsider to my life....what do you write as a eye-catching intro?
Depends on what bit you’d want to highlight most. The lying? The abruptness? The after the fact initial shaming? The lack of recourse? The severity of the physical impact on you and your pregnancy? The impact on your spiritual wellbeing of the betrayal? First blush as an attention-getter, I’d say something like,
“Father Suddenly Poisons Pregnant Daughter After Years of Respecting Her Deathly Allergy; Family Patriarch Washes Hands: The Truth Behind Limp-Wristed Bishops and the Priests Who Betray Their Flock”
This is why I love substack. Beautiful.
Congrats on the house & the other milestone accomplishments. I smiled at the lists of prep tasks required before moving in; know those things well. Peace.