Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Catholic priest's faith nearly dead

Father James Haley of Arlington, Va., had the following (edited) quasi-response to a Nov. 14 Washington Post story:

"Amazingly, after four years, I have still not heard anything significant about my 'trial.' In fact, from what I understand, my case has still not been received by the Vatican, where it may sit for many more years. And again, this is a trial about my behavior, not the bishop's, nor the chancellor's, nor the behavior of so many homosexual priests.
. . .
"So it looks like the evil men have won. A priest for ever — utter nonsense! A Church that teaches the fullness of truth in faith and morals — total baloney! And the good people in the pews? Simple, blind, stupid sheep who are still totally culpable every time they pay a dime to the Church without first insisting on the fullness of truth about this horrendous moral tragedy. A brief 'instruction' from the Vatican will do nothing to solve this outrageous moral dilemma, nor prevent the infiltration of future homosexual men; in fact, it will probably encourage even more to join.

"Am I angry? Not anymore. Just completely and utterly disgusted. Living in poverty in a 30 ft. trailer has completely killed my spirit and robbed me of any 'happy' life. Unlike most people, I have no companionship, no support, no happy memories, no busting photo albums, and no real purpose for continued life. Ultimately, I blame God for it all.
A very sad situation - after reading the article, it appears that Fr. Haley is in despair. He needs prayers. We should not forget those martyrs and others who suffered worse conditions than his. While his punishment and treatment for speaking out about the poison in the priesthood seem quite despicable, it looks as if he has forgotten those others who have gone before and who were wrongly persecuted. This is very sad, indeed.

Link.

No comments: