I had the following from a priest who taught liturgy when I was a seminarian at Wonersh over three decades ago, I hadn't had any contact with him since, in fact I thought he left the priesthood, it is pretty obvious he has little to do with Christianity but that was always apparent. I apologise for the bad language. I have removed references to third parties and do not give his surname.I think I was the only student who did him the courtesy of keeping awake during his interminable contentless lectures. He was one of those sad individuals who had a succession of curacies which never quite worked out. He was a curate in my home parish for a few months, I remember the then Parish Priest complaining about his lack of pastoral zeal, finally the bishop sent him off to do a short course in liturgy at Notre Dame in the US, he then returned to teach Liturgy at the seminary. He must have been the only priest to have done so who appeared never to have read Sacrosanctum Concillium, he stayed for a couple of years, was hardly a success at that, he was dismissed following complaints from students. For a few years he was on the fringe of the liberal liturgy circuit, I think in the Portsmouth diocese and then dropped off the radar. In those days priests who couldn't cope with parish life often ended up teaching in seminaries.
I am publishing this, I hope not out of malice but because of his threats, I hate bullies, especially clerical ones and partly because I think it is illustrative of a certain illiberal 'liberal' attitude prevalent in the Church three decades ago and is now having a resurgence, with the same, now old, men and women. I occasionally get comments or anonymous letters in a similar vein when I mention ACTA, which rather than even being an ad hominen attack is just a spew of phlegm flecked invective rather than engaging in any argument about the propositions put forward.
I assure you that he is has nothing to do with anyone teaching liturgy or anything else at St John's Seminary, Wonersh now. Today it has staff who are far more carefully selected than they were in the past, they are expected to be men of prayer and faith, with a strong priestly identity, who have something worthwhile to offer those being formed them. This, as you can see was not always the case.
Keep this priest in you prayers.
You were a dumb idiot as a student at Wonersh - omniscient as typifies a convert - always loving liturgy that was hooked in the past. glad I am consistent! Your pathetic blog is a disgrace and so are you. I have today asked X to terminate your moronic postings and your constant critical comments about Pope Francis. I thought I was rather supportive of the Holy Father, if at times mystified. You are an idiot, pathetically uninformed and with the mind of an amoeba. It might be better to shut up because the entire world regards you as an ignorant ass-hole. Ray Blake - you know shit-all about anything - you were a half-wit thirty years ago, and remain the same.
Instead of wasting hours on your shit blog it doesn't take that long - why not engage on REAL pastoral work. nor does it detract from my work in the parish
Your moronic critique of 'liberals' is paper thin - the Conservatives have had the upper hand for the last 30 years - what did these morons achieve?Child abuse and cover up, a totally dysfunctional Curia with infighting, a desire to preserve the reputation of the Church versus Justice, Bishops who were living as despots. This is what I occasionally complain about, we have something in common!
I have asked X to close down your comic site - you are a total disgrace to the PRIESTHOOD.
Some one needs to tell you that you are an ignorant ass-hole -you always were, you always will be! Fr John X
I hadn't realised even as a seminarian I had created a lifelong enemy, I suspect it might have resulted from asking this priest if he had actually bothered to read the documents of the Council he posed to be an expert on.
Unlike Pope Benedict he is definitely from the terrorist school of liturgy.
70 comments:
I've always thought that your posts are rather thoughtful, Fr. Attacking you for being a convert is just low too...
And if the priest in questions feels the need to repeat ad hominem insults so frequently he really can't be all that bright himself...
It sounds like he's a pal of that old Msgr that writes (?) for for an English Catholic (?) periodical. He's Vehemently anti-Catholic and is under the illusion that no one is aware of his malice.His name slips my memory?
Ultimately, they are all of the old and tired order, panicking as they are too old to take part in the new a final hurrah, before their inevitable defeat. You should look at his rant as a badge of honour. You are getting at them!
I trust that 'X' (and it hardly requires much imagination to work out who that may be) to whom Fr John has addressed his peremptory demands will have the sense to treat his hysteria and malice with the utter contempt it deserves.
This sort of attack shows that you are having an effect for good. Which is the very thing some people – those who hate the good – can't stand. Those of us who appreciate your work – and we are many – will stand by you in whatever way we can, Father.
Fr Ray - I do hope you will report this priest to his superior. His belittling of converts, and his treatment of fellow priests highlight grave concerns regarding his behaviour and his suitability for pastoral work and spiritual direction of those souls who have been entrusted to him. There should be at the very least an investigation into Fr John's behaviour and his bishop needs to be aware of his correspondence with you.
Do take care.
I'm a convert too so obviously my opinion is meaningless, but I always enjoy your blog, Father, and it does not seem to be to be hostile to the Holy Father. I'll pray for Fr John. He must be embarrassed at himself now.
Rather scary that this individual is a priest, but then the world is rather scary.
I've always appreciated your blog Father, even if I almost never comment. There are some few times I find myself in disagreement with you but that just prompts me to reassess my feelings or opinions and try justify them to myself in light of your postings and always to my benefit.
May God reward your for your work and Our Lady protect you.
You do seem to have attracted the attention of a most repulsive person, and one who is certainly a disgrace to his holy orders. I wonder whether his parishioners and bishop are aware of what he gets up to.
What a pinhead. I expect the only person who could "make you shut down" would be your bishop. So I surmise the X in you post is the bishop. What worries me most is apparently, unless this dude has been sent off to be a hermit on an otherwise uninhabited island, or with any luck at all counting holes in the acoustic tile in a nuthouse, that he still, presumably, has faculties to say mass and hear confession. It disturbs me that he would have even the ability to be a supply priest, or muck with any unsuspecting person's soul. If I was in a car with this man, going over a cliff to certain death, I'd rather take my chances with a perfect act of contrition rather than ask for absolution.
I think he's just jealous that it's not unlikely at some point after you have yourself slipped the surly bonds people would be referring to you and "Blessed Blake of Brighton." I have always found your posts to be MOST thought provoking. You always test the boundaries in a good way to prick people's consciousness and not getting too comfortable. Personally I find converts, particularly those with intellectual inclinations to be most fascinating because often times they are most certainly NOT on "auto-pilot" and they can fully appreciate the Catholic cohesion as regards faith/morals/doctrine through the centuries. Given his obviously poor track record for lack of pastoral zeal early in his career, it's too bad he was ever ordained at all. Perhaps there was some home pressure for him to become a priest? Oh, well, out of 12 Apostles Jesus Christ only got 11 good ones. So I can't really blame his own seminary for not kicking him out to begin with. You're right. He needs prayers. It might be too late to get his head examined. I think Sigmund Freud himself would have had a good lie down on the couch himself after a go around trying to sort this fellow out. It's frightening that this fellow is l still so bitter. Most older people I have known mellow, as they are more likely to think about "getting right" with the Lord. That doesn't seem to be the case here. He doesn't seem to gather that not only are you generous with your pastoral care of souls, you also have a world wide readership which appreciates you. I expect he's rather jealous of that too. The student he thought of as "stupid" achieving far more than he could have ever dreamed of. So yeah, pray for him, but ignore the weasel. He's destructive and doesn't seem to have taken the time to create anything of lasting value to try and project his own inadequacies on you. Noli nothis permittere te terere.
oh, and you can NEGOTIATE with a terrorist.
Oh, dear Fr. Blake, I'm so sorry this Priest said these things. So very, sad and pathetic but I came up against many of his type in the 80's & 90's while raising our 10 children. Once, when pregnant with only our 5th child I was asked, "What are you, a glutton for punishment?" And that was a Priest!! He is scared, God help him, as many of us Traditional Catholics have kept the Faith and our children are entering the Priesthood and Religious Life on this "long road of defeat"...
THE
RAPE
When I begged
For pure
White Mutton -
You said
I was a
Nostalgic for glutton -
When I
Thirsted for juice
Of the grape -
You took
My soul
For you to rape -
For comfort
Went to Mother Church
You told me leave I'd have to search -
But deep within
My enclosed
Fountain -
The deposit
Made
Would move a mountain -
So through
The pain
And all your scorn -
Birth I gave...
Sons
Were born -
Now Holy Orders
Are their
Goal -
May God
Have mercy
On the rapist's soul -
I will pray for this Priest, souls are precious.
Father, yours is one of the most thoughtful, consistently orthodox, compassionate and moderate of Catholic voices.
Such a tirade is of course dismaying, but is also in a way a sign of the importance of your work: to see the absurd rage your faithfulness and penetrating common sense can provoke. That letter is almost unhinged. (The single word 'convert' alone downgrades the whole screed automatically to junk status.) Clearly this man is deeply troubled and needs our prayers.
It's a bit like having Pol Pot write a letter of complaint about the state of affairs in present-day Cambodia.
And yes, one usually finds that modernists who refer preachily to 'the documents of the Council' have rarely bothered to read them.
That is what the old liberals have left in their arsenal--name calling and vitriol. They ALMOST wrecked the Church and certainly caused the loss of the faith to millions of souls but the Church will go on. The souls we must entrust to the mercy of God. And also seek mercy for these deluded old liberals for they will surely need it, especially priests and religious who should know and act better. The 'priest' who wrote this hate filled not is a disgrace!
This poor man really needs our prayers. Jesu have mercy.
Yours is an excellent blog. Keep up the good work, Fr. Blake.
This man's vitriolic attack on you, the Faith, on God, is truly demonic. If it can be verified that he is the priest he represents himself as, he needs to be removed from all ministry as soon as possible. If he really is a priest, he is no longer following Our Lord but the Father of Lies, and he needs to be taken out of any situation of influence on souls. Blessed Michael, the Archangel, defend us in the hour of battle, be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil . . .
The writer of the letter doesn't sound very intelligent, or is he elderly and losing it? I, and certainly you, would be far more open to an cogently worded critique of certain posts which would lead you perhaps to engaging in a dialogue with this person with a view to his conversion.
His carrying a grudge against you for thirty years is rather sad.
Like many others it grieves me that this man is a priest and holds our Blessed Lord in his hands at Holy Mass. I shudder to think of the people who have left the Faith because of him.
We can only be grateful for Tick tock, tick tock.
Thank you Father (for your excellent blog) and for the exposing that this priest has a track record as such. He has been active in leaving odd comments on quite a few blogs of late and is obviously in need of our prayers, most notably, the prayer of St Michael.
My prayers for you Fr Ray and also for Fr John. I am glad to be in good company - having received a similar message as a comment posted to my blog (which I no longer write on) some months ago.
Congratulations! That letter is proof that you have stepped ON THE DEVIL'S TAIL...OR PROOF OF YOUR GOODNESS.
The goodness of some people can be affront to others of a different ilk.
Your blog is encouraging, and unafraid to ruffle feathers...keep going, Keep the Faith, God bless you
Oh dear Father, it sounds as if this poor individual has actually flipped, probably many years ago, and is certainly in need of help. He is such a sad person, full of hatred, which must be very painful for him, and I guess, extremely lonely.
I too am a convert, and read your blog every day, finding it very interesting and informative.
Keep up the good work Father, we love you.
Isn't it interesting that comments of this type no reasoned arguments are given, no critique with examples - just unpleasant invective. It's my belief that they often have something else at the bottom of them - insecurity, anger, jealousy.
Dear Father
The writer of the "letter" sent it I assume via email in which case he could be prosecuted under s127 Communications Act 2003 for sending
"by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character"
If sent as a letter then the offence would be contrary to s1 Malicious Communications Act 1988 for sending
"(a) a letter, electronic communication or article of any description which conveys—
(i) a message which is indecent or grossly offensive;
(ii) a threat;"
In both cases the penalty is up to 6 months imprisonment.
If he sends another message of a similar nature then that would constitute a "Course of Conduct" of Harassment contrary to s2 Protection form Harassment Act 1997
If he's reading this message I hope he takes the point. A Court is not likely to be sympathetic to a Priest of all people using this sort of disgusting language towards a colleague. Its the sort of thing you expect from uneducated yobs who don't know any better
Neil Addison (Barrister)
Thank God for all our converts, I say. He often blesses you with clearer vision and spiritual honesty than cradle Catholics such as me.
I regard converts as the treasure of the Church, especially those who have come home to Rome despite facing indifference and, in some cases, outright hostility.
Poor Fr. John. His head must hurt from composing all the missives he is throwing hither and yon.
Perhaps a decade of the Rosary said by all who read your blog will calm his troubled soul.
It's so full of hateful invective and reasonless ad hominem it would be funny if it was so tragic! It does leave one shaking one's head in despair that people like this are a reality in the Church. Wheat & tares I suppose.
Must be an Evening Argus reader
Although my immediate reaction is one of anger, Eamonn Whelan is right about this.
Prayers for him and for you, Father. Keep up the good work and God bless you.
Fr. Ray, thank you for exposing this inadequate person to public view. He has been doing the round of Catholic blogs for a while now - always intimidating, aggressive and ad hominem. He never engages with points under discussion, only threatens the bloggers that they are "being watched", "will be reported to your bishops and banned" etc.
He is becoming a bit of an online stalker and exhibits symptoms verging on the psychotic. It may be helpful to other bloggers if you reveal his full name in order that they can take legal action to ensure their own safety if necessary.
It is incredible that such a foul-mouthed, crazy could get into the priesthood in the first place, but I guess the discernment process was pretty shoddy during a certain era.
Thanks for posting this, Father. It really cheered me up. I wish people would send ME hatemail as funny as this.
Poor old hippies. This really is their last gasp, isn't it.
Not to worry, Father, this type of letter indicates that you are doing good and having an effect – which many people appreciate. Name-calling and invective in place of reasoned argument are the last resorts of pathetic people, often indicative of jealousy.
Even the great Aquinas was called a “Dumb Ox”… You’re in good company!
Sounds almost as if the poor chap is writing with the help of a bottle.
Some liturgy profs from his generation must have found the past few years hard, as many of their students found the years of being 'taught' by them and their influence on liturgy in the seminary difficult to stomach.
He needs prayers and a rest.
Reverend and Dear Father,
Greetings from Johannesburg, South Africa
I would hardly expect anything else from someone so dead set against preserving the integrity of the Faith.
Father, you are Christ's own, did they not spit on him, beat him and crucify him?
My prayer for you is that you continue on your journey dear Father, after our Lord and Master to whatever Calvary he calls you to. If the world and its ilk did not hate us I would be extreemly worried. May all the suffering that you undergo on your way, win souls for Christ!
May God reward you greatly for your bravery and for your steadfast Priestly witness, stay strong in the faith.
May our Blessed Mother help and guide you, even if it means suffering, at least by it, you know you are doing something right.
Be assured of my prayers, for both yourself and for this hurtful man.
Oremus pro Invicem!
Calvin
Hard to believe that such a potty mouth comes from a a man old enough to be someone's grandfather let alone a Catholic priest. It's not right at all. I don't know any Bishop who would not be repulsed by that verbal abuse, even the liberal ones. It is one thing about Catholic clergy that I do notice. They are rarely potty mouthed or smutty and the few that are usually have other serious failings in their priestly life.
Sorry you are being subject to that and I will say a prayer for you and Father John.
It is the devil speaking through this poor soul. He needs prayers and Masses, and of course, to be removed from any ministry of the Church, if he has not been already. This sounds like oppression or possession. Satan is hiding less and less, in fact, becoming very obvious and more aggressive especially against those who are standing up for the Faith, for the inviolability of human life, for marriage, the Family - for truth. I have received similar hate-filled attacks, including a serious physical one, from persons consumed by evil (and the desire to have babies in utero killed).
Pretty simple:
To Father Blake: Please keep blogging.
To Father John: Please stop commenting like this.
I shall pray for you both.
Fr John could at least have insulted you in the traditional way:
"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."
This seems to be at about the same level as his own attempts.
It's frightening that this man has had any authority over anyone, but that is our Church of late. I feel for the poor man, but he's clearly a menace to the faith.
I am glad you see that the time for covering this stuff up is done. There will be no Church left if we don't start speaking up. No more protecting careers!
Wonder if this nutter had anything to do with the permanent closing of Protect the Pope? I remember a "Fr John" making threats to Mrs Donnelly:
http://protectthepope.com/?p=10373#comment-327704
Maybe he thinks you're a 'dumb idiot' for staying awake during his class. :)
THE
WALK
Desperately lost
November frost
When all seems
To decay
A leaf bedspread
Does cover the dead
Where bone and body
Lay
A pale gray dawn
Then yawns upon
Cold stones
And acorns brown
I walk to Mass
On icy grass
To see His spiked
Barbed crown
Where wood twined-braid
His head, it laid
Blood soaked
Pierced flesh by thorn
But crown displays
The price He pays –
True Priest at Mass
Each morn
His Flesh from bread
Wine is Blood shed
Under appearances
Matter resembles
Like body and bone
Distinct…not alone
Hallowed souls elevate
And hell trembles.
SACERDOS!
Father Blake,
Truly, he is far gone ..."
And, sure, he needs many prayers.
Heavenly Father I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
For the sake of his sorrowful passion have mercy on us and the whole world.
You must be doing something right Father. Keep up the good work. God bless.
Don't be intimidated. Deacon Donnelly needs to bring formal canonical complaint to Holy See for canonical penalty (yes, it's one in substance) unlawfully (and immorally) imposed. As Fr Pavone did. They came first for the Jews but I was not a Jew . . . We need to together resist this persecution of those upholding the Deposit of Faith and morals. They are trying to take us out one by one.
It is good, in one way, to see the level of hate (and childishness) directed against those whose concept of the Church is ancient and eternal, rather than what is "cool" at the present time. I pity him. And yet it is a learning experience to know that such people inhabit the Church. It puts us on our guard.
With every good wish, Father, for you and your work.
Gosh!
Has he ever heard of freedom of speech?
Uh oh! Looks like you've been 'unfriended', Father Ray.
One less Christmas card to post. Keep up the fine, compassionate, balanced, and uplifting advice and commentary.
I wait each day to read your next post. God bless.
Fr. John's remarks remarks are like a time machine. Backward reels the mind to bracing 1st Millennium denunciations hurled by heretical court theologians shocked to find themselves, against all expectation, on the way out and destined for oblivion.
Just read the post. Unbelievable!
I feel sorry for this priest, Fr John.
I can't imagine what it must be like to be a pious priest in some dioceses, where good priests have to put up with their priestly brothers sniping at them all the time. And some of these liberal priests are the worst clericalists around.
I distinctly remember some priests nuanced expressions of relief during homilies when Benedict XVI resigned.
Awful to read that these types of priests were put into seminaries as tutors at one time. Explains a lot.
Devil sure is swinging his tail about.
Keep up the blog, Fr Ray.
Fr. Ray- I enjoy reading your posts very much.
As for Fr. John, I think he might be possessed by the devil or drunk.
Prayers are in order for this misguided priest.
He should be reported on his horrible, uncharitable
conduct.
The tone and content of this letter from 'Father John' is reminiscent of the passage from Revelation 12:10:
"...the Accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night."
Dear Fr Ray. Do not be dismayed by this sick individual. He is probably motivated by jealousy. Was not our Lord spat upon and reviled by his ememies? We must pray for his conversion. Converts are the treasure of the Church. Was not St Paul a convert? And look at the great work he did for our Lord.
You have lots of friends on this blog who support you. Keep up the good work.
This is sadly to be expected. Jesus was also spat at ( although not electronically!) Anyone who has been to mass at your church can see that you are a man who quite clearly is in Love with God. I'm sure that this is a sign that you are on the right track. God Bless you.
I pray that you will have the strength and the courage to continue with your good work.
Thank you for your excellent Blog which I follow avidly!
This is a typical human reaction - If you can't argue against what is being said because it is right and you don't like it - Attack them on a personal level. Pathetic!
May God continue to Bless you and your work.
Our Lady has given this Padre to you that prayer and penance may be done for his soul.
Remember, Padre Blake, where there is the greatest of sin, God brings forth the greatest of conversion, and pours out His graces abundantly to those who simply ask.
Canon Law of Holy Mother Church:
Suprema Lex Soli Solimarum: The Supreme Law is the Salvation of Souls.
That includes Priests as well.
I entrust this whole matter in the hands of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, “Mother of the Priest par excellence, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through Him, of all priests in whom she forms her Son”.
(it is sad to read the comments with no Charity for this poor Priest)
*
Father, while this priest has written a letter of the kind I’m sure most traditional Catholic bloggers receive, in that he wrote to you privately I think you ought to have kept the letter private. By making it public all you have done is hold a brother priest up to public abuse. You may not have given his name but you have given information that makes him readily identifiable to anyone wishing to search Diocesan calendars/yearbooks, thereby jeopardising his good name. I feel it was imprudent and uncharitable to make his communication public, not only because it holds him up to public abuse but because it has left you open to charges of soliciting affirmation. A regrettable post, in my opinion.
Oh dear. Mundabor is adamant, writing on his blog, that Fr John X must have been drunk when typing this abusive drivel. Not much of an excuse though, if it be true.
Of course, anyone who rocks the liberal boat will get abuse and threats at some stage - mine were over a post on women's ordination. But that this bile directed at you is from a priest is horrifying.
I have seen at least one priest in my life behave in a similar way. It struck me that he did not believe in anything but himself, and continued in the cloth because it provided him with a comfortable living and a status he would have been unable to earn on his own merits. They become bitter people.
Fr John X clearly identifies with the progressive camp, and must go down as probably the worst advertisement for progressivism I have seen. Fr John is clearly blind to irony.
Publishing this sort of abuse is to be encouraged. It reminds the faithful what their clergy sometimes must endure. It also exposes bullies to the light of day, which they hate, for they prefer the darkness.
Pax in omnibus!
Unbelievable. Nothing worse than a lousy teacher who realizes that his students can do his job better than he can. I still laughed though when you said you were the only one who could stay awake during his lectures. Remember Groucho Marx's line: "Well, I thought my razor was dull until I heard his speech.
And that reminds me of a story thats so dirty, I'm ashamed to think of it myself."
I find myself agreeing with fatherjja.
No good can come from publicly humiliating someone even if their private letter was so rude and uncharitable.
Sorry but i think it was a mistake to publish the letter.
peter
I have sympathy with fatherjja and if it were just a matter of a rant against me then I would simply laugh it off. What concerns me is the threats to resort to third parties.
There are many abuses and injustices in the Church, they are perpetuated by silence, and refusal to call the abusers to account. Doing so is often hard for the victims but it is a necessary process. Things done in the dark must be brought to light.
Here we are dealing with something comparatively trivial but I think fatherjja's suggestion was probably made in the past to those suffered very seriously indeed, it severely damaged the Church and allowed perpetrators to go on unchecked, that alone created an unhealthy environment.
The 'liberals' don't seem to complain about orthodox Catholics writing abusively to them. I wonder if that is because they are too charitable to mention it, or perhaps it's because it doesn't happen which demonstrates a fairly simple truth (but is probably too profound for Fr. John). I am fairly old and am sometimes tortured by so many past failures and self inflicted problems. I recognise a fellow-sufferer when I hear one rant. Peace be with him.
I agree that light MUST be shown into the dark places. This (former?) priest who goes around doing this sort of thing must not remain unknown and unchecked. What he is doing is vile. And as far as being uncharitable to a fellow priest, what is this "Fr. John" doing? No, for too long under the guise of charity we have let evil things flourish. We cannot do that anymore.
There is nothing imprudent in publishing the content of an abusive and threatening screed in all the circumstances. Fr Ray Blake has obviously assessed that there is a real threat involved. The serious situation in which this is taking place is highly relevant - orthodox Catholics, priests and lay are increasingly being threatened or persecuted in very serious ways. I agree it's best he's not identified at this stage but if it escalates, this may be necessary for Fr Blake to prevent severe penalisation or damage (including to his good name) being done to him or scandal caused. It is the silence that has allowed this situation to reach epidemic proportions where the good people are no longer even able to defend themselves and the souls of the Faithful while more and more enemies of the Faith and morals grow ever more powerful in the Church.
Deacon Donnelly was being threatened for well over a year by people in the shadows operating underhandedly because of his defence of faith and morals on his blog, trying to intimidate him into stopping to write about grave scandals in the Church - and then his bishop happens to unlawfully coerce him into shutting down his blog. Hardly a coincidence.
Dear and Reverend Father:
There is an Arabic saying I recommend to you: "The dogs bark, but the caravan rolls on." He is understandably bitter, rooted in the 60s as he is.
I completely agree with the commenter who says that this has to be aired to prevent Fr Blake getting penalized or his reputation harmed by a nasty and bitter behind the scenes campaign of other priests with little love for Catholic tradition and adherence to the Church's teaching and discipline. One definitely gets a picture that Deacon Donnelly may have been attacked by unfaithful clerics of this ilk who see those who are devoted to Catholic beliefs and discipline as intolerable. Did this Fr John smell blood in the water and go on an attack frenzy? His message is crazy. As a lay person who has sometimes had to suffer from priests who change things in the Mass at will on their own authority, I too have often had to bring up Sacrosanctum Concilium. But there is no sincerity about Vatican II or most any other Church document from such priests, they have other ideas. Fr Blake is the type of priest who actually accepts Vatican II, apparently it's infuriating to this long ago ex-prof that he was not able to succeed in turning one student against the Council. Fr Blake is not against Pope Francis, no one who suddenly discovers ultramontanist tendencies can make it "out of bounds" to be concerned about high level trends in the Church that appear to be favoring normalizing adulterous relationships and how that is making the ministry of bishops and priests more difficult. This has become a major topic of conversation among many and Fr Blake's comments were measured.
Bravo, Father. I'm sorry you are on the front line but you are more than capable of handling it! I often remind myself of J.Ratzinger's frequent statement that we should have no fear of the truth or of its consequences. If Fr John writes to your Bishop in this manner, it is clear (and would be clear to your Bishop, surely) that Fr John is not firing on all cylinders.
Congratulations Fr. Ray! Blessed are you when they persecute you...
No he doesn't need prayers, he needs psychotherapy.
Fr Blake
Keep up the good work. I will pray for you and your parish. May God bless you.
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